Elwood, Kansas: The Town That Almost Beat Saint Joseph

Across the Missouri River from Saint Joseph sits the town of Elwood, Kansas, and for a few years in the late eighteen fifties it looked like Elwood might win the competition. A trading post had existed at this spot since eighteen fifty-two. In eighteen fifty-six, the site was sold and a town was laid out, named Elwood after a local pioneer settler.

A large hotel opened, and the population climbed quickly. Elwood incorporated in eighteen sixty. And then the Missouri River started eating the town.

The river's shifting banks and floods took a toll, discouraging investment and letting Saint Joseph pull away for good. Today Elwood is a small Kansas river town, a footnote to the Pony Express story playing out just across the water.