Faded Dreams: More Ghost Towns of Kansas

by Daniel C. Fitzgerald

Palermo was a thriving port on the Missouri in the 1850s. Steamboats lined up to load and unload merchandise. Hotels flourished and pleasure cruises came from St. Louis. When the steamboat business collapsed, the railroad came. But the railroad had no depot, and passengers had to flag down trains from the platform. After a few years, the trains stopped coming altogether. By 1904 the post office was gone.

Like hundreds of towns across Kansas, Palermo peaked then petered, leaving behind only a faded image of its former self. Now it's a ghost town-a shadowy remnant of what it once was, says Daniel Fitzgerald. Some ghost towns are completely gone, he says, while others remain as abandoned ruins or foundations. Some even have small populations and community spirit, but none are the bustling sites they once were. All are towns that time has passed by.

Providing an intriguing glimpse into the past, Fitzgerald takes us on a journey around the state—to Goguac and Itasca, routed around by the railroads; to Eustis, loser of the county seat; to Fostoria, booming then busting as a mining town; to Old Clear Water, abandoned when the sun set on the Cheyenne cattle trail; and to Paradise, ravaged by fire during the depression and unable to fully recover. He leads us through Kalida, with too little water, Strawn—now on the bottom of John Redmond Reservoir—with too much, and Quindaro before it was consumed by Kansas City.

Examining why towns declined or were abandoned, Fitzgerald chronicles the births, descents, and heyday adventures of 106 of the more alluring ghost towns in the state. And, for the ghost-town enthusiast ready for a hunt, he supplies current descriptions of these once prosperous sites where the phantoms of unfulfilled dreams linger elusively among the remains.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

334 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a nice little section on Quindaro. I have visited the “ruins/site” and was saddened that there is no information about it and no way to access the ruins on a self-guided tour. Such a pity. But it was nice to get all of the info from this book (and Google)

[Richard Jespers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book no doubt creates a rich resource for those searching for specific information regarding ghost towns located in one of the 105 Kansas counties. I, myself, found Fitzgerald’s first book (Ghost Towns of Kansas, Volume I) helpful when I became curious about the former town of Runnymede, where, in 1924, my maternal grandfather established a grocery store—only to fail a year later because the automobile allowed people to travel to other towns for their needs. However, by reading about these over one hundred ghost towns, one begins to sense a mosaic of the state’s checkered history, as well. How, for example, some nineteenth-century Kansans were pro-slavery and others were freestaters, in favor of abolition, that people murdered others with regard to the issue. One state historian establishes that from its inception Kansas garnered over 6,000 town “start-ups,” and that if they all had flourished (theoretically) one could not now drive twelve miles in any direction without encountering another town.

Of course, reality has turned out being very different. Vast acreages of agricultural land and prairies have swallowed up those former towns—leaving only crumbling foundations or memorial plaques found on what is now private property. Any number of events or trends contributed to the defeat of these ghost towns. Even grand entrepreneurial efforts failed. Important infrastructure (roads, rivers, and railways) did not materialize. Political decisions made in Topeka or county seats (some of those heartily fought over) ruined yet other towns. Catastrophic weather events played a part in some cases. Some towns just lacked proper leadership from the beginning. Thus, Fitzgerald paints a fascinating history of primarily nineteenth-century Kansas (although many towns do not emit their last gasp until the 1930s), in which mostly white people from the east and European locations do battle with indigenous people to usurp or purchase lands that are questionably for sale in the first place. And the author does so without favor to either side. Just the facts. In any event, and regardless of motive, the people portrayed here do represent a certain heroic and pioneer spirit attempting literally to create something out of nothing. The text includes fascinating vintage photos, as well.

[Robert Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good follow-up to the first book.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]