Editing Augusta, Kansas (section)

===19th century===
The confluence of the [[Whitewater River (Kansas)|Whitewater River]] and the [[Walnut River]] was originally inhabited by [[Osage Nation|Osage people]], who found the land ideal for hunting and fishing.

In 1868, C. N. James settled in the area and built a [[log cabin]] to serve also as a general store and trading post. Around that same time, a post office was established in the settlement, and as the first postmaster, C. N. James named the post office and the town in honor of his wife, Augusta James.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_h3YUAAAAYAAJ | title=History of Butler County Kansas | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Mooney, Vol. P. | year=1916 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_h3YUAAAAYAAJ/page/n94 95]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county:BU |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 (archived) |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |access-date=5 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009125851/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county%3ABU |archive-date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20150121024235/http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Historic-letters-found-in-Augusta--289221651.html Historic letters found in Augusta; KAKE tv; January 20, 2015.]</ref>

In 1877, the [[Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company]] built a branch line from [[Florence, Kansas|Florence]] to [[El Dorado, Kansas|El Dorado]]. In 1881 it was extended to [[Douglass, Kansas|Douglass]], and later to [[Arkansas City, Kansas|Arkansas City]].<ref>''Marion County Kansas : Past and Present''; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; [[LCCN]] 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972.</ref> The rail line was leased and operated by the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]. Service from [[Florence, Kansas|Florence]] to [[El Dorado, Kansas|El Dorado]] was abandoned in 1942.<ref name="Abandon Railway 1942">[http://www.abandonedrails.com/Florence_to_El_Dorado Railway Abandonment 1942]</ref> The original branch line connected [[Florence, Kansas|Florence]], [[Burns, Kansas|Burns]], [[De Graff, Kansas|De Graff]], [[El Dorado, Kansas|El Dorado]], Augusta, [[Douglass, Kansas|Douglass]], [[Rock, Kansas|Rock]], [[Akron, Kansas|Akron]], [[Winfield, Kansas|Winfield]], [[Arkansas City, Kansas|Arkansas City]]. In 2020, the Santa Fe (now BNSF) still maintains tracks through Augusta at the 301 E. Fifth St. headquarters, a brick depot constructed in 1916–1917.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bnsf.com/|title=BNSF Railway}}</ref> The St. Louis & San Francisco (Frisco) Railroad established a depot in Augusta in 1880, serving both passengers and freight. Passenger service ended in 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/resource/national_register/nominationsNRDB/Butler_AugustaFriscoDepotSR.pdf|title=Register of Historic Kansas Places}}</ref>