Originally chrtered by the Levenworth, Lawerence, & Galveston Railroad in 1868, Norwood was created to provide a close shipping point for the agricultural community. The town gained its name from the popular book by Henry Ward Beecher, "Norwood".The town contained a depot, church, blacksmith shop, grain elevator, cattle pen,2 room school house and general store. The depot was only a convertyed boxcar by the tracks. Only one room in the school was ever utilized because the town never grew as was anticipated, enrolling never more than 39 students. The Balch & C.M. store served as a ticket office, post office, and store. The town's population had peaked at 50 persons in 1912, but by 1940 Norwood had dissapeared, due to the automobile and other conviniences. Today the settlement serves as a stop on the Midland Railway Historical Association, which gives excursions from Baldwin City to Ottawa. Presently the townsite is a park setting with restroom facilites, tempoary depot, and one house.

Submitted by: Zach Smith

Norwood Town Plot
Courtesy Zach Smith

Norwood Schoolhouse
Courtesy Zach Smith

Midland Railway
Courtesy Zach Smith