Nortonville is a small town surrounded by farmland, right on the edge of the Jefferson / Atchison county line. Its name came from a popular railroad boss who often parked his railroad car on a siding near the town site. For a century, the town's prosperity was linked to the Santa Fe railroad, but that changed in the 1980s and '90s.
Today, Nortonville resembles many other small Kansas towns: It has a few agricultural businesses, as well as a bank, a bar, and some other small companies based in its historic downtown. It seems to be slowly declining as the state becomes more urban and farms become more corporate.
Nonetheless, the town does still have a spirit of community involvement. You can see this even in the town park, which is thoughtfully equipped and well-maintained. There's a nice little bandshell there, as well as slides, seesaws, and several play structures. There's also a nice picnic shelter.
One of the really neat things about this town, for an old history buff like me anyway, is that they have a couple of history books: A Century of Friends Old and New (1973) and 125 Years of Friends Old and New (1998). Most of the information above comes from those books. I love seeing people take an interest in their local places and taking pains to pass that knowledge down to future generations!
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