page_title: Cottonwood Falls, Kansas
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Cottonwood Falls, Kansas / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, as seen from the steps of the Chase County Courthouse
context_page_description: Cottonwood Falls is the biggest city of Chase County, Kansas. It is also the county seat of Chase County. In 2010, 903 people lived there.
context_section_description: The first settlement in the Cottonwood Falls area was in 1854. An Indian trader named Seth Hayes created a cattle ranch on the Cottonwood River. In 1859, the area around the town was organized as Chase County. Cottonwood Falls was chosen to be the temporary county seat. Other early people came in Cottonwood and nearby land from 1856 to 1858.
  The first post office in Cottonwood Falls was created in 1858.  In 1873, the city's French Renaissance style Chase County courthouse was built. Around the same time, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached Cottonwood Falls area. Through the late 19th century and early 20th century the area around the city was mostly farms and cattle ranches.
caption: Looking northward toward the business district, as seen from Courthouse steps (2009)
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