W.W. Hays came to this area in the early 1870s. Prior to his arrival here he had served as a postmaster in Colorado and as Sheriff of Sedgwick County. In 1891 he platted the land that he owned so a town could be built. This land was E 1/2 NE 1/4 of section 6 and W 1/2 NW 1/4 of section 5, Township 29 Range 1 East, Sedgwick County and totaled 161.15 acres.
Some of the first businesses in this new town were a meat market, a couple of stores, lumberyard and a blacksmith. The post office was established in 1877. The Haysville State Bank in 1919.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway bought land west of Haysville’s Main street in 1892. In 1903 a depot was opened and passenger trains shuttled people to and from Wichita. Notice the spelling of Haysville on the depot. Haysville was often spelled Hayesville thought to be named after 19th president Rutherford B. Hayes.
School district number 57. Haysville’s first school was built in 1876 at a location that may have been near what are now the Water Department facilities. This building was moved to 79th and Seneca where it was eventually replaced by the red brick building in 1919. In 1946 district 57 was consolidated with district 187 to form district 261.
At first there were no church buildings so meetings were held at homes, schools and the grist mill. The first churches to Haysville were the Methodist and the Prairie Home Christian Church. Mr. Hays donated the land for which both of these churches were built upon.
This photo shows Haysville’s Main street with it’s businesses and first water tower.
All of Haysville’s historic district was destroyed in the 1999 tornado. Destruction of the historic buildings began at the red brick schoolhouse at 79th and Seneca and continued north along Main taking out the elevator, bank, churches and more. The only thing left standing on the east side of main was the original bank vault.