Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Gypsum, KS

Gypsum is a city in Saline County, in central Kansas, incorporated in 1887 and named after Gypsum Creek, which runs through the area.

Gypsum was originally founded as Tempelfeld, a community of the Templer religious society, before taking the name of the nearby creek; its post office has operated under the Gypsum name since 1886.

As of the 2020 census, Gypsum had a population of 400 people in 173 households, down from its peak of 732 residents in 1920.

Gypsum covers just 0.36 square miles and is part of the Salina Micropolitan Statistical Area, lying southeast of Salina, the county seat.

The community is served by Southeast of Saline USD 306, whose high school teams are the Trojans; Gypsum's own high school, closed through school unification, had the Pirates as its mascot.

Gypsum produced two Olympians: Bill Wheatley, who won a gold medal with the U.S. basketball team at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and Steve Fritz, who placed fourth in the decathlon at the 1996 Olympics and later coached Kansas State University track and field for 21 years.

Surrounding Gypsum Township, organized in 1871 from Solomon Township, had only 174 residents outside the city in the 2020 census.

New York Times journalist and explorer Frank Wilkeson owned a large ranch in Gypsum for nearly forty years in the late 1800s and early 1900s.