Homesteading in Finney County

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.