Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Chanute, KS

Chanute is the largest city in Neosho County in southeast Kansas, although the county seat is the much smaller town of Erie.

Chanute was created on January 1, 1873, when four bitterly rival railroad towns — New Chicago, Chicago Junction, Alliance, and Tioga — agreed to consolidate into a single city.

The merged city was named for Octave Chanute, the railroad's chief engineer who proposed the merger; he later became a famous aviation pioneer whose glider research influenced the Wright brothers era of flight.

As of the 2020 census, Chanute had a population of 8,722 living in 3,530 households.

Chanute is home to Neosho County Community College, a public two-year college serving just under 3,200 students.

Local students attend Chanute USD 413 schools, including Chanute Elementary, Royster Middle School, and Chanute High School.

Chanute's best-known attraction is the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, which preserves the films, photographs, and artifacts of the celebrated early-1900s explorer and wildlife-filmmaking couple.

Ash Grove Cement Company began manufacturing cement in Chanute in 1908, and Ash Grove grew into one of the largest cement manufacturers in North America.

Chanute is unusual among small Kansas cities for running its own municipal utilities — the city established its electric utility in 1903 and went on to add gas, water, wastewater, and refuse services.

In its railroad and oil boom days Chanute stood at the junction of the Santa Fe and Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroads, and its population peaked at 10,849 in the 1960 census.