RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kansas >> Elk County >> Longton >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Kansas

The Commemorative Quarter for Kansas





Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Longton (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Longton. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Longton ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Prior to its current name of Longton, it was known as Elk Rapids.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Longton is located in Elk County.

To see how the shape of Kansas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Elk County: Butler, Chautauqua, Cowley, Greenwood, Montgomery & Wilson.

Below are the counties that are near Longton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Longton:

  • Elk County     (The home county of Longton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.
    • Oak Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Upola
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Upola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upola
      • Upola is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Upola
      • From Longton to Upola
    • Busby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Busby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
      • Busby is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Busby
      • From Longton to Busby
    • Elk Falls
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cave Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Howard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Moline
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moline have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
      • Moline is located in Elk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moline <2>
    • Fiat
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fiat. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiat
      • Fiat is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fiat
      • From Longton to Fiat
    • Grenola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Chautauqua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.
    • Hale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
      • Hale is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hale
      • From Longton to Hale
    • Grafton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grafton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
      • Grafton is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grafton
      • From Longton to Grafton
    • Monett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Monett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monett
      • Monett is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Monett
      • From Longton to Monett
    • Sedan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Rogers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rogers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rogers
      • From Longton to Rogers
    • Peru
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peru have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Peru is located in Chautauqua County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
    • Niotaze
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Niotaze have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niotaze
      • Niotaze is located in Chautauqua County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Gibbs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gibbs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs
      • Gibbs is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gibbs
      • From Longton to Gibbs
    • Chautauqua
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Wauneta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wauneta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauneta
      • Wauneta is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wauneta
      • From Longton to Wauneta
    • Jonesburg ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesburg
      • Jonesburg is located in Chautauqua County
    • Layton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Layton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
      • Layton is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Layton
      • From Longton to Layton
  • Cowley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.
    • Grand Summit
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Glen Crouse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glen Crouse. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Crouse
      • Glen Crouse is located in Cowley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glen Crouse
      • From Longton to Glen Crouse
  • Greenwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.
    • Fall River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fall River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
      • Fall River is located in Greenwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fall River <2>
    • Severy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Piedmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piedmont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
      • Piedmont is located in Greenwood County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Piedmont <2>
    • Climax
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Climax have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Climax is located in Greenwood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.
    • Elk City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sycamore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Havana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Havana have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
      • Havana is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
    • Independence
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Caney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
      • Caney is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,948 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caney <2>
    • Tyro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyro have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyro
      • Tyro is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Cherryvale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Dearing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dearing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearing
      • Dearing is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dearing <2>
    • Liberty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.
    • Buxton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lafontaine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • New Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Fredonia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredonia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
      • Fredonia is located in Wilson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fredonia <2>
    • Hilford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hilford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilford
      • Hilford is located in Wilson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hilford
      • From Longton to Hilford
    • Neodesha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Neodesha have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neodesha
      • Neodesha is located in Wilson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Neodesha <2>
    • Benedict Junction
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Coyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Altoona
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Benedict
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Guilford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Guilford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
      • Guilford is located in Wilson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Guilford
      • From Longton to Guilford
    • Brooks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
      • Brooks is located in Wilson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brooks
      • From Longton to Brooks
  • Woodson County
    • Toronto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toronto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toronto
      • Toronto is located in Woodson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toronto <2>

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Longton, see our County-by-County Page for Longton.

Cemeteries Near Longton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Longton.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Longton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Longton had a population of 624 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Longton had a population of 306 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Longton, with the one closest to Longton listed first.

  • Oak Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Upola
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Upola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upola
    • Upola is located in Elk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Upola
    • From Longton to Upola
  • Busby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Busby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
    • Busby is located in Elk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Busby
    • From Longton to Busby
  • Elk Falls
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Cave Springs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Hale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
    • Hale is located in Chautauqua County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hale
    • From Longton to Hale
  • Buxton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Elk City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Howard
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Grafton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grafton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
    • Grafton is located in Chautauqua County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Grafton
    • From Longton to Grafton
  • Moline
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moline have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
    • Moline is located in Elk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moline <2>
  • Lafontaine
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fiat
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fiat. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiat
      • Fiat is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fiat
      • From Longton to Fiat
    • New Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Monett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Monett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monett
      • Monett is located in Chautauqua County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Monett
      • From Longton to Monett

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Longton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Longton.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Longton ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Longton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Longton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Longton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Longton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Longton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Longton:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Longton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Longton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Longton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3781, Longitude: -96.0816    
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Longton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025