Cresco

Cresco, a Ghost Town in Anderson County

The Cresco Town Company was formed May 16, 1857, John S. Robinson, William C. Howard and Solomon Kauffman. All three men lived Reeder Township in the Mineral Point neighborhood. For their town they claimed the southwest quarter, of Section 21 and the northwest quarter of Section 28, Township 20, Range 18.

After filing the plat in the district land office during the summer buildings were erected. William C. Howard put in a blacksmith shop and a wagon wheel shop was built by James C. Kelso. The town company set up a steam sawmill on Pottawatomie Creek. The post office established was the second post office post office in Anderson County and William C. Howard was the postmaster.

The town was a stage stop between Hyatt and the Mineral Point Stage stop on the Leavenworth to Dodge City Line. The town became the voting precinct for the township in September 1857 because of its more central location. The voting precinct was moved to Central City in the fall of 1859. This move occurred when many of the residents of the Cresco neighborhood caught the “Pike’s Peak Gold Fever” and left for Colorado in the spring of 1859.