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Downing

Ghost town · Morris County, Kansas

Council Grove Lake quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1971, 1:24,000)
Council Grove Lake quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1971, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Downing is a ghost town in Morris County, Kansas. It is one of 2 former communities in Morris County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 16th among the 59 Kansas counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Downing as a historical populated place on the Council Grove Lake topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 38.7403° N, 96.5739° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleCouncil Grove Lake
Elevation1,323 ft
Nearest living townParkerville, KS
Distance to it5 miles
GNIS feature ID484957
Coordinates38.74028, -96.57389

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Downing is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Parkerville, KS (population 76), about 5 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,323 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Downing?

Downing is in Morris County, Kansas, at 38.7403, -96.5739.

How many ghost towns are in Morris County?

Morris County, Kansas has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.