White Cloud Kansas - Not Quite Ghostly

White Cloud, Kansas

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Vintage White Cloud, courtesy Wichita

State University

The only evident industry in White Cloud is a grain elevator, where grain is still shipped downriver on barges to St. Joseph, Kansas City and St. Louis. There are no open retail businesses, but the bank and the post office hang on.

White Cloud is not quite a "ghost,” as the population has maintained at about 200 for the last decade. However, it is easy to see that its prime is long past, as evidenced by the abandoned stores on Main Street and the “closed” signs hanging in the windows. Still, this quiet little town, seemingly unaffected by the passing of time, is a lovely place to visit and get away from the hassles of the city.

For two weekends each year, on the weekend that includes the 1st Sunday in May, and the weekend that includes the 1st Sunday in September, the streets of White Cloud are again busy. The small, near ghost town, is overwhelmed by visitors to the famous White Cloud Flea market, which has been named one of the "10 best flea markets in the Nation" by McCall’s magazine.

For a few days, the old main street again is crowded with traders and customers, only to return the next day to a sleepy little village, with nothing more than a few bits of trash blowing down the empty street.

The Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska retains the rights to 2,100 acres of reservation, which straddles northeast Kansas and southeast Nebraska. The tribal headquarters are located just west of White Cloud. The tribe has engaged in gaming operations with the opening of a casino in 1998.

Hunting and fishing are abundant in the area, but much of the surrounding land is on the reservation and visitors should check with the tribe for permission and regulations.

In the nearby town of Highland, Kansas is the Native American Heritage Museum, which exhibits information and items of the Iowa Tribe. Housed in the old Iowa, Sac and Fox Mission building, the Museum is operated by the Kansas State Historical Society.

In early 2003, the Kansas Department of Transportation designated Highway K-7 from Leavenworth to the Kansas/Nebraska border as the Glacial Hills Scenic Byway. White Cloud is one of four communities along the byway.

Contact Information:

Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
Route 1, Box 58A
White Cloud, Kansas 66094
Phone: 785-595-3258

Native American Heritage Museum
Highland, Kansas
Phone: 785-442-3304

Doniphan County Chamber of Commerce

1-913-365-2604

White Cloud Flea Market, September, 2004, Kathy Weiser

The White Cloud Flea Market is held two weekends each year, on the weekend that includes the 1st Sunday in May, and the weekend that includes the 1st Sunday in September

Directions to White Cloud:

From the junction of Highways K-7 and US-36, take K-7 North to White Cloud

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Kelly's was once the General Store where plays were

performed upstairs, Kathy Weiser, November, 2003.

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This Main Street Building was formerly Joe Gormley's

Grocery. Before that it was the train depot which was moved

from near the railroad tracks to its present spot.

Kathy Weiser, November, 2003

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Old Building on Main Street, Kathy Weiser,

November, 2003.

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A passing traveler takes time for a rest at the abandoned telephone building. Kathy Weiser, November, 2003.

National Register of Historical Places in White Cloud, Kansas

White Cloud Historic District, bounded by Poplar, 6^th, Chestnut streets and K-7. Period of significance: 1850-1949.
Dorland Building, Main Street. Period of significance: 1850-1874
Poulet House, between 1^st and 2^nd streets. Period of significance: 1875-1899
White Cloud School on the southwest corner of 5^th and Main streets.

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Time stands still in White Cloud, Kansas. Kathy

Weiser, November, 2003.

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