Welcome to Ottawa and Franklin County Kansas

Communities

Ottawa

The city of Ottawa was founded by a town company in 1865, incorporated on November 23, 1867 and still serves as the Franklin County seat. A walk downtown reveals a Victorian landscape designed by renowned architect George Washburn. We hope you enjoy your visit and take time to tour our local attractions, many of which are steeped in history. Art lovers can enjoy works by local artists, antique lovers can find an abundance of great antiques and if nature is what you are interested in, Ottawa and Franklin County have a lot to offer. You can find a little of everything in Ottawa and Franklin County!
www.ottawakansas.net

Appanoose

Appanoose took its name from a well-respected “peace chief” of the Sac & Fox tribe who lived in this area from 1840 to the late 1850s. The Appanoose School, established in 1919, and the Appanoose Baptist Church, founded in 1878, are the centers of this community. A museum features local history and artifacts. The native prairies have a variety of wild flowers and abundant trees growing along the Appanoose Creek that display a magnificent patchwork of color!

Wellsville Wellsville Is the second largest town in the county, and is located in the northeast corner. Established in 1870, the town was known for twenty years as the “Bluegrass Capitol of the World.” Underneath that bluegrass laid oil, which was discovered in 1915 and is still produced today. The settlers brought many talents that are still seen in the residents of the town such as artist Elizabeth “Grandma” Layton, and country music singer Chely Wright. www.wellsvillekansas.com
Rantoul Rantoul is one of the oldest Settlements in east-central Franklin County. The post office was given the name ”Rantoul” in the early 1870’s in honor of Robert Rantoul, a Massachusetts Senator and active abolitionist of the time. John Brown an abolitionist leader and one of the most controversial of the time arrived in Kansas’s territory with a commitment to ending slavery. He built a house for his brother-in-law, Orson Day in the winter of 1855-‘56. The land on which Day’s house was built is one mile south and a half-mile west from Rantoul. Just northeast of Rantoul, was the land claimed by William Clarke Quantrill, infamous raider of Lawrence. There were three distinct political groups occupying Kansas at the time: pro-slavers, free-stators and abolitionists. Violence broke out between these opposing factions in 1854 and continued until 1861 when Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29. This era became forever known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
Lane Lane is located in the southeast corner of Franklin County. Named in 1863 for Senator James Henry Lane, a bizarre and compelling character, Lane lies along Pottawatomie Creek, formerly known as Dutch Henry’s Crossing. It was near this crossing on May 24, 1856 that John Brown, along with seven of his men, brutally murdered and mutilated five pro-slavery men. This historical event, known as the Pottawatomie Massacre, is commemorated on the third Saturday of May in Lane. The first and oldest Franklin County fair takes place Thursday through Saturday of the fi rst full week in August, and offers something for all ages. Stone homes are a unique feature in Lane. These homes were built from “Coralline Marble”, a granular limestone quarried on a high riverbank at the Hanway Quarry. When famed children’s book author Laura Ingalls Wilder was passing through Kansas she and her husband Almanzo camped on the lawn of the large stone home located on the north edge of Lane.
Richmond John Richmond, an agent for the railroad, donated 40 acres for the building of a town site in 1870. Richmond is located 16 miles south of Ottawa on US 59 Highway. The Prairie Spirit Trail goes through Richmond and offers hiking, bicycling and an opportunity to see some nature in Franklin County. The Richmond area abounds in natural beauty in the heart of a farming community and lists a population of 512.
Princeton Princeton is south of Ottawa, and was founded as a siding of the Lawrence, Leavenworth and Galveston Railroad. An early settler, E.M. Peck, asked the Lawrence, Leavenworth & Galveston railroad to deliver his immigrant car to a spot near his farm by Ohio City, a former county seat town, now defunct. The railroad asked him to name the site for billing records, and he chose the name of his hometown in Illinois: Princeton. In 1869, land was donated along the siding to create a town. A business district is now developingalong Highway 59.
Centropolis Centropolis was organized in 1854 and its first store was built in 1855. The dream of it founders was to make Centropolis the capitol of Kansas hence “Central Metropolis.” By 1857 there were over 30 businesses, but failure to capture even the county seat of Franklin County and the absence of a railroad frustrated the goals of the town founders. Centropolis is located in the northwest corner of Franklin County.
Pomona John Whetstone purchased 12 to 15 thousand acres of land on what had been the Sac & Fox Indian reserve, founded the city of Pomona, located 9 miles west of Ottawa. The town was founded in 1869. Whetstone and ST Kelsey planted 40 acres of fruit trees and named the town after the Roman goddess of fruit. Fruit essences, perfumes, jelly, and dried fruit were produced there around the turn of the twentieth century. Both the Santa Fe and Missouri Pacific railroads passed through Pomona. The town’s population in 2006 was 952. Pomona is serviced by a variety of businesses including banks, restaurants, churches, and personal services. It is also a popular launching ground for summer trips to Lake Pomona, located just a few miles west of town. Pomona Days is held the first weekend in July. Come and enjoy the car show, savor tasty treats and shop for arts and crafts. www.pomonaks.com
Williamsburg William H. Schofield, an agent for Baker University in Baldwin City, purchased 34,000 acres of the former Sac and Fox reserve, and in 1867 founded a town upon it, named for himself. Schofield also sold 3,600 acres of nearby land to Ernest Valeton de Boissiere, a French émigré who founded a socialist silk-producing colony upon it, known as Silkville. Coal fields surrounded the Williamsburg area, and mining became a major industry. Shafts 85 feet deep branched out in several directions. Coal was delivered to 39 cities and communities. Jayhawker Days is the town’s big event every year and held in the middle of June. The community just recently built a new library, and has a local historical museum in an old stone church.