Discreet 24/7 Biohazard Remediation in Whitewater, KS

Whitewater is a small city in Butler County — the largest county by area in Kansas — sitting along the West Branch of the Whitewater River in south-central Kansas.

The community originally formed several miles east of the present townsite, where a post office opened under the name White Water (two words) on August 7, 1871.

Whitewater's post office went through a quirky series of names: it was renamed Ovo in 1882, changed back to White Water in 1888, and did not become the single word Whitewater until November 1, 1950.

Between 1885 and 1888, residents physically moved buildings to the present location, where the Missouri Pacific and Rock Island railroads intersected; the town was platted in 1885 and incorporated in 1890.

The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a branch line through Whitewater in 1887 that later became part of the Rock Island system, and locals still refer to the line as the Rock Island.

The 2020 census counted 661 people in Whitewater, down from a peak of 751 in 1980; at the 2010 census the city had 718 people in 254 households.

K-196 highway runs along the southern side of Whitewater, and the Union Pacific's Oklahoma Kansas Texas (OKT) line still passes through the northwest side of town.

Whitewater students attend Remington USD 206 schools: Remington Middle School is in Whitewater, while Frederic Remington High School, home of the Broncos, was built in 1961 just north of Brainerd after a hard-fought consolidation of seven rural districts — including rivals Whitewater and Potwin — that could not agree to put the school in either town.

The Whitewater Memorial Library serves the community, and City Hall sits at 201 South Elm Street.

The historic Oak Lawn Farm Dairy Barn, built near Whitewater in 1926, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.