TORONTO Post Office
Contributed and transcribed by cousin Don Henkle.
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			TORONTO Post Office

	Immigrants came to the area during the late 1850's but it was not 
until 1869 that the town site was laid out by Enoch Reeves. He became 
president of the Toronto Town Co, and the town was called "REEVES" When a 
representive from the county, Albert B. Mann attended the legislature in 
Topeka about 1874, the name was changed to "REVERE"  A group of immigrants 
from states east of the Mississippi River and formerly from Canada gave the 
name Toronto to this new town on the site less than a mile east of a large, 
gently flowing river, named the Verdigris, and one half mile east of the 
Greenwood county line. The town was named after the town of Toronto, Canada. 
The next legislature changed the name back to Toronto. The town was laid out 
with Main Street running east & west. The town organized on 03 February 1885 
with a city election held.
 
	 The first cabins were built of native logs until a saw mill was 
built, which turned out much of the lumber for the first homes. Lumber was 
also hauled in from Fort Scott and Garnett.  After a few families bad settled 
here a school was built.  It was a long frame building ill-prepared to 
withstand the ravages of the winds that swept across The prairie. This 
building was later moved to the City Square on South Broad Street and the 
site became the location of the Toronto School.
 
	 The postoffice was established in 1881. Before this time, mail was 
carried to Pleasant Grove. Mail came by horseback twice a week. Later it was 
carried by buckboard from Humboldt and from El Dorado. There had been a 
newspaper in Toronto since early days. Such names as "The Topic", The 
Toronto Record", Republican Record, and finally "The Toronto Republican", 
established in 1884. It had several owners and editors until its 
consolidation with "The Yates Center News" in the late 1960's.
 
	 A public well furnished water to many early residences & businesses. 
Early day streets in Toronto were of dirt, but they kept them graded and as 
smooth as possible. Hitch rails were along the street and there were several 
livery stables. Later, Highway 54 went through Toronto but in the '50's there 
was extensive rerouting of the highway and it was moved two miles north of 
town. With the completion of Toronto Reservoir, a road across the dam and 
new roads on the east side of the lake, State Highway 105 starts at the 
junction of 54 highway and goes through Toronto and crosses Toronto Reservoir 
dam where it ends. The proposed building of Toronto Reservoir brought mixed 
feelings to the people in the Toronto area. Plans were shown in the 1930's 
but actual building did not begin until in the 1950's. The Toronto Lake was 
dedicated in 1961 and is now part of the Kansas Park Authority.
 
	 The closing of the high School in 1968 and the closing of the 
business office of the Kansas Telephone Co. reduced our population, but we 
are compensated by Senior Citizens choosing to make their retirement homes 
here.
 
	 In 1986, the 125th year of Kansas Statehood, Toronto had all 
hard-surfaced streets, street signs at every intersection and all houses 
numbered. The Toronto Public Library associated with the Southeast Kansas 
Library System serves the needs of those who enjoy reading. The telephone 
service changed hands many times and at present is an automatic dial service 
owned by Continental of Kansas.