Lakin
John O'Loughlin, the first settler in Southwest
Kansas, established a store in a dug-out in February 1873. It
was located on the Santa Fe trail, and Mr. O'Loughlin had a booming
trade with the freighters. A post office was established in the
fall of 1873, and the town site was platted in 1882. Its namesake
was a director of the Santa Fe railroad. Lakin was Finney County
when it was established in 1884, and after the boundaries of the
counties were moved, the town was in Kearny County in 1887.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Blanchard, Leola Howard. Conquest
of Southwest Kansas: A History and Thrilling Stories of Frontier
Life in the State of Kansas. Wichita, KS: Wichita Eagle Press,
1931.
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