Amiot

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      In early 1856 settlers arrived in northwestern Anderson County settling near a high hill known as Mineral Point. It was named Mineral Point because coal deposits had been discovered on the hill. Solomon Kauffman and Joseph J. Ingliss arrived on May 17, 1856. They liked the high terrain giving them a good view and the advantage to see any marauding Indians or pro-slavery raiders arriving in the area.

Some of the early settlers were pro-slavery sympathizers. However, they quickly packed and left the area when they heard John Brown and his men had killed five pro-slavery sympathizers along the Pottawatomie Creek. They returned to Missouri, a pro-slavery state. In August of 1856 Kauffman and Ingliss left and went to Lawrence to enlist in the Free State cause. Otis Dagget and his family left and only two families remained, the Bobiers and the Carls.

     S.S. Tipton had built a large three-story house of local stone with a store, stage stop, and eventually a post office on the first floor and the family lived in the two floors upstairs. Loopholes were made in the stone so the house could be defended against attacking Indians if necessary. The spring of 1857 saw a large immigration of settlers into the neighborhood. On July 4th of the year a large celebration was held on top of the hill where S.S. Tipton lived. It was the first Fourth of July celebration in Anderson County. They celebrated the 4th and organized a military company the same day for protection from hostile Indians.

A post office was established in the stagecoach stop in Tipton’s home September 30, 1862, and Tipton was the first postmaster. Where the letters were placed can still be seen beneath the stairway on the first floor today. The stagecoach line ran through Mineral Point from Leavenworth through Hyatt, Cresco and to Mineral Point and then on to Dodge City. Soon the need for a cemetery arose and in 1878 about a mile north of the stage stop the cemetery was created. About the same time a Presbyterian Church was built next to the cemetery. The cemetery is known as the Amiot or Baird Cemetery. Three miles north of the Mineral Point stagecoach stop and home of Samuel S. Tipton was the beginnings of a small town with the possibility of a railroad.

     Until the coming of the Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota Railroad the area was a quiet farming community. In 1886-1887 when the tracks were laid for the railroad and a siding a new interest for the town occurred. The town was platted and named Mineral Point and moved to the railroad. John Knight built a general store alongside the tracks. The Presbyterian Church was moved from the cemetery north to the town site and the post office was moved from the stage station three miles north to the new town. The post office retained its name of Mineral Point. Business grew and the town flourished. John L. Knight became the railroad agent at the new depot.

     In 1905 the railroad changed the name of the town to Amiot. The post office was known as Mineral Point until 1905 when its name was changed to Amiot also. The post office remained open until 1951 when it was closed.

     In 1964 the only remaining buildings in Amiot was the old schoolhouse and one residence. At the time of this writing the town site of Amiot is now a farmer’s field. No evidence is left indicating a town ever existed.