Area towns in Franklin County

If smaller town atmosphere is what you're looking for such Franklin County cities as Lane, Pomona, Princeton, Rantoul, Richmond, Wellsville or Williamsburg might be up your alley.

Each town has been working to improve its infrastructure and the services it provides.

Wellsville, in the northeast corner of the county, has seen the largest growth as it tries to deal with growth spilling across the county line from Johnson County.

Pomona, west of Ottawa, replaced most of its water system and has made other infrastructure improvements to its electrical utility and streets.

Other cities have been working on water supply issues and updating city services.

Smaller cities in Franklin County include:

Wellsville

• Population 1,700.

• City council meetings: 7 p.m. the second and last Wednesday of the month at City Hall.

• City Hall, 411 Main St., (785) 883-2296.

Pomona

• Population 925.

• City council meetings: 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at City Hall.

• City Hall, 219 W. A St., (785) 566-3522.

Richmond

• Population 529.

• City council meetings: 7:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at City Hall.

• City Hall, 109 E. Central St., (785) 835-6425.

• Richmond is south of Ottawa on U.S. 59 and is near the county line.

Williamsburg

• Population 372

• City council meetings: 7 :30 p.m. first Monday of the month at City Hall.

• City Hall, 123 W. William St., (785) 746-5578.

  Williamsburg is on I-35 southwest of Ottawa.

Princeton

• Population 320.

• City council meetings: 7 p.m. the first Monday of the month at City Hall.

• City Hall, 316 Galveston St., (785) 937-4103.

  Princeton is on U.S. 59 between Ottawa and Richmond.

Lane

• Population 260.

• City council meetings: 7:30 p.m. the second Monday of the month at the Community Building.

• City Hall, 520 W. Third St., (785) 869-2600.

  Lane, site of John Brown's most infamous "Bleeding Kansas" exploit, the Pottawatomie Massacre, which is the focus of the town's spring Pottawatomie Massacre Days festival, is in extreme southeast Franklin County.

Rantoul

• Population 240.

• Council meetings are 7 p.m. the first Monday of the month.

• City Hall, 120 E. Main St., (785) 878-3475.

• Rantoul is in east central Franklin County.

Unincorporated towns or areas

These include Richter, Peoria, LeLoup, Homewood, Appanoose and Centropolis.

• Richter is between Ottawa and Pomona and is most known for Richter United Methodist Church. Peoria is southeast of Ottawa. LeLoup is next to I-35 between Ottawa and Wellsville.

• Homewood is next to I-35 but is between Ottawa and Williamsburg.

• Appanoose is north of Pomona and has a K-8 school, which is part of the West Franklin school district.

• Centropolis is east of Appanoose and northwest of Ottawa. Much to its residents' annoyance, Centropolis was listed in a book detailing Kansas' ghost towns.

• In every city and rural area in the county, call 911 for police, fire or ambulance.

• Seven water districts serve county residents. For information about a specific district contact the county clerks office (785) 229-3410.