Happy New Year 2015! - Saffordville

Happy New Year everyone! Before I get into this town, I would like to give everyone a not-very-lengthy list of websites I have provided input into over my ten years of Exploring Kansas.
My Flickr Page - I am gradually putting my old 4X6 photos I have stockpiled from my old road trips onto my Flickr site. I'm almost done, and now have more than 1,600 photos of Kansas Towns I'd like to share with you.
GhostTowns.com - Kansas -  I have put a few towns into this long list of Ghost Towns in Kansas. There's not a lot of good information on this site though.
My Article on this town through Kansas State University - There's a reason I'm choosing this town as my first of 2015. Most of the information online about it was written by me.

Saffordville is located in far eastern Chase County, in the Cottonwood River valley. It's located just a half-mile south of US-50, although all you can see from the highway is an old falling-apart tin grain elevator and the elevated railroad line. But the story of this town is why I've become fascinated with it ever since I visited it first in 2007.

Mapquest view of Saffordville. Google Maps wouldn't remove the stupid "labels" that got in the way of showing the town's old street network, so I went to Mapquest instead. US-50 is at the very top of the picture. Old US-50 parallels the railroad.

Upon visiting Saffordville in 2007, there was something strange about the town. The town's road network was still largely intact and driveable, but there were nearly no buildings. There were a few scattered ruins, a couple old outbuildings and old sidewalks, but no major buildings. But the fact that the town's road network still remained fascinated me. Going down these eerie empty streets gave the town a true Ghost Town feeling I just hadn't felt before. And so, when I entered my Lost Kansas Communities class at Kansas State University in Spring 2013 and we were assigned to write about a Ghost Town, I chose Saffordville. And after finding the history about this town, I can now say that Saffordville is now my favorite Ghost Town in all of Kansas (so far).

The town has become very overgrown, and while little is left, the most notable ruin is this burnt shell of an old business, the last remnant of a business building in the town.

Saffordville was founded as Safford in 1872 along the already-established Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. When mail was accidentally being sent there addressed for the city of Stafford, in Stafford County, the town changed it's name briefly to Kenyon, before returning to Safford and then becoming Saffordville in 1888. The town reached 200 people by 1910, and had quite a few businesses, including a bank.

This photo of a bustling downtown Saffordville was taken around the turn of the century.

The town started to go downhill during the Great Depression, as the bank closed and people began moving away, but there were still about 100 people left in the little town when disaster hit. And, as it is well-known throughout eastern Kansas, that disaster was the Great Flood of 1951.

This aerial photo of Saffordville taken just two days after the Great Flood of 1951 shows the stunning aftermath of the flood. The entire town was covered with up to five feet of water and destroyed, except for the school, which sat on higher ground.

Saffordville sits just a mile north of the Cottonwood River in the heart of the Flint Hills. It wasn't the only town to be heavily affected by the flood, as every town along the river in the county - Elmdale, Clements, and of course Cottonwood Falls - suffered damage as well, but because the entire village sat in a little square area, the entire village was destroyed by the floodwater. Most people didn't rebuild; they moved to higher ground in the nearby town of Toledo, which still remains today as a small collection of houses. The post office stayed open another six years before closing in 1957, and the school continued to serve the surrounding rural area until consolidating in 1966. By that time Saffordville was a Ghost Town.

The town's old school is still in good condition and is still in use as a community building.

Today three buildings are standing in Saffordville: the town's old school, still in use as a community building, and two houses, both occupied. All three buildings sit close together on the south side of the Ghost Town. A number of ruins are visible in the overgrowth on ZZ Road, which is the main road through town.

The ruins of a house sit in the overgrowth in the old town.

It's possible that another bad flood struck the area and pushed the house off its foundation, the remnants of which can be seen here.

When I visited in 2007, the town's road network, albeit reduced to dirt and grass strips, was still driveable.

This strange building skeleton sits on the northwest side of the old town.

Just across the street from the odd building remnant, a peek of old sidewalk still remains in the heavy overgrowth.

Unfortunately, upon my return to the town in 2013 for my class project, I found that the old streets had been fenced off from the road and "No Trespassing" signs were posted on the gates. Which makes sense because surely someone owns the land now and they have made it private property.

A few trees and other miscellaneous markers still remain on the east side of ZZ Road. There used to be buildings here.

Old US-50 still exists as a narrow concrete road that parallels the railroad. This impressive abandoned grain elevator sits along it just before you reach the intersection with ZZ Road (and new US-50). I would imagine the elevator fell out of use shortly after the flood as well.

Saffordville is a Ghost Town that must not only be visited, but carefully analyzed and explored, to learn just how a town can grow, flourish, and then become a Ghost Town in an instant. If you're ever in eastern Chase County, check it out. Look at the old empty lots. Imagine a town of 200 people here, and then imagine it under five feet of water. It's sad.
There will be no Ghost Town Of The Week on January 4th, so enjoy this post and go check out Saffordville. I'll be back with a new Ghost Town on January 11th!