Hunnewell

History

Hunnewell was founded in 1880. It was named for Boston financier and railway owner H. H. Hunnewell. Hunnewell served as a shipping point for Texas cattle, and was a prosperous cowtown during the 1880s. The Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Railroad provided quick access to the Kansas City, Kansas stockyards, and the Kansas and Southeastern Railroad was built south from Hunnewell into Oklahoma in 1898. The town in its heyday had one hotel, two general stores, one barber shop, two dance halls, and eight saloons. With little more than railroad workers and cowboys, violence was common. There were no lawmen to speak of during the 1880s in or around that area, and typically cattle rustling and other crimes were dealt with by the ranchers themselves. This culminated in the Hunnewell, Kansas Gunfight, on October 5, 1884. A post office was opened in Hunnewell in 1880, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1960. The railroads have still not abandoned Hunnewell; it continues to be served by the Land Rush Rail Corporation ("LRRC"), an affiliate of Farmrail, as replacement for the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad which between 2006 and 2024 operated the line running from Blackwell, Oklahoma through Hunnewell and on to connections with the BNSF at Wellington, Kansas and (via the BNSF) with the Union Pacific.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  92
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  52
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

  Tyrannus forficatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  50
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  42
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  39
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  38
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  31
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  28

Largest nearby schools

• South Haven High
  High · South Haven · 116 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• South Haven Elem
  Elementary · South Haven · 101 students · 11.2:1 ratio