Athol | Bellaire
| Cedarville | Claudell
| Gaylord | Germantown
| Harlan | Kensington
| Lebanon |
Old Salem | Reamsville
| Smith Center | Home
on the Range
Homesteading in Smith County
Smith Center
The Smith Center Townsite Company
chartered the town site in September 1871. The name Smith Centre
was the legal spelling on the charter, but the more common spelling
of Smith Center began in 1873. The first building on the town
site was constructed in May 1872 and used as a boardinghouse.
Other buildings and homes were built that summer and fall, and
in November, there was an election for the county seat. Cedarville
claimed to have won, but the victory was challenged by Smith Centre.
Another election held a year later gave the county seat permanently
to Smith Center.
The post office was established on
January 8, 1873.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Pletcher, Vera Edith Crosby.
"A History of Smith County, Kansas to 1960". Masters
thesis, Kansas State University, 1960.
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