Elmo is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

Dickinson County, Kansas Dickinson County (county code DK) is a county in Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 18,402. Its county seat and most populous city is Abilene. The county was named in honor of Daniel S. Dickinson. History Early ...

, United States. Elmo is located south of Abilene at the northwest corner of K-15 and K-4.

History

Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Dickinson County

Early history

For many

millennia A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...

Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to King ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

for 2.83 cents per

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

became the 34th

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

. In 1857,

Dickinson County Dickinson County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Dickinson County, Iowa * Dickinson County, Kansas * Dickinson County, Michigan See also * Dickenson County, Virginia Dickenson County is a county located in the Commonwe ...

was established within the Kansas Territory, which included the land for modern day Elmo. Elmo started about one mile from its current location, but the source of the name is unknown. When the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

was built through the area, the railroad didn't like the Elmo location because it was sloping ground, so it built a station at nearby Banner City (current location of Elmo). The old Elmo post office was moved to Banner City around 1887. The name Banner City already existed in Jackson and Trego counties, so eventually the Elmo name replaced it.''Kansas town of Elmo now quiet after a busy past''; Lawrence Journal-World; January 16, 2012.
/ref> The post office was opened in Elmo on December 16, 1884, and remained in operation until it was discontinued on May 6, 1966. The railroad was removed in the 1990s.

20th century

In 1899, Elias Sellerds discovered a well-preserved trove of insect

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

about 3 miles south of Elmo in the Lower-Permian Elmo-Limestone member of the

Wellington Formation The Wellington Formation is an Early Permian geologic formation in Kansas and Oklahoma. The formation's Hutchinson Salt Member is more recognized by the community than the formation itself, and the salt is still mined in central Kansas. The Well ...

. In 1925,

Frank M. Carpenter Frank Morton Carpenter (September 6, 1902 – January 18, 1994) was an American entomologist and paleontologist. He received his PhD from Harvard University, and was curator of fossil insects at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology for 60 y ...

begins studying the

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

bed. In 1928,

Robert John Tillyard Robert "Robin" John Tillyard FRS (31 January 1881 – 13 January 1937) was an English–Australian entomologist and geologist. Early life and education Tillyard was the son of J. J. Tillyard and his wife Mary Ann Frances, née Wilson and was ...

researched the same fossil bed. The Elmo site has produced tens of thousands of specimens, with more than 150 species of insects described, including large fossils of

Meganeuropsis ''Meganeuropsis'' is an extinct genus of griffinfly, order Meganisoptera, known from the Early Permian Wellington Formation of North America, and represents the largest known insect of all time. ''Meganeuropsis'' existed during the Artinskian a ...

. The site is located on private land and closed to the public.Elmo Fossil Beds; Winds of Kansas.
/ref>

21st century

In 2014, a group of locals adopted the

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and ...

character

Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prior ...

as its mascot to be placed on a new sign.

Geography

Elmo is located at the northwest corner of K-15 and K-4 (also known as 600 Ave in Dickinson County), which is south of Abilene or west of

Herington Herington is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jon Herington (born 1954), American musician *Leigh Herington, American politician * Marieve Herington, Canadian actress and singer Fictional characters: *Tjokkie Herington, chara ...

Education

The community is served by

Chapman USD 473 Chapman USD 473 is a public unified school district headquartered in Chapman, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Chapman, Acme, Carlton, Detroit, Enterprise, Industry (south of 1st Rd), Lyona, Manchester, Navarre ...

public school district.

Gallery

Historic Images of Elmo
Special Photo Collections at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

Library Image:Welcome to Elmo.jpg, Welcome signage outside Elmo (2016) Image:Elmo church bell.jpg, Stone structure housing a statue and bell at the church (2016) Image:Elmo church statue.jpg, "Our Lady of the Farmland" statue (2016)

References

External links

St Columba Catholic Church

Kansas Ghost Towns
Historic Images of Elmo
Special Photo Collections at

Library * Dickinson County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT {{Authority control Populated places established in 1884 Unincorporated communities in Kansas Unincorporated communities in Dickinson County, Kansas 1884 establishments in Kansas