Thompsonville, Kansas facts for kids
Thompsonville is a small, undeveloped area in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. It's called an "unincorporated community" because it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town.
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History of Thompsonville
Early Mormon Settlement (1851)
Thompsonville began in 1851. A group of Mormon settlers decided to make their home here. They chose not to follow the main group led by Brigham Young. That larger group was traveling all the way to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah.
One of these early settlers was Emily Trask Cutler. She was the daughter of Alpheus Cutler, who started a different religious group called the Cutlerite sect. Emily did not go with the main Mormon group to Utah. It's possible these settlers had different ideas about some church practices. It's also possible they simply felt there was no need to travel so far west. New lands were available in the Kansas Territory, and the area was looking for new settlers.
Challenges and Changes
The Mormon settlement in Thompsonville did not last very long. Emily Cutler Kimball died soon after they settled there and was buried in the area. Two other Mormon women also died there. Their gravestones could still be seen until the mid-1960s.
Within a few years, some of the settlers moved to Utah. This was partly because of the violence happening in Kansas at the time, known as Bleeding Kansas. Other settlers might have decided to stay and become part of the local community.
Thompsonville is Renamed (1865)
The community got its current name, Thompsonville, in 1865. A man named C. L. Thompson built a mill on the same spot where the old Mormon settlement had been. Later, in 1878, a post office was opened in Thompsonville. C. T. Tolles was the first postmaster.
Geography of Thompsonville
Thompsonville is located right by the Delaware River. It is about 11 miles (17.5 kilometers) southwest of Oskaloosa. Oskaloosa is the main town, or "county seat," for Jefferson County. Thompsonville is also about 3 miles (5 kilometers) northwest of Perry. The community covers a small part of Kentucky Township.
