508 Main Street
Palco, KS 67657
(785) 737-4285
www.cityofpalco.gov
The City of Palco is located at 508 Main Street in Palco, Kansas. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM, and Friday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Palco had a population of 208 in 2020 and encompasses a total area of 0.27 square miles.
The City of Palco provides essential utility services including water, sewer, and trash collection.
Palco offers local amenities; 24-hour gas station (pumps only) and a 24-hour fitness gym. (Gym is located inside the McKenna Youth & Activity Center.)
Education: USD #269 (Palco, Damar, Zurich) Educational facilities located in Palco include Palco Jr/Sr High School, Northwest Kansas Agriculture Education Center, with an elementary school located four miles away in Damar.
Additional community features: Palco Grocery & Deli, McKenna Youth & Activity Center which includes a movie theater, a rentable multi-purpose room and kitchen (24-hour gym is located within center). The city is also home to the Palco Senior Center, Palco Post Office, Little Rooster Daycare, Keller Motors (automotive shop/car dealership & 24-hour gas station mentioned above, and Mid-America Bank.
Outdoor and recreational opportunities include a city park, a frisbee golf course within town, and a golf course located two miles east of Palco. The community is served by a volunteer fire department.
Palco also has several active organizations that contribute to community life, including Palco Pride, Palco Lions Club, Palco Economic Development Group and the following school organizations: Palco VIP (Very Involved Parents), and the Palco Damar Zurich Recreation Commission "PDZ Rec".
Palco was established in 1888 by the Union Pacific Railroad as a train depot along a newly constructed line. The town’s name combines those of railroad officials Palmer and Cole. Just five years later, in 1893, Palco was nearly destroyed by a massive prairie fire that began in Graham County. The blaze swept across thousands of acres in Graham, Rooks, Ellis, and Russell counties before finally being extinguished.
Fire struck the community again in 1923, damaging several businesses along Main Street. Despite these early setbacks, Palco endured and continued to grow. In 1906, the town formally incorporated as a City of the Third Class, electing Robert Kirkendall as its first mayor.
Today, Palco remains a resilient rural community, with a population of 208 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020.
