Barnard, Kansas A small town in Scott Township of Lincoln County,
Barnard is located near the northern boundary of the county about 12 miles from Lincoln, the county seat. Though mostly quiet today, it was once listed as one of the principal communities in the area, being the terminus of the Barnard line of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.
The area surrounding what would become Barnard was first settled by cattlemen about 1868. When
Kansas Territory was opened to settlers, a number of sod shanties and dugouts were built in the area, by would-be homesteaders.
In the spring of 1887, when a new branch of the Santa Fe Railroad was being graded, it was first thought that a town would be started near the center of Salt Creek Township, as they had voted for bonds and Scott Township had not.
Today it is nearly a ghost town, with a population of just about 70 people.
