Iowa Point, Kansas

Iowa Point, Kansas
Unincorporated community

A plat of Iowa Point
Iowa Point, Kansas
Coordinates: 39°55′42″N 95°14′19″W / 39.92833°N 95.23861°WCoordinates: 39°55′42″N 95°14′19″W / 39.92833°N 95.23861°W
Country United States
State Kansas
County Doniphan
Elevation 860 ft (260 m)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
  Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s) 785
GNIS feature ID 472808[1]

Iowa Point is an unincorporated community in northeastern Doniphan County, Kansas, United States. It is included in the St. Joseph, Missouri Metropolitan Area.

History

Iowa Point sign located on K-7

Iowa Point was first settled in 1854 on land received from the U.S. Government in payment for missionary services done at the nearby Iowa, Sac and Fox Indian mission. The town was a major shipping point between Leavenworth and Omaha and by 1857, the town had a population estimated at 3,000 making it the second largest town on the Missouri River next to Leavenworth.[2]

The town divided on the issue of slavery; by the end of the Civil War, it had nearly been completely burned, and businesses had nearly been depleted. The town never recovered.[3]

The first post office in Iowa Point opened in 1855, closed temporarily in 1914, reopened that same year, and closed permanently in 1933.[4]

References

  1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. Ghost Towns of Kansas: A Traveler's Guide by Daniel Fitzgerald. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 1988.
  3. Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. p. 941.
  4. "Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 (archived)". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved 8 June 2014.