Silver Lake, KS

Silver Lake was founded in 1868 on the north side of the Kansas River, and the town took its name from the lake beside it. Before the town arrived, this was a crossing place: ferries operated here in the 1850s, and the area was known as the Great Crossing. The Union Pacific reached Silver Lake in 1866, tying the river site to the rail map and helping the town take shape. Today the city sits west of Topeka along U.S. 24, with Silver Lake USD 372 serving local schools. The quick local read is water, ferries, railroad, and a town that grew from a crossing.