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Security State Bank Wichita County Historical Society

Leoti, Kansas

Leoti, Kansas

April, 1885, a company of men in Garden City, conceived the idea of crossing the long stretch of prairie lying to the northward and starting a town, which, in their minds, was soon to rival Chicago in commercial importance. Surveys were made and within a half mile of the exact geographical center of Wichita County a town site was laid out and improvements at once began. This embryo city was very aptly called Leoti (Prairie Flower).

The early history of Leoti, if truthfully written, would fill a volume of interesting and exciting reading. The cowboy raids, the drunken revels and the hotly contested county seat fight, culminating in the memorable shooting affair at Coronado on Sunday morning, February 11, 1887, marked an epoch in her history which in its way, has never been paralleled.


Wichita County has 14,196 acres of walk-in hunting.

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Museum of the Great Plains

Learn about the famed Leoti/Coronado County Seat Fight of 1887. We have a large collection of violins, Marion Bonner fossils, and pioneer and old west artifacts.

Leoti, KS Museums


Wichita County Courthouse

The Wichita County Courthouse was built in 1916. The beautiful sculpture of Leoti, Prairie Flower, can be admired in the foreground of the Courthouse Square. Make sure to visit inside to see displays and historical photos.

Leoti, KS Historic Courthouses

Depot at Selkirk

The Shallow Water Depot will hopefully find its permanent setting at Selkirk, Kansas, after making its fifth move in over a hundred and thirteen years and restored as it would have looked in 1887. The building had to be sold and removed from it?

Leoti, KS Railroad History

Selkirk Hand Dug Well

The old well is the only remnent of a once busy Santa Fe Railroad of the Great Bend Division in western Kansas. The hand-dug well has been beautifully preserved, being 110 years old. It is 24 feet in diameter and 102

Leoti, KS Landmarks

Things to do near Leoti, KS

Rural Artwork

These metal collages form two gateways between the fencing in rural Protection east on Highway 9. ...