When I was a kid I'd scan my map of Kansas for hours and I always thought Zook was a funny name. As it turns out, my first-ever visit to this town in Pawnee County revealed that it's completely dead. There's not even any signage pointing in its direction.
Apparently one of the old signs (which would have been posted out on highway 19) now decorates the carport of one of the two homes still inhabited. (It was getting dark-- sorry for the blurry picture.)
This brick pillar is all that remains of some civic building which now exists only as a pile of rubble in the background.
Abandoned home, its yard hot-wired to be a cattle pen.
Zook's grain elevator. I like these old-style elevators.
I am looking at your pictures from Zook, Kansas...and the picture of the old house...I am 98% sure that is our old house....let me know if I am correct...that house is located on a horseshoe shaped road...when we lived there in the 90's the road had 4 houses...an elderly couples house, our house, a young couples house, a 4-H building with a playground, and middle age couples house, the old torn down school( from old age or a tornado, who knows) does this seem like the area you took this picture? Our house in Kansas was creepy and haunted... NO LIE! It is funny how I came across this and you blogged about it this year...well please let me know thanks
ReplyDeleteThe school was torn down in the early to mid 70s and the bricks salvaged and used elsewhere. The brick pillar in the picture was on the sidewalks leading to the school there were four I think one on each side of the walkways leading to the school.
DeleteP.S. I attended grade school here.
DeleteP.S. I attended grade school here.
DeleteYes the school was torn down with bricks being salvaged. And the brick pillar was on each side of sidewalk leading up to the school, I can only remember there being four, two to the east and two to the north at the end of the sidewalk. I attended grade school at Zook.
DeleteOne of my relatives founded Zook. My mother would talk about that from time to time.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother married a Chesterman My cousin has the info mydad may also I remember in 1986 there was a 100 year reunion. My wife was with child so we didnt make it, Not sure what family did. I will be in Stillwater OK soon,(im in California) I wanted to see Zook on the way back but doesnt seem to be much to see, Or anyone else
DeleteThe first picture is of the previous owners Tom & Goldie Horton's garage. The brick pillar sat in front of the Zook school, the abandoned home was the Atwater's in the 1960's and the last picture is looking east behind the old Horton property. The Horton's were my grandparents.
ReplyDeleteI used to live in Zook during the period 1948 to 1959. My family (Clarence & Betty Chesterman) moved to Washington State in Sept. of 1959. We lived in the south house on the same street as Hortons and Atwaters. Zelma Horton (Tom & Golie's daughter) used to baby sit me and my sister. I remember attending the old school. Mrs. Wilson was the 1st & 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Brown was the 3rd & 4th grade teacher, and I think it was Mrs. McBee that was the 5th & 6th grade teacher. Bill Brickey was the janitor and his wife Ruby, was one of the cooks, and Mr. Ladd was the principal. Brickey's son Doug, was the only student in his class, and they let him go through graduation ceremonies with the class ahead of him and he received his diploma contingent on finishing his senior requirements. The high school was closed then and the whole closed a year or two later. The pillar shown above I believe was on the east side of the school. In the winters I remember sledding on the hill just south of the school. My wife and I last visited Zook in 1990, and things had really changed. Tom and Golie Horton were still living there and they took us to the community center (the old bus garage) where we could see graduation class pictures of all of the previous classes and I was able to see pictures of all of my father's siblings. There was still someone living in our old house, but no one was home. There were two grain elevators there with the second one just south of the one east of Hortons and just east of our old house. There used to be a railroad that ran by the elevators going north to Larned, but it was long gone when we lived there, but the old rail bed could be seen in places. My grandparents (Frank & Myrtle Chesterman) lived about 1/2 mile east of Zook and I used to fish in ponds on their property that were created by Pickle Creek. Pickle Creek was dried up when we were there and Tom Horton said that it was due to all of the wells that had been drilled for irrigation. I remember that Clarence Collins had a gas station about 1/2 mile west of Zook, on highway 19, and across the road to the north was a Methodist Church. My grandfather used to ring the church bell on Sunday mornings. As to the origin of Zook, my father told me that his great grandfather, James May Chesterman, donated the land for the town. James May had the farm just to the west of the old school. I don't recall how the town came to be called Zook, but there was a very prominent large farm family by the name of Zook that farmed in the area. Daniel Zook was my father's contemporary and his son David, was a year older than I.
ReplyDeleteA claim to fame for Zook is that John Zook played football in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and was a very good player. He was the son of Milford Zook. If you have any questions or comments on any of the above information, I (Daryl Chesterman) can be contacted by email at: sharonchesterman@gmail.com
Yes I too used to sled down the hill in winter across the street south of school. One year somebody had put a zip line up from top of hill down to a tree at the bottom, we only got to use it a couple of times. Also Pickle Creek when it froze over we were allowed to go and sort of skate on the creek, just had to stay back away from the springs that fed it. But we had to see how close we could get to the spring before the ice would start to crack. I don't remember anyone ever falling through, but I don't believe the creek was really very deep, and no surprise the Greek has dried up with all the irrigation around. I remember going down to the Collins gas station Champlin I think. He was a nice man did some mechanic work in the back. And the Methodist Church arcoos the road to t hy e north was my first church. I rember and a pastor there for a while, not sure how long,by the name of Finn he told us most people called him Huckleberry. Good days.I had a Dale Zook in my class youngest in family of Milton and brother of John,Jim and Dean. vharman@gmail.com
DeleteThere are a couple of corrections I should make to the above post. In the third line it should read: (Tom & Goldie's daughter). In the sixth line from the bottom it should read: Daniel Zook was my father's contemporary and his son Warren (not David), was a year older than I. My sister, Marcia, pointed out these needed corrections.
ReplyDeleteDaniel was my grandfather and Warren my uncle. David has no passed away. But has left his home to granddaughters who now live their !!
DeleteI remember a football player at KU, in 1968, his name was John Zook. He was an All american and played several years in the NFL (for St. Louis Cardinals).He was from Larned.. probably related to people that settled Zook.
ReplyDeleteIn the mid-70's I was one of the singing waiters/waitresses at the Judge Riggs restaurant in Wichita. One of the singing waitresses was Tamara Zook who was a college student at the time and an aspiring actress. She is listed on imdb.com and her bio states "The first professional actress to come out of a long lineage of farmers from Zook, Kansas, a town named after Tamara's great-great grandfather who settled in the area over 100 years ago."
ReplyDeleteMy husband, Lewis Bontrager, is a cousin to Tamara Zook's mother, Natalie Zoom wife of Don Zoom. Natalie passed away Friday July 12,2019 and we understand that she will be buried in/at Zoom
ReplyDeleteShould be Zook not zoom. Sorry! Stupid smart phones!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember a John Fay went to school here at Zook
ReplyDeletedoes anyone remember last name of Meier
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the last name of Meier
ReplyDeleteI was reading the obits in the Great Bend, Ks online paper and this man, Donald Zook, caught my attention, for some reason. When I saw that he was born in Zook, Ks, I had to find out where that was and that's how I found this blog. Very interesting! I won't post the whole obit, but here are parts of it, and it might put some of the pieces of the puzzle together. This is from the Great Bend Post, Oct 4, 2023.
ReplyDeleteDonald B. Zook, age 93, passed away Sept. 30, 2023, at Wesley Medical Center, Wichita with his children, Tamara and Bob, at his side.
He was born Nov. 20, 1929, at the family farm near Zook, the son of Abner Jesse and Ida (White) Zook - born in the same room as his father and his older siblings, Dorothy and Milford.
He went to school at the Zook public school through his sophomore year of high school before transferring to Hesston Academy for his junior and senior years, then continuing at Hesston through his associate degree in Education.
Don Zook was preceded in death by his mother, father, sister Dorothy Rishel, brother Milford Zook and wife Natalie Jo (Zink) Zook.
He is survived by his two children, Tamara Zook and Bob Zook, as well as his great-grandchildren Jessica, Jacob and Liam as well as many cousins and Zink and Zook nieces and nephews - grand and great grand.
Zook is still used as a club house is still their by the Zook Zippers 4 H club!! There are a few homes still standing. David Zook (now passed) left his home to Granddaughters. And the Schools is down as mentioned above. I am a Zook and cousin to John Zook who is now passed away.
ReplyDelete