Effingham, KS

Effingham is an Atchison County city in Benton Township, Kansas, with 495 residents at the 2020 census. Its first post office opened in 1868, and the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad helped the settlement grow into a village by the 1880s. The city was named for Effingham H. Nichols, an early promoter of the railroad. That history gives Effingham a clear beginning: a small place whose first big connection came by rail, long before the present network of county roads and city streets.

Current local institutions give the city its everyday shape. Effingham Community Library sits at 414 Main Street; the city also has a pool and is served by Atchison County USD 377, with older students attending Atchison County Community High School. City government and school services carry the local routine, while Main Street's library supplies a place for books and community use. Effingham's story runs from railroad promotion to school and city services, with the original rail name still sitting at the center of town.