Our Mission
The Chapman Center for Rural Studies is committed to researching, preserving, and
sharing the history of rural Kansas. Through the establishment of a research lab,
archives, curriculum and publications the Chapman Center will link the community of
learners at Kansas State University with the communities of the past. The stories
and lives of all peoples who shaped the history of this region are significant; and
as a premier land-grant institution, Kansas State University supports and encourages
the recovery of lived experience, lost towns and settlements, original lands, and
changing landscapes. An important objective of the Center is the creation of a website
storing histories of lost towns which are easily accessible by the internet. The Chapman
Center is tasked with continually adding to and upgrading the site with the goal of
listing most Kansas lost towns.