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Iola, Kansas

1859 establishments in Kansas TerritoryCities in Allen County, KansasCities in KansasCounty seats in KansasPopulated places established in 1859
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Downtown Iola, KS
Downtown Iola, KS

Iola () is the county seat of Allen County, Kansas, United States. The city is situated along the Neosho River in southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,396. It is named in honor of Iola Colborn.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Iola, Kansas (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Iola, Kansas
East Lincoln Street,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 37.9275 ° E -95.400555555556 °
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Address

Ward Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church

East Lincoln Street
66749
Kansas, United States
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Downtown Iola, KS
Downtown Iola, KS
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Iola's fort

Iola, Kansas, was founded in 1859 and soon after a two-story stone building was built on the southwest corner of Jefferson and Madison streets. Davis Parsons, one of the first town settlers, built this building, which was to serve as a rallying point and defense headquarters in the event the town was threatened by Bushwhackers or Indians. The area's Indians proved reasonably peaceful and no Bushwhackers threatened the area. The stone building was not truly fortified until the Civil War began.The building was transformed into a blockhouse when the War began and the threats of attacks by Confederate guerrillas grew. The entire block on which the fort stood was fortified. A trench lined with an earthen embankment was constructed on the perimeter of the block. The fort served as a recruiting station and the Army kept troops in Iola through most of the Civil War. These troops used the blockhouse for their barracks. At times up to 400 men were stationed in Iola. While nearby Humboldt, Kansas, was raided twice in fall 1861, Iola was never attacked by Confederates.After the War's end, the earthworks were leveled to make way for new building lots. The fort itself was used as a hotel for many years. In 1880 the building was demolished to make way for a new building. The outlines of the earthworks were still visible then. In 1907 a new bank building in turn was erected on the fort site and in 1931 a plaque commemorating the old fort was placed on the side of the bank.