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Webster was an unincorporated community in Belmont Township, Rooks County, Kansas, United States.[1]

Webster, Kansas
Unincorporated community
Webster street scene (est. early 1900s)
KDOT map of Rooks County (legend)
Webster Show map of Kansas Webster Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°23′13″N 99°25′04″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Rooks
Township	Belmont
Founded	late 1870s
Platted	1885
Named for	Daniel Webster
Elevation [1]	1,870 ft (570 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	67669
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-76265 [1]
GNIS ID	484592 [1]

History

The community of Webster was established in the Solomon Valley along the South Fork Solomon River in the late 1870s. Webster was created from two settlements; Webster settled on the north side of the river and Belmont that originated on the south side of the river.

Belmont was founded as a trading post in 1876. Due to flooding, the Belmont settlement was moved across the river adjoining the Webster settlement. Belmont was first to file an application for a post office. The Belmont application was denied as another Kansas town had previously been granted the name. Instead, Webster was granted a post office in 1879.[2]

Webster, named for Daniel Webster, was surveyed, platted and filed in 1885. The town was never incorporated.[3]

In 1888, Webster had two doctors, two churches, a school and 24 businesses. A large city park called The Grove featured towering cottonwood trees. The population in 1910 was 200.[4]

Construction of Webster Dam on the South Fork Solomon River was approved in 1953. Webster Reservoir would encompass the area occupied by the town of Webster. As a result, the town was relocated 2 miles to the southeast. Many businesses and residents chose not to relocate to the new town site.[5]

Geography

Webster is located at 39°23′13″N 99°25′04″W (39.386944, -99.417778) at an elevation of 1,870 feet (570 m).[1] It lies approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south-southeast of Webster Dam in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.[6][7] Webster is 0.3 miles (0.48 km) east of Kansas Highway 258, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of U.S. Route 24, and roughly 8 miles (13 km) west-southwest of Stockton, the county seat.[6]

The original site of Webster was located at 39°24′06″N 99°26′09″W (39.4016756, -99.4359370), a location now submerged beneath Webster Reservoir. The site had an elevation of 1,893 feet (577 m).[1]

Education

Webster High School was closed in 1963. The grade school closed in 1969.[5] The Webster High School mascot was Webster Eagles.

Transportation

Webster lies at the intersection of two unpaved county roads: 11 Road, which runs north-south, and M Terrace, which runs east-west.[6]

References

Further reading

External links

• Rooks County
• Historic Images, Wichita State University Library
• Rooks County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT

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