Across the state of Kansas, towns that once existed are long gone, some vanishing with little to no trace.
At the intersection of Lyon and 25th Road, northwest of Parsons, a sign announces to passers-by the “Gone Town of Ladore 1869,” of which nothing remains except the Ladore Cemetery about a half mile from the sign, and the town’s sordid reputation.
Ken Ervin, who loves area history and is a board member of the Parsons Historical Museum, is responsible for erecting the 8-foot by 4-foot sign.
Ervin said a friend of his who lives by Parsons Lake shared stories with him of riding her bike to the Ladore Cemetery as a child. In another conversation, after a museum board meeting, Parsons business owner Casey Doyle told Ervin that he grew up out there and a lot of his relatives are buried in the Ladore Cemetery. The fact the “gone town” still holds meaning for some today inspired him to make the sign.
All the land in that mile section is owned by one man, Ervin said.
“Up a mile from the sign and over a mile is where the post office used to be,” he added.
The Kansas State Historical Society estimates there are about 6,000 such ghost towns, some of which were established and some which never gained footing, except for being a concept on paper. Many of those small towns vanished when the Katy Railroad made its way through the area in the 1870s.
David Beach, author of “How Did the Whiskey Go Down at Ladore?”, said he wished such a sign existed when he was conducting his research of the area, as it took him a while to find it. He was determined, though, as the town filled him with intrigue.
“Tales of Ladore include a mass lynching, a land dispute between townspeople and the Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railroad Co., and the birthplace of the Settlers’ Protective Association of the Osage Ceded Lands,” Beach said in his book.
While these stories live on, Ladore is more than that. “It’s an important part of our local history,” Beach said. “Ladore became Parsons. Sources put the number of buildings that were moved down to Parsons at between 50 and 75. At its birth, Parsons was Ladore, moved 5 miles south.”
So, if you are ever headed north on U.S. 59 from Parsons, make a left on 20th Road and drive three miles, then turn north on Lyon. There you will find the sign that can lead you to the town that lent to the creation of the Parsons.
