Walker is an unincorporated community in Herzog Township, Ellis County, Kansas, United States.[1] It is located between Hays and Russell, along old Hwy 40 on the north side of I-70.[2] Walker has a post office with ZIP code 67674.[3]

Walker, Kansas
Unincorporated community
KDOT map of Ellis County (legend)
Walker Show map of Kansas Walker Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°52′02″N 99°04′33″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Ellis
Founded	1872
Named for	Robert J. Walker
Elevation [1]	1,942 ft (592 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	67674
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-74675 [1]
GNIS ID	475301 [1]

History

Settlers from Ohio founded Walker in 1872.[4] They likely named the settlement for Robert J. Walker, the 4th Territorial Governor of Kansas.[5] From 1876 to 1878, they were joined by Volga German immigrants and Plattdeutsch-speaking Germans from Ohio and Kentucky who settled in the area.[4]

The first post office in Walker opened in 1873, closed temporarily in 1876, and then reopened in 1878.[6] St. Ann's Church was built and dedicated in 1905. The community's first school was built in 1893, followed by a second building in 1925. The school has since closed but remains in use as a community center.[4]

In 1942, the U.S. Army built Walker Army Airfield northwest of Walker. During World War II, thousands were stationed at the airfield, mostly for training in operation of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber aircraft. The military closed the base in 1946.[7]

Construction of Interstate 70 reached Walker in 1966, passing immediately south of the community.

Geography

Walker is located at 38°52′02″N 99°04′33″W (38.8672339, -99.0759271) at an elevation of 1,942 feet (592 m).[1] It lies approximately 1.5 miles (2.3 km) west of Walker Creek, part of the Smoky Hill River watershed, in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.[8][9] Walker is immediately north of Interstate 70 roughly 13 miles (21 km) east of Hays, the county seat.[9]

Transportation

Walker Avenue, a paved county road, runs north–south through Walker, intersecting Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40, which run concurrently east-west, immediately south of town.[9] The old alignment of U.S. 40, now a paved county road, runs northeast–southwest through Walker.[10]

The Kansas Pacific (KP) line of the Union Pacific Railroad runs northeast–southwest through Walker, parallel to the old alignment of U.S. 40.[9][11]

See also

• Walker Army Airfield, an abandoned World War II airfield.

References

Further reading

External links

• Ellis County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT