Source notes, without the broken links.
This page holds the evidence behind timeline entries whose strongest source is a PDF, archived document, local-history image or page that does not reliably open on every phone. Direct PDF/download links are intentionally omitted. Browser-safe source pages are linked when they have been verified to open.
Louisburg Historic Preservation Commission — History Hunt
The City's Historic Preservation Commission History Hunt answers were reviewed during the timeline audit. They support the 1865 school-district date, the 1868 history of 120 S. Broadway, the 1926–1992 Louisburg Rural High School dates and the 1947 Skelly-station identification at 408 W. Amity. The original answer sheet is a City document/PDF, so the timeline routes here instead of forcing a download.
November 10, 1868 — Louisburg is laid out
Cutler's 1883 county history says the town was started on November 10, 1868, when Charles Sims, Dr. R. F. Steger and D. L. Peery surveyed and laid it out. The City of Louisburg still identifies November 10 as the community's founding day.
1865 / 1926 / 1992 — Louisburg schools
Historic Preservation Commission research says the Louisburg School District was formally organized in 1865. Louisburg Rural High School opened in 1926, and students attended there until 1992, when a new high school opened east on Amity. The same chronology is preserved in an HPC-authorized historical geocache using research from Robert Ebenstein Jr./USD 416 and the Louisburg Historical Society.
1868 — 120 S. Broadway
The City History Hunt identifies 120 S. Broadway as standing since 1868. A separate commercial-property record also lists 1868 as the year built, giving the date an independent cross-check.
c. 1875 — town shifts south of the railroad
The City of Louisburg's Bright Future Comprehensive Plan describes the railroad dividing the early settlement and businesses and homes moving south of the tracks toward today's downtown around 1875. The plan is a PDF/document source, so the public timeline does not link directly to the file.
1876 — Louisburg and Miami Herald
The paper's audited name is Louisburg and Miami Herald, established July 4, 1876. One town-history line in the Cutler transcription reads “Louisville and Miami Herald,” but the same 1883 volume's biography of founder Emanuel F. Heisler says he started the Louisburg and Miami Herald on July 4, 1876. The 1880 U.S. Census newspaper catalogue independently lists “Louisburg and Miami Herald” in Miami County with an 1876 establishment year. The conflicting “Louisville” wording is therefore treated as a transcription/source variant, not the newspaper's name.
1881 — Clark House / Park House
Cutler's 1883 history is the period source: W. H. Tawney built the fine brick hotel in 1881 for $5,000; it was called the Clark House and could accommodate 25 guests. Miami County historical-museum material reviewed during this project uses the name Park House for an 1881 Tawney hotel with the same cost and capacity and places it at the northwest corner of Amity and Broadway.
Guardrail: Clark House → Park House is a strong working identification, but the deed/lot chain needed for a legal-grade identity has not yet been recovered. The timeline does not claim the 501 W. Amity parcel is proven to be the hotel parcel.
c. 1901 — natural gas supplies a Louisburg hotel
A federal geological report records a 325-foot gas well at Louisburg furnishing a supply to a hotel. The report does not identify the hotel. Because the strongest copy is a scanned federal document, the timeline links here instead of to the downloadable PDF.
1917–1943 — P. Jacob and Della Livingston
Miami County museum material reviewed in the hotel research reports that P. Jacob and Della Livingston owned the former hotel property from 1917 to 1943 and used the building as apartments.
Still unresolved: the actual Livingston acquisition deed, seller, legal description, deed book/page, consideration and the 1943 buyer have not yet been recovered. The timeline therefore labels this museum-documented rather than deed-proven.
1947 — Skelly station at 408 W. Amity
The City History Hunt identifies the distinctive building at 408 W. Amity, at Amity and Broadway, in a memorable 1947 Skelly-station photograph. This source is intentionally kept separate from the Clark/Park House history so two different corner-property stories are not accidentally merged.
1957 — Erb Hotel parade photograph
A locally shared Labor Day parade photograph is captioned “Lee & Ida Erb Hotel” and shows a large mansard-roof building matching the earlier hotel form. Other genealogical material identifies Leo “Pop” Erb and Ida Pearl Copeland Erb, so Lee versus Leo remains unresolved. The photograph is valuable evidence that the old building was still standing in 1957, but the identity and ownership chain remain under deed-level review.
Late 1950s — MKT / Katy service ends
The City Comprehensive Plan says the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, commonly called the Katy, ended service in Louisburg during the late 1950s. The source is a City planning document; the direct PDF is omitted from the public timeline to avoid download behavior.
1967–1968 — Louisburg Library
Louisburg Library's first-party FAQ says Library District #1 was established in July 1967 as the first district library in Kansas. It also says that in 1968 the library moved from a two-room house on Second Street to the former Rosner Ford showroom. The FAQ is indexed and readable in search results but returns a 403 on direct automated opening, so the timeline deliberately routes here instead of sending visitors to a link that may fail.
1968 — Centennial time capsule
The City's current sesquicentennial page says the Centennial time capsule was unearthed and displayed during the 2018 celebration and that a new capsule was prepared for 2068. A City newsletter published after the celebration explicitly states that the centennial capsule had been buried in 1968. Because that newsletter is a document source, the timeline routes here while retaining the browser-safe City history page below.
1977 — west-side Broadway fire
The Downtown Louisburg Revitalization Plan records that an entire block on the west side of Broadway was destroyed by fire in 1977. Because the plan is distributed as a document/PDF, the timeline links here rather than directly to the file.
1986 onward — 501 W. Amity
A public commercial listing dates the current 501 W. Amity building to 1986 and calls it the “old Casey's building.” Separate historical research shows Casey's store #1307 associated with 501 W. Amity. These facts establish the modern building and Casey's era.
Guardrail: they do not prove that the 1881 hotel occupied the exact legal parcel of today's 501 building. The hotel-to-modern-parcel deed bridge remains open research.
Early 1990s — city limits double
Historic Preservation Commission research says Louisburg doubled its city limits in the early 1990s when several subdivisions began construction. The detailed history appeared in an AgendaCenter document; the public timeline links here instead of to the document download.
2000–2010 — population growth
The audited Census figures are 2,576 residents in 2000 and 4,315 in 2010. That is an increase of about 67.5%, rounded to 68% in the timeline. The federal 2010 Census Kansas table reports both values. The City's 2017 Comprehensive Plan graphic shows 2,687 for 2000; that figure conflicts with the federal Census count and is not used here.
2014–2015 — downtown plan and the new-old City Hall
The Downtown Louisburg Revitalization Plan was presented in January 2014. A City newsletter documents that Louisburg's “new-old” City Hall opened for business in December 2015 at 215 S. Broadway, in the former Louisburg Ford building. The City's current facility page independently confirms the 215 S. Broadway location and the former Ford use. The newsletter is a document source, so this note keeps the public link browser-safe.
2021 — Casey's at 1150 W. Amity
Kansas food-safety licensing records reproduced from the state show Casey's General Store #3853 at 1150 W. Amity in licensing and first-operational inspections in 2021. Casey's current first-party store page confirms the 1150 W. Amity location. The older 501 W. Amity property was subsequently marketed as the “old Casey's building.”
2026 — Brew & Brews at 501 W. Amity
Kansas Department of Agriculture licensing material reviewed in this project identifies BREW AND BREWS CO LLC at 501 W AMITY ST, Louisburg, KS 66053, with the 2026 license effective March 31, 2026. First-party opening material documents the July 2026 ribbon-cutting. The State of Kansas-supported From the Land of Kansas directory independently describes Brew And Brews Co LLC as a locally owned specialty coffee roaster in Louisburg. The timeline therefore describes the site as a coffee-roasting operation, not a café.
Sanborn / map source bank
Library of Congress and Kansas archival map collections remain useful research sources for historic Louisburg mapping. The earlier direct guide link was removed from the public page because it did not load consistently during link verification. Kansas Memory remains the browser-safe archive link in the public source bank.