Schoenchen, KS

Schoenchen is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The 2020 census counted 170 residents. Following a dispute over the proposed relocation of nearby Liebenthal, Volga German settlers founded Schoenchen in April 1877. They originally named the community San Antonio, but then renamed it Schoenchen after one of the villages they immigrated from in Russia. The Schoenchen Community Center, housed in a former bar and grill, is the community's polling place and event venue, hosting Schoenchen's annual German Feast. Schoenchen High School closed in 1966 due to school unification.

In Schoenchen, history and present-day settings sit close enough to belong to the same local picture. The map tells the story in Schoenchen, where earlier chapters remain visible in current streets, buildings, and gathering places. Schoenchen is located one-half mile west of U.S. Route 183 and is roughly 11 miles south of Hays, the county seat, 137 miles northwest of Wichita, and 264 miles west of Kansas City. Schoenchen lies on the south bank of the Smoky Hill River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.