Bronson

History

Bronson was founded in the 1880s. The first store and post office opened in September 1881. The city was formerly named Wilsonville, but it was later renamed after Ira Bronson, a Fort Scott attorney. Bronson was moved to its current location when the Missouri Pacific Railroad bypassed the original town site. Midway between Fort Scott and Iola on the highway and railroad, it became a prime shipping and supply point for the agricultural region. Growth was slow but steady. From a handful of residents in 1885, by the 1910 Census Bronson had 595 residents. In 1912 it had two banks, an international money-order post office with four rural routes, express and telegraph offices, telephone connections, the semi-weekly Bronson Pilot newspaper, a downtown retail district and public schools. In 1910 Bronson held the world's first horseshoe pitch tournament.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. U.S. Route 54 intersects K-3 on Bronson's east side.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  94
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  80
• Eastern Meadowlark

  Sturnella magna (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  75
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  73
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  65
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  65
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  61
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  54

Largest nearby schools

• West Bourbon Elementary
  Elementary · Uniontown · 292 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Uniontown High School
  High · Uniontown · 194 students · 12.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2014-11-13
  5 km WNW of Prescott, Kansas
• M 3 — 2014-10-01
  9 km SSW of Galesburg, Kansas