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amp atchison topeka Bill Doolin Bob Dalton boom boom town brick brick streets business in town bustling town Chautauqua County Corn county creepy side Elgin ghost Ghost Town history Hwy hwy 99 jog Kansas kansas state line L. P. Getman last business line Margaret masonic lodge oil oklahoma old water picnic piece pocket Rev. S. Peacock right s cafe Santa Fe school house self shipping town state Stephen King time Topeka town water tower wear wind wind storm
Although Elgin may not qualify as an Oklahoma ghost town it might be just close enough. Elgin sits right on the Oklahoma & Kansas state line. Just a quick jog off of Hwy 99 north & you will find your self in a deserted pocket of a once bustling town.
Elgin is a piece of American history that has slipped away with time. The weathered and broken buildings with so many tales to tell…..the brick streets worn from years of wear, old and scraggly trees that break with each wind storm.
Around the turn of the century Elgin was the biggest cattle shipping town in the world and it was a boom town again later when oil was found. Now the last business in town, Margaret’s Cafe, is closed and the sign outside it that announced “the town too tough to die” has been taken down & relocated in front of the community bldg, one of the only modern bldgs in the town.
Bob Dalton and Bill Doolin among other outlaw types were often
visitors to this wild town. After cattle ceased to be the main industry,
oil was found and they had a boom that lasted until 1924. The town hit on hard times after that and has never recovered.
The oldest town in Chautauqua County, once had a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 10 miles southwest of Sedan, the county seat. It had banking facilities, telegraph and express offices, and a money order post office. The town was supplied with good schools and churches. The first preaching in the county was held here by Rev. S. Peacock. The first school house in the county, as well as the first store, the first mill, and the first Masonic lodge, was at Elgin. The town was founded in 1869 by L. P. Getman. The population according to the 1910 report was 350. As of 2009 only 75 populate the area.
Very little is left except for an abandoned bank, a few shops, & an old water tower which isn’t in use anymore.
My Family & I personally visited the town of Elgin and it was a little bit on the creepy side. After a quick visit to the cemetery north of the town we stopped at a small park for a picnic. We were in awe of how quiet it was. There was not even the serene sound of birds chirping. In fact the feeling was almost as if we were in a scene of Stephen King’s “Children of the Corn” as we felt we were being watched. We were the Outlanders!
We had actually only seen 3 people while we were there. They gawked & looked on as we had our picnic. After a tour down the lonely “Grand Ave” for a couple of shots of the crumbling shops we made a few more rounds of the streets to see if we missed anything & we had just about had our fill of loneliness & exited the town headed south across the amazing one lane Caney river bridge.
By- psychosaw13
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I was last in Elgin about 1978 doing some telephone line construction with my father. We had lunch at Margaret’s, decent cheeseburger, fries and the little bottles of Coke as I recall. There were quite a few old cars strewn about the town that I would like to have bought, but could never find who owned them. Also some old old equipment if memory serves me right.
A lot has changed in thirty years. It certainly looks much more bleak than it did 30 odd years ago. Thanks for the visit.
Thanks for posting. I used to work at Sedan and have been through Chautauqua quite a few times. I never made it over to Elgin though. Maybe someday. Looks like it may be too tough to die, but it’s on life support.
Interesting video but sad! I’ve photographed much of Kansas but never made it to Elgin. As a retired professional photographer I loved living in Kansas. It’s richness in history is surpassed by few others. You can view my historical photos at:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=rthorne2
Last fall we explored the cemetery, but never ventured in to the downtown area.
My husband and I live in Tulsa and for the last 6yrs have spent many weekends and free time in Elgin and the surrounding area. We bought property there and wouldn’t trade it for anything. My husband calls it “paradise lost”. The river, the land and the serenity of Elgin is priceless. Thank you for doing such a great job of capturing the timeless pictures and video.
i was born in Bartlesville and spent early childhood in Sedan.
Elgin was the closest town to my grandparents ranch, the Fred Bowman Bar F.
i spent many summers there. we used to go to the movie there on
Saturday night, this on an empty, grassy lot with everyone sitting on blankets, the film projected onto a stretched bed sheet. i
remember that almost everyone there hand cranked their own ice cream and i could just wander about shopping for peach.
as long as someone is still alive who remembers, Elgin will never die.
I Live n elgin i have lived there for about 4 years and its a ghost town as you can see not very many people live there. ITS A town to tough to die
I still go to the Methodist Church in Elgin we have service every Sunday at 8:00 am. You missed the stain glass windows inside the Church. It is open all you have to do is walk in. When I was a boy, 1945 and up we went to Elgin on Saturday night for a movie on the side of one of the building and the adults dances at the Grange Hall. Fond memories of busy Elgin.
Enjoyed..I was raised in Elgin..population at that time was around 88..probably still the close to the same..The Methodist church in this video was across from our home..both my parents funerals were held there..were you aware that in 1800’s Elgin was the largest cattle shipping center in the country and if I remember right in the world..the Dalton gang hid in a cave about 3 mile west of Elgin..as kids we use to climb the steep hill to the cave..thanks for sharing..nice keepsake..
Wonderful memories. Lived in Elgin from 1951-1957 with my grandparents. Both now buried in the Elgin cemetary, having their funerals at the Methodist church there. Some of these homes look like my grandparents home today that was flooded out in 1986. Still own 4 city lots on Cherokee avenue across the street from my grandparents home site. I wish someone would point me to someone who could help get this Methodist church on the Kansas historical sites list. The 4′x 8′ stained glass windows, all different scenes of Jesus’s life on earth, are just spectacular and should be maintained as long as there is a state of Kansas. I was there last spring on the Memorial Day week, looking around and seeing who and what I could see there. The towns people who are left do a wonderful job of keeping the Methodist church and cemetary maintained, but I fear it won’t be long before there is noone there at all.
I visited Elgin as a small child of about 8, when my parents took me to visit my two cousins who lived there at the time. Growing up in a “small town” in California (about 30,000), I was mesmerized by this small community of about 90 people. It was incredibly beautiful — peaceful and quiet. My fondest and strongest memory is of some of the streets paved in cobblestone and the way the residents parked when they went to town. They stopped where they were in the street, parked and went in to the shop they were visiting. My dad was amazed as he had to manuever around some of these “parked cars”. It was remembered with fondness for many years in my family.
My wife and I just spent 3 weeks crossing America. Looking for my ancesters. Found my grand parents marriage lic. 1897 in Sedan. I have a picture of my grand father. He is wearing a Mason uniform, it was taken in Elgin approximately 1890. I could not believe it was taken there until I read your history of Elgin. Thank you, it has helped alot. Will have to go back there next year just to visit.