Ghost Town of the Week: Week of November 23rd, 2014: Delavan

As this is my fifth town posted on this blog, you might notice that all the towns I post have little to no information on them online. I do this on purpose because there are many Kansas Ghost Towns that get a lot of coverage on Ghost Town websites or other blogs, and I have visited many of these places and liked them, but because someone has already written about one of these towns, I feel like I shouldn't just duplicate their information and tell you something you already know. Kansas has thousands of Ghost Towns, and many of them that don't get as much coverage are still worth visiting and checking out, like Delavan.

The town's old railroad sign welcomes you to this very tiny hamlet on US-56. It sits in front of the old school, now used as a community building.

Delavan is in the far western part of Morris County and located right on US-56. You can drive through this town in 20 seconds flat without even speeding, and you won't notice much, because there's not much left. I would imagine less than 20 people are left in this little place. But it's actually a cool ghost town with several good ruins.

A rural fire station is the only active business left in town. This building sits just south of US-56.

The only information I can find online about Delavan is that it was founded in 1885, it had 58 people in 1910, and its post office closed in 1992. Most of the town has been replaced by overgrown trees, a few farms in the area bloat the population slightly, but there's not a whole lot left.

Looking north down the town's old main street. US-56 is in the middle. Downtown is almost completely gone except for a large foundation just out of the picture and...

I believe this was the town's bank. It's obviously been burned, but is the most impressive ruin in the town.

There are a few scattered ruins in the town. My favorite was the looming abandoned grain elevator that sits next to an abandoned railroad (with the tracks long gone) on the south side of town.

Actually, I think there are two elevators. The one on the right is so heavily rusted it's orange!

Delavan is one of the easiest-accessible Ghost Towns I have been to. US-56 literally cuts right through the middle of town. If you are ever passing through and you like visiting Ghost Towns, take a couple minutes and explore Delavan. You'll like it.