Biohazard Cleanup Near East Latimer Latimer, KS

Latimer is a tiny incorporated city in Morris County, Kansas, about nine miles northeast of Herington and 22 miles northwest of Council Grove, the county seat.

Latimer was originally called Far West and was founded about 1883; it was renamed Latimer in 1888 for one of the town's founders, and it was incorporated in 1929.

Latimer was platted in March 1887 by Monroe D. Herington, the town builder also behind nearby Herington, when the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built its main line from Topeka through Latimer.

Latimer got off to a quick start with a bank, a lumberyard, and a post office moved from Far West in September 1887, but by 1910 it had a population of only about 14 people.

The Latimer State Bank survived until the Great Depression, when it closed and the building was later used as a grocery store.

Latimer's post office closed in January 1961, and its grain elevator operated until the mid-1990s.

The 2020 census counted just 31 people in 9 households in Latimer, making it one of the least populous incorporated cities in Kansas.

Latimer covers only about 0.09 square miles, and its surviving landmarks include the old one-room school on North Main Street.