Rock, Kansas

Rock is an unincorporated community in Cowley County, Kansas, United States. Rock is located at .

History

19th century
The post office was established August 12, 1870. The nearby Bucher Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1877, the Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from Florence to El Dorado, in 1881 it was extended to Douglass, and later to Arkansas City.  The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.  The line from Florence to El Dorado was abandoned in 1942.  The original branch line connected Florence, Burns, De Graff, El Dorado, Augusta, Douglass, Rock, Akron, Winfield, Arkansas City.

20th century
On Aug 24, 1978, the town was evacuated when a major oxidizer spill at a Titan II ICBM site (533-7) 2.5 miles south of the town.  The spill resulted in the deaths of 2 airmen that were based out of the 381st Strategic Missile Wing, McConnell Air Force Base, approximately 20 miles away.

21st century
In 2010, the Keystone XL Pipeline was constructed about 2.5 miles west of Rock, north to south through Butler County, with much controversy over tax exemption and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs).  A pumping station named Rock was built along the pipeline.

References

Further reading
County
 History of Cowley County Kansas; D.A. Millington / E.P. Greer; Winfield Courier; 162 pages; 1901. (Download 16MB PDF eBook)
Kansas
 History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
 Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook), (Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)

External links
 History of Rock, Kansas
 Keystone Oil Pipeline, Detailed system map (near Rock)

Category:Unincorporated communities in Cowley County, Kansas
Category:Unincorporated communities in Kansas