Acoma Township Lost Towns:

The Acoma Town Creamery

The Lost Town of Acoma…

Founded: 1857

Location:  About six miles West of Hutchinson on 200th  Street, near the intersection of 200th Street and Yacht Ave.

If you would visit the site today, there is no real evidence that a settlement ever existed. But exist it did, with a church, school, creamery, barn, house, ice house, dance hall, blacksmith shop, feed mill and a horse bam. Acoma was the most prosperous community around with 12 buildings.  Some of the names of the early settlers are Pagel, Nass, Stahl, Heller, Albrecht, Tews, Sitz and Luthens.  One of the first buildings erected was the church. Rev. Henry Braun, a pioneer circuit preacher was instrumental in establishing the church. The church was built some three miles northeast of the settlement where it still stands today. Many people know it as the Acoma Church.  Rev. Henry Braun helped found some of the other Lutheran Churches in the area, one being the Peace Lutheran Church in Hutchinson.

Acoma’s Post Office was established on April 29, 1892 and discontinued on Jan. 31, 1905.  The school located in the Settlement was District 82, with District 3 located north of the church. Schools tended to be about 2 miles apart as the students walked to school from their homes. Living more than 2 miles from any school presented a hardship for the student.

The Acoma Creamery for a time contained a cheese making operation. At this time the only house in the settlement was the home of the creamery operator and his family.  By 1914 the population in the township was 58 people. By the early 1940’s the settlement had faded and a few scattered empty buildings were at the site.

Today nothing remains of the settlement of Acoma.  A newspaper article in the Hutchinson Leader, by Margaret Knutson, Mrs. Hazel Zummach had this comment about Acoma. “The settlement was a lively place. People drove by horse and buggy from miles around to do business and get together for dances, basket socials and other festive events.” She indicated that area residents felt the loss of not just a gathering place, but a part of themselves.