Editing Palco, Kansas (section)

==History==
Palco was established in 1888 by [[Union Pacific Railroad]] as a [[train depot]] on a newly formed line. The town was given the name Palco as a portmanteau for railroad officials Palmer and Cole.

The [[US Post Office|post office]] was moved from the nearby town of [[Cresson, Kansas|Cresson]].<ref name=Rydjord>{{cite book|last=Rydjord|first=John|title=Kansas Place-Names|year=1972|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press, Norman|page=452|isbn=0-8061-0994-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 | publisher = Kansas Historical Society | url = https://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/placename:Cresson| accessdate = 20 December 2016}}</ref> Cresson (named for [[Cresson, Pennsylvania]]) was granted a [[US Post Office|post office]] in 1879. In 1887, rumors circulated that the railroad would lay track 1-1/2 miles to the south of Cresson. Many citizens and businesses abandoned Cresson to form the community of New Cresson along the expected railroad route. When the railroad track was laid it curved to the north missing New Cresson. The town was soon abandoned. An ironic twist is that the northern route of the track passed near the original town of Cresson.<ref>Palco Kansas Centennial September 1988, 1988, p.19.</ref>

In 1893, Palco was nearly wiped out by a prairie fire. The fire originated in [[Graham County, Kansas|Graham County]] and consumed thousands of acres along with [[farmsteads]] and [[livestock]] in Graham, Rooks, Ellis and Russell Counties before being extinguished. Seven people lost their lives in the blaze.<ref>"Prairie Fires", The Plainville Times, 16 March 1893, p.1.</ref>

Palco filed for [[Incorporation (municipal government)|incorporation]] as a third class city in 1906 and elected Robert Kirkendall as [[mayor]].<ref>"Palco to Celebrate 100 Years of Exciting History this Weekend", Plainville Times, 1 September 1988, p.6 .</ref>

Fire again struck Palco in 1923, destroying many businesses along Main Street including the hotel, post office, real estate office and a doctor's office.<ref>"Big Fire at Palco", Plainville Times, 15 February 1923, p.1 .</ref>