History

Rose Hill, Kansas was named by J.H. Lowery, in 1869. At the time, the government provided incentives for railroad workers and farmers to “Go West, Young Man, Go West” and settle the land. He built a home about one mile south of the current elementary school where he planted roses, shrubs, and trees.  

Lowery was an ambitious bachelor from Rose Hill, New York, and moved his nursery stock and seeds from there to sell to the settlers in Kansas. Unfortunately, sales were halted due to harsh Kansas blizzards, drought, and grasshoppers which would eventually ruin his stock completely and force him to move back to New York.

While Mr. Lowery’s business plans wilted, the City of Rose Hill began to sprout with thriving crops for farmers, a post office, a railroad, and new businesses being built in town including grocery stores, a meat market, barber shop, millinery store, drug store, and more. Visit the Rose Hill Historical Society website to see how Rose Hill blossomed into the great city it is today!