What is Lone Elm, Kansas?
'''Lone Elm''' is a city in [[Anderson County, Kansas|Anderson County]], [[Kansas]], [[United States]]. Lone Elm, Kansas, located in Lone Elm Township of southeast Anderson County, is officially extinct because it no longer has a post office. However, as of the 2020 census, its population was 27.<ref>Kathy Weiser-Alexander, owner/editor, Legends of America, <nowiki>https://www.legendsofamerica.com</nowiki>.</ref> In 1873, Isaac K. Reeve arrived in Anderson County from Pennsylvania, looking for suitable land to settle. His sister and husband, J.B. Rhodes family, lived near Elizabethtown, southeast of Colony. Reeve purchased several hundred acres of land from the railroad for $1.50 to $2.50 per acre, where Lone Elm is located today. After purchasing property, he returned to Pennsylvania to marry Hannah Louisa Winters, and they returned and built a home a half mile southwest of Lone Elm. A post office called Lone Elm was established near Reeve’s home on March 14, 1879, and he became the first postmaster. It was named for a nearby lone elm tree. When the St. Louis and Emporia Railroad passed through Reeve’s land, he and his wife platted a town in May 1886. The new town was named Reeve, and the post office moved to the new town. However, because the post office was named Lone Elm, the town’s name was changed to Lone Elm. Reeve erected several buildings in Lone Elm to encourage businesses to move into town. The railroad ran along the south side of town, and a stockyard was built on the north side of the tracks. Lone Elm became a shipping center for livestock, grain, and hay. Before Lone Elm became a town, the Walker schoolhouse was to the north, and another school was south of the townsite. One of the school buildings was moved into town and became Lone Elm District No. 67. A mile and a half northeast of Lone Elm was a town called Equity. This place expected the railroad to run through it. However, most homes and buildings were moved to Lone Elm or Kincaid when it didn’t. As the small town grew, it soon boasted