Cherokee, KS: Lost/Frisco Depot and Coal Stripping Land Tattoos

(Satellite, the east/west route used to go all the way through town. The depot was in the southwest quadrant.)

Richard Crabtree posted four images with the comment:

Here we are at the Frisco Depot in Cherokee Kansas

Cherokee had its start in the year 1870 by the building of the railroads through that territory. The town was located at the intersection of three railroads: The Memphis, Kansas & Colorado Railroad; The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad; and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was named after Cherokee County, where it was erroneously thought to be located.

Photo 1) Frisco Depot Cherokee Kansas 1909

Photo 2) Frisco Depot Cherokee Kansas Floor Plan MSU DC

Photo 3) Frisco Depot Cherokee Kansas 1954

Photo 4) Cherokee Kansas Map

Jim Kelling shared

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Photo 1) Frisco Depot Cherokee Kansas 1909

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Photo 2) Frisco Depot Cherokee Kansas Floor Plan MSU DC

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Photo 3) Frisco Depot Cherokee Kansas 1954

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Charles Wells: The MOP tracks and depot site are still way East of the downtown area and of course the depot is long gone also! Would love to snoop around the old roundhouse area and see if anything could me seen or found, if I did not get arrested or shot! Could use a good camera drone at least I suppose as winter, especially with a good frost on the ground is the best time to see such old things! The old coal loading spur has no recognizable traces now that I have noticed. That road is now US400 highway that it crossed!

Charles Wells: What a nice depot it was but was torn down when I was first thru there in the 1970.s! I would guess it was torn down in the last 1960's, after the last Frisco passenger trains passed by! What a shame! Thank you for sharing all your wonderful information and photos with us!

Frisco acquired the north/south and the east/west routes through town.

1945/45 Cherokee Quad @ 62,500

While looking at a satellite map, I noticed the land tattoos of coal strip mining in the area. That probably explains why there were so many railroads in the area.

Satellite

When I looked some more, there was a bunch of coal-stripping action further north. There is an active land scar south of KS-126 and a little east of KS-7. But that appears to be a quarry.

Satellite

There was more action west and south of Cherokee. In fact, to the southwest is a textbook example of what I call meta land tattoos.

Satellite