Johnston Library

The Baxter Springs Independent Oil and Gas Service Station is a historic gas station located at 940 Military Avenue in Baxter Springs, Kansas, along the former route of U.S. Route 66. The station was built in 1930 by the Independent Oil and Gas Company; the company merged with Phillips Petroleum the following year, and the station became a Phillips 66 station. The station was designed in the Tudor Revival style so to resemble a small cottage; this style was popular among gas stations at the time, as oil companies wanted their stations to fit in with nearby residential architecture. An addition which served as an auto repair shop was added to the station between 1930 and 1942. Phillips operated the station until 1958, and it continued to sell gasoline until the 1970s. The building now serves as the Kansas Route 66 Visitors Center.The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 2003.

The Battle of Baxter Springs, more commonly known as the Baxter Springs Massacre, was a minor battle of the American Civil War fought on 6 October 1863, near the present-day town of Baxter Springs, Kansas. In late 1863, Quantrill's Raiders, a large band of pro-Confederate bushwhackers led by William Quantrill, was traveling south through Kansas along the Texas Road to winter in Texas. Numbering about 400, this group captured and killed two Union teamsters who had come from a small Federal Army post called Fort Baxter (frequently referred to as Fort Blair). The bushwhackers assaulted the fort but were repulsed, eventually retreating to the prairie, where they attacked a separate Union column, leaving only a few survivors.

Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,888.

The Rial A. Niles House is a historic house at 605 E. 12th Street in Baxter Springs, Kansas, United States. The house was built in 1870 for Rial A. Niles, a local businessman, and his wife. The house was designed in the Italianate style and features a hip roof with a cupola, a front porch with decorative wooden posts and arches, and four brick chimneys. After Niles went bankrupt, Colonel William March, an officer in the Union Army and two-time Baxter Springs postmaster, bought the house in 1875. March lost the house after his wife's death in 1902, and it passed through a number of tenants until the 1930s. In 1938, the Baxter Springs Women's Club rented the house, which it used for meetings and social gatherings until it disbanded in 1956. The house was then purchased by the local Episcopal congregation and became St. Mark's Episcopal Church until the congregation also disbanded in 1977. The house has since reverted to its previous use as a residence.The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 6, 2006.The house underwent a major renovation from 2020-2023 to save the property and restore it to period accuracy. Local Baxter Springs resident Geoffery Roberts led the effort to restore the historic property. As of 2023, it is open as a local center for events.

Lowell is an unincorporated community in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 244.

Shoal Creek is an 81.5-mile-long (131.2 km) stream tributary of the Spring River in southwest Missouri and southeast Kansas. It begins in Barry County, Missouri southwest of Exeter and flows west through Newton county in Missouri before emptying into the Spring River near Riverton in Cherokee County, Kansas.

The Rainbow Bridge is an old bridge over Brush Creek approximately two miles west of Riverton, Kansas on former U.S. Route 66 (US-66), now a county road. The bridge is a single-span concrete Marsh arch bridge and is the sole surviving bridge of this type on the entire length of the former highway. Two other Marsh arch bridges were also located on US-66 in Kansas, both over the Spring River. It was built in 1923. The bridge has often been covered with graffiti, but was recently re-painted white. The bridge has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places (as the Brush Creek Bridge) on March 10, 1983, due to its connection with US-66 and is also a Kansas state landmark. In 2014, Kansas Rt. 66 Historic Byway nominated a bypassed 2.1 miles (3.4 km) section of original 1926 highway, which ran south from the Brush Creek to the Willow Creek bridge near Baxter Springs, for an NRHP listing.The bridge is fairly narrow, and due to traffic on the road, a replacement bridge has been built. The road curves toward the new bridge toward Baxter Springs, but a short, one-way road carries traffic to the Rainbow Bridge, which may still be crossed. This was part of a compromise after a disagreement between the county and the Kansas Route 66 Association as federal funds used for construction of the new bridge required demolition of the old. The bridge had been listed with the National Register, which prohibited condemnation of the old bridge.In the year 2000, country singer Brad Paisley performed "Route 66" on the bridge for the TLC special, "Route 66: Main Street America".

Spring Valley Township is a township in Cherokee County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,007.

Hockerville is a ghost town in northern Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. Hockerville was a mining community near the Kansas-Oklahoma border; it once had more than 500 residents. At least 18 mines operated in the Hockerville area in 1918 alone.

Riverton is an unincorporated community in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 771. It is located at the junction of K-66 (former U.S. Route 66) and U.S. Route 69 Alternate and U.S. Route 400, near the Spring River. It is one of only three communities in Kansas along former U.S. Route 66.

Fivemile Creek is a stream in Newton County, Missouri and Ottawa County, Oklahoma in the United States. It is a tributary of the Spring River in northeastern Oklahoma.The stream headwaters arise at 36°56′16″N 94°31′42″W at 1,153 ft (351 m) elevation. The stream flows to the northwest and passes under Missouri Route 43 just south of the community of Hornet. It passes into the northeast corner of Oklahoma and under I-44. It turns to the southwest, flows past the community of Five Mile and enters the Spring River approximately 2.5 miles south of Baxter Springs, Kansas. The confluence is at 36°58′48″N 94°42′03″W at an elevation of 797 ft (243 m).The watercourse of Fivemile Creek is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from Neosho, Missouri, hence the name. However, the headwaters of the stream are approximately nine miles northwest of Neosho and it flows to the northwest away from the city.

Williams' Store is a historic store located along Old U.S. Route 66 in Riverton, Kansas. Leo Williams built the store in 1925, the year before Route 66 was designated. The store had a gas station and sold a variety of goods. While it was mainly a grocery and general store, Williams and his wife Lora sold chili and barbecue beef to travelers on Route 66. The store even had a croquet court at one point, which hosted local tournaments. The court was eventually removed to add parking. Leo Williams leased the store to Lloyd Paxon in 1945; Leo died before the lease expired; his wife Lora ran the store until 1970.The store is now known as the Eisler Brothers Old Riverton Store. It is still in operation and serves as the headquarters of the Route 66 Association of Kansas. This place was the inspiration for the Route 66 songs for the Pixar movie Cars. The store was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 2003.