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{{Short description|Ghost town in Franklin County, Kansas}}
{{For|the city in Clark County|Minneola, Kansas}}
{{For|the city in Clark County|Minneola, Kansas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement
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|name = Minneola, Kansas
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|subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Kansas|County]]
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'''Minneola, Franklin County, Kansas''' is a [[ghost town]] in northern [[Franklin County, Kansas]]. Briefly in the running to be the territorial capital of Kansas, it was roughly one mile away from [[Centropolis, Kansas|Centropolis]]. Today, hardly anything remains at the original site.
'''Minneola''' is a [[ghost town]] in [[Franklin County, Kansas]], United States. Briefly in the running to be the territorial capital of Kansas, it was roughly one mile away from [[Centropolis, Kansas|Centropolis]]. Today, hardly anything remains at the original site.


==Location==
==Location==
Minneola was located roughly one mile east of [[Centropolis, Kansas|Centropolis]]. Today, the site rests on both the north and south sides of Stafford Road, between Kentucky and Iowa Roads. The site is currently on private property, and in 1988 consisted of "little more than a few ruins and half a dozen farms."<ref name=book/><ref name=tour/>
Minneola was located roughly {{Convert|1|mi|spell=in}} east of [[Centropolis, Kansas|Centropolis]]. Today, the site rests on both the north and south sides of Stafford Road, between Kentucky and Iowa Roads. The site is on private property, and in 1988 consisted of "little more than a few ruins and half a dozen farms."<ref name=book/><ref name=tour/>


==History==
==History==
The ghost town can trace its origins to the earlier settlement of St. Bernard, founded in 1855. The town's [[postmaster]], J. M. Bernard, was [[pro-slavery]], and he angered many of the men in the area, who had [[anti-slavery]] leanings. Eventually, after Bernard was convinced to leave the settlement, St. Bernard developed into Minneola. At this time, Minneola became the chief rival of nearby Centropolis, as both were hoping to be the newly appointed territorial capital of Kansas. After Kansas [[Slave and free states|free-state]] voters overcame the [[pro-slavery]] faction in 1857, the government voted against naming Centropolis as the capital of Kansas, since the town had pro-slavery leanings.<ref name=book/> However, the newly free-state government still wished to move the territorial capital from [[Lecompton, Kansas|Lecompton]], and so the legislature convened at [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]] to decide a new location. Perry Fuller{{em dash}}a man who had been successful in establishing Centropolis as a city{{em dash}}and several associates purchased 14 quarter sections of farm land near Minneola, hoping to expand the small town into the future capital.<ref name=book/><ref name=risenfall/> Around this time, Centropolis's newspaper, the ''Kansas Leader'' was brought into Minneola, and renamed to the ''Minneola Statesman''.<ref name=book/>
The ghost town can trace its origins to the earlier settlement of St. Bernard, founded in 1855. The town's [[postmaster]], J. M. Bernard, was [[pro-slavery]], and he angered many of the men in the area, who had [[anti-slavery]] leanings. Eventually, after Bernard was convinced to leave the settlement, St. Bernard developed into Minneola. At this time, Minneola became the chief rival of nearby Centropolis, as both were hoping to be the newly appointed territorial capital of Kansas. After Kansas [[Slave and free states|free-state]] voters overcame the [[pro-slavery]] faction in 1857, the government voted against naming Centropolis as the capital of Kansas, since the town had pro-slavery leanings.<ref name=book/> However, the new free-state government still wished to move the territorial capital from [[Lecompton, Kansas|Lecompton]], and so the legislature convened at [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]] to decide a new location. Perry Fuller{{em dash}}a man who had been successful in establishing Centropolis as a city{{em dash}}and several associates purchased 14 quarter sections of farm land near Minneola, hoping to expand the small town into the future capital.<ref name=book/><ref name=risenfall/> Around this time, Centropolis's newspaper, the ''Kansas Leader'' was brought into Minneola, and renamed to the ''Minneola Statesman''.<ref name=book/>


Bribing the legislature with free town [[stock]] and [[land lot]]s, Fuller was successfully able to get his town voted as the new capital on February 10, 1858. However, Kansas territorial governor [[James W. Denver]] vetoed this choice. Fuller appealed to [[Jeremiah S. Black]], [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General of the United States]], who ruled that the legislative bill had been a violation of U.S. statues, and was therefore invalid.<ref name=book/> Despite this, the legislature voted to meet at Minneola on March 22{{en dash}}3, 1858 to draft up a new constitution.<ref name=book/><ref name=tour/> Following this bill, work began on Minneola, and several buildings were constructed, including a potential governor's house, and a seven-story hotel. The city was also planned to be a hub for rail lines. However, once the legislature convened at the new town, they quickly moved to adjourn to [[Leavenworth, Kansas|Leavenworth]]. A later court ruling officially judged the legislative act establishing Minneola as the capital void.<ref name=book>{{cite book|last1=Fitzgerald|first1=Daniel|title=Ghost Towns of Kansas|url=https://archive.org/details/ghosttownsofkans00fitz|url-access=registration|chapter=Centropolis/Minneola|date=1988|publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]|isbn=0700603689|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ghosttownsofkans00fitz/page/61 61–65]}}</ref><ref name=risenfall>{{cite web|last1=Place|first1=Harold|title=Rise and Fall of the Most Famous 'Ghost Town' in Kansas|url=http://www.kancoll.org/articles/progress/minneola.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021127212256/http://www.kancoll.org/articles/progress/minneola.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 27, 2002|publisher=kancoll.org|accessdate=March 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name=recordbook>{{cite book|title=Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society|date=1912|publisher=[[Kansas Historical Society|Kansas State Historical Society]]|pages=433–434|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RKEUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA433&dq=MINNEOLA+kansas&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GuEMVcqxCcf9yQSihYHQCQ&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=MINNEOLA%20kansas&f=false}}</ref>
Bribing the legislature with free town [[stock]] and [[land lot]]s, Fuller was successfully able to get his town voted as the new capital on February 10, 1858. However, Kansas territorial governor [[James W. Denver]] vetoed this choice. Fuller appealed to [[Jeremiah S. Black]], [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General of the United States]], who ruled that the legislative bill had been a violation of U.S. statues, and was therefore invalid.<ref name=book/> Despite this, the legislature voted to meet at Minneola on March 22{{en dash}}3, 1858 to draft up a new constitution.<ref name=book/><ref name=tour/> Following this bill, work began on Minneola, and several buildings were constructed, including a potential governor's house, and a seven-story hotel. The city was also planned to be a hub for rail lines. However, once the legislature convened at the new town, they quickly moved to adjourn to [[Leavenworth, Kansas|Leavenworth]]. A later court ruling officially judged the legislative act establishing Minneola as the capital void.<ref name=book>{{cite book|last1=Fitzgerald|first1=Daniel|title=Ghost Towns of Kansas|url=https://archive.org/details/ghosttownsofkans00fitz|url-access=registration|chapter=Centropolis/Minneola|date=1988|publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]|isbn=0700603689|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ghosttownsofkans00fitz/page/61 61–65]}}</ref><ref name=risenfall>{{cite web|last1=Place|first1=Harold|title=Rise and Fall of the Most Famous 'Ghost Town' in Kansas|url=http://www.kancoll.org/articles/progress/minneola.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021127212256/http://www.kancoll.org/articles/progress/minneola.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 27, 2002|publisher=kancoll.org|accessdate=March 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name=recordbook>{{cite book|title=Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society|date=1912|publisher=[[Kansas Historical Society|Kansas State Historical Society]]|pages=433–434|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RKEUAAAAYAAJ&dq=MINNEOLA+kansas&pg=PA433}}</ref>


The town—despite being bereft of its chance as a capital—still managed to be prosperous for a few years, largely due to the promise of coming railroads. It even briefly served as the county seat.<ref name=book/><ref name=recordbook/> However, after a destructive drought, the city was soon dismantled. Eventually, the ''Statesman'', was suspended and some buildings were carted off elsewhere; for instance, the proposed legislative hall was moved to Ottawa in 1864, where it served a variety of purposes until it was relocated for a second time and burned.<ref name=book/><ref name=tour>{{cite web|last1=Richards|last2=Barker|first1=Catherine Jane|first2=Deborah|title=Northwest Franklin County|url=http://www.franklincokshistory.org/places-2/tours/northwest-franklin-county/|publisher=Franklin County Historical Society|accessdate=March 22, 2015}}</ref><ref name=recordbook/> Other buildings were simply destroyed. Today, hardly anything identifiable remains.<ref name=book/><ref name=recordbook/><ref>{{cite web|title=Minneola|url=http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ks/minneola.html|website=GhostTowns.com|accessdate=March 21, 2015}}</ref>
The town—despite being bereft of its chance as a capital—still managed to be prosperous for a few years, largely due to the promise of coming railroads. It even briefly served as the county seat.<ref name=book/><ref name=recordbook/> However, after a destructive drought, the city was soon dismantled. Eventually, the ''Statesman'' was suspended and the proposed legislative hall was moved to Ottawa in 1864, where it served a variety of purposes until it was relocated for a second time and destroyed by fire.<ref name=book/><ref name=tour>{{cite web|last1=Richards|last2=Barker|first1=Catherine Jane|first2=Deborah|title=Northwest Franklin County|url=http://www.franklincokshistory.org/places-2/tours/northwest-franklin-county/|publisher=Franklin County Historical Society|accessdate=March 22, 2015}}</ref><ref name=recordbook/> Other buildings were simply demolished. Today, hardly anything identifiable remains.<ref name=book/><ref name=recordbook/><ref>{{cite web|title=Minneola|url=http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ks/minneola.html|website=GhostTowns.com|accessdate=March 21, 2015}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{See also|Franklin County, Kansas#Further reading|l1=List of books about Franklin County, Kansas}}

==External links==
* Franklin County maps: [https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/county-pdf/franklin.PDF Current], [https://www.ksdot.org/bureaus/burtransplan/maps/PastPublishedCounty.asp Historic], KDOT


{{Franklin County, Kansas}}
{{Franklin County, Kansas}}

Latest revision as of 14:26, 30 May 2024

For the city in Clark County, see Minneola, Kansas.

Minneola, Kansas
Ghost town
KDOT map of Franklin County (legend)
KDOT map of Franklin County (legend)
Minneola is located in Kansas
Minneola
Minneola
Minneola is located in the United States
Minneola
Minneola
Coordinates: 38°42′55″N 95°19′50″W / 38.71528°N 95.33056°W / 38.71528; -95.33056
CountryUnited States
StateKansas
CountyFranklin
Population
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)

Minneola is a ghost town in Franklin County, Kansas, United States. Briefly in the running to be the territorial capital of Kansas, it was roughly one mile away from Centropolis. Today, hardly anything remains at the original site.

Location

[edit]

Minneola was located roughly one mile (1.6 km) east of Centropolis. Today, the site rests on both the north and south sides of Stafford Road, between Kentucky and Iowa Roads. The site is on private property, and in 1988 consisted of "little more than a few ruins and half a dozen farms."[1][2]

History

[edit]

The ghost town can trace its origins to the earlier settlement of St. Bernard, founded in 1855. The town's postmaster, J. M. Bernard, was pro-slavery, and he angered many of the men in the area, who had anti-slavery leanings. Eventually, after Bernard was convinced to leave the settlement, St. Bernard developed into Minneola. At this time, Minneola became the chief rival of nearby Centropolis, as both were hoping to be the newly appointed territorial capital of Kansas. After Kansas free-state voters overcame the pro-slavery faction in 1857, the government voted against naming Centropolis as the capital of Kansas, since the town had pro-slavery leanings.[1] However, the new free-state government still wished to move the territorial capital from Lecompton, and so the legislature convened at Lawrence to decide a new location. Perry Fuller—a man who had been successful in establishing Centropolis as a city—and several associates purchased 14 quarter sections of farm land near Minneola, hoping to expand the small town into the future capital.[1][3] Around this time, Centropolis's newspaper, the Kansas Leader was brought into Minneola, and renamed to the Minneola Statesman.[1]

Bribing the legislature with free town stock and land lots, Fuller was successfully able to get his town voted as the new capital on February 10, 1858. However, Kansas territorial governor James W. Denver vetoed this choice. Fuller appealed to Jeremiah S. Black, Attorney General of the United States, who ruled that the legislative bill had been a violation of U.S. statues, and was therefore invalid.[1] Despite this, the legislature voted to meet at Minneola on March 22–3, 1858 to draft up a new constitution.[1][2] Following this bill, work began on Minneola, and several buildings were constructed, including a potential governor's house, and a seven-story hotel. The city was also planned to be a hub for rail lines. However, once the legislature convened at the new town, they quickly moved to adjourn to Leavenworth. A later court ruling officially judged the legislative act establishing Minneola as the capital void.[1][3][4]

The town—despite being bereft of its chance as a capital—still managed to be prosperous for a few years, largely due to the promise of coming railroads. It even briefly served as the county seat.[1][4] However, after a destructive drought, the city was soon dismantled. Eventually, the Statesman was suspended and the proposed legislative hall was moved to Ottawa in 1864, where it served a variety of purposes until it was relocated for a second time and destroyed by fire.[1][2][4] Other buildings were simply demolished. Today, hardly anything identifiable remains.[1][4][5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fitzgerald, Daniel (1988). "Centropolis/Minneola". Ghost Towns of Kansas. University Press of Kansas. pp. 61–65. ISBN 0700603689.
  2. ^ a b c Richards, Catherine Jane; Barker, Deborah. "Northwest Franklin County". Franklin County Historical Society. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Place, Harold. "Rise and Fall of the Most Famous 'Ghost Town' in Kansas". kancoll.org. Archived from the original on November 27, 2002. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society. Kansas State Historical Society. 1912. pp. 433–434.
  5. ^ "Minneola". GhostTowns.com. Retrieved March 21, 2015.

Further reading

[edit]
See also: List of books about Franklin County, Kansas
[edit]
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