History

  • The friendly community of Jetmore, Kansas has been in existence since 1879. It was first known as Buckner but then later was changed to Jetmore in honor of a Topeka lawyer who helped the town become the county seat of Hodgeman County. On March 25, 1882, Elizabeth and T.S. Haun platted and laid out the original Town Site, 16 blocks in the NW¼ Sec. 6, Township 23S, Range 23W. The Hauns later platted “Haun’s Addition” which included a row of blocks around the original 16, making 36 blocks in all.
  • The first Post Office was established on May 20, 1880 with W.A. Frush as postmaster. Equipment was moved from Hodgeman Center, a town a few miles east of Jetmore.
  • The City of Jetmore was incorporated as a third class city on May 3, 1887 with C.E. Roughton elected the first mayor.
  • The first telephone system was started February 19, 1904. On July 14, 1910 the first flagpole on the west side of the Court House Square was dedicated with an appropriate ceremony put on by the Civil War Veterans.
  • The first building on the town site was the stone house on the West side of Main St. in Block 1. This building still stands and is now part of the Haun Museum. The second building was a small frame building which was moved in on skids from Hodgeman Center. This building was used to house the county offices. The third building was a stone building on the East side of main across from the present Haun Museum. The town well was dug at the point of intersection of Main and Highway streets. This well with curb, rope and buckets was used for drawing water for house use and watering teams. The well is still there, covered over by a large flat rock over which the pavement was laid. Supposedly, the well is in the exact center of the quarter section where the original town of Jetmore is located.
  • The first school term was taught in 1883 with 3 students and Miss Mina Gordon as the teacher. The second term was in a building on Main St. and still another on the creek bank near the old light plant. In the fall and winter of 1885-86 the Stone School Building was erected and used for many years. It also housed church services, literary societies, debates, and many other functions.
  • Jetmore was prosperous in the late 1880’s. Many limestone buildings, including the stone Court House were erected. A real estate advertisement in 1889 boasts of three hotels, two banks, three restaurants, four general stores, three drug stores, three lumber yards, three blacksmith shops, one carriage shop, an implement store, three millinery shops, two hardware stores, three grocery stores, one clothing store, two feed stores, three weekly newspapers, five real estate agencies, several livery barns, barber shops and furniture stores.