Dighton

History

The Homestead Act of 1862 offered of land in the American West, previously owned by railroads, to homesteaders who could live on the land for five years. Drawn west by the promise of free, fertile land, pioneer settlers arrived in Kansas starting in 1869. In 1879, W.A. Watson arrived at the town site, and a post office was established. In 1885, there were three houses and seven voters in town. Lane County became a county in 1886, with Dighton as its county seat. By 1900, the population was 194, and by 1910 it had grown to 370, and the town had banks; a flour mill; a grain elevator; two newspapers; public schools; a hotel; merchants; Baptist, Catholic, and Methodist churches; telegraph service; a band and telephones. Life was difficult for the early pioneers, who built houses made of sod and found that the land was quite dry, and not as fertile as they had been led to believe. A song written by Frank Baker, the Lane County Bachelor, became a popular folk song throughout the western United States. On May 23, 1928, the Fleagle Gang arrived in Dighton after robbing the First National Bank of Lamar, Colorado. Needing medical attention, they kidnapped local doctor W.W. Wineinger, and later shot him and dumped his body into a ravine. The courtroom mural, "The First House of Lane County," by Mary Alice Bosley, was featured in Kansas Murals: A Traveler's Guide, by Jost and Loewenstein.

Geography

Dighton is located at the intersection of K-96 and K-23. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Horned Lark

  Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  185
• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  155
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  147
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  115
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  105
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  101
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  99
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  78

Largest nearby schools

• Dighton Elem
  Elementary · Dighton · 162 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• Dighton High
  High · Dighton · 95 students · 9.5:1 ratio