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History · Barnes

Barnes’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Barnes. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
2recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Barnes was originally called Elm Grove when it was founded in 1870. It was renamed Barnes in 1876 in honor of A. S. Barnes, a stockholder of the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad

Barnes was a station and shipping point on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Barnes’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barnes’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Barnes

See all 2 →
Joe VoglerJoe VoglerPolitics & LawDTDorothy ThomasWriting & Arts
By decade

Barnes, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today2 photos
Barnes, Kansas welcome sign and kingpost bridge 1CommonsBarnes, Kansas welcome sign and kingpost bridge 12015KSMap-doton-BarnesCommonsKSMap-doton-Barnes2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Barnes is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Barnes has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Washington County Kingpost in Lincoln, 5.1 miles away.

Barnes and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Barnes. Tap a dot.
Washington County KingpostWeaver HotelWaterville Opera HouseSamuel Powell HouseAlcove SpringsAlcove Spring (Boundary Increase)

Closest to Barnes

Washington County KingpostLincoln · Structure5.1miWeaver HotelWaterville · Built 19066.8miWaterville Opera HouseWaterville · Building6.8miSamuel Powell HouseWaterville · Building7.3miAlcove SpringsElm Creek · Site10.8mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Washington County Kingpost’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Barnes?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Barnes’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Barnes📜 Little Blue📜 Greenleaf📜 Greenleaf

From Wikimedia Commons (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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