VGI Updates

Leoti was founded in 1885. Several Volga German families moved to the area over the years.

The town of Lehigh was established in 1877 when the Santa Fe Railroad was laid through Marion County. It had a weekly newspaper, the Marion County Record, publishing as early as 1881. The land on which the town was plotted was originally owned by Lee Hays, and according to one account, the town was named after him.

Many Volga German families settled in and around Lehigh, Kansas, arriving during the first years of the Volga German migration (1870s).

Many Volga German families settled in and around LaCrosse, Kansas.

The town of Hyacinth is located 13 miles northwest of Hays, in Buckeye Township.

Many Volga German families settled in and around Hoisington, Kansas.

Volga German families settled in and around Hill City, Kansas.

Volga German families settled in and around Hillsboro, Kansas.

Herington is named in honor of its founder Monroe Davis Herington who came to the area in 1880, but there had been white settlers living along Lyon Creek as early as 1859.

With the arrival of the railroad, the number of settlers coming to the area dramatically increased.

The Volga Germans in Ellis County, Kansas, settled mostly to the east of the city itself beginning in 1876. However, as early as 1878, some families had moved into Hays where Father Anastasius Müller, the first resident priest of St. Joseph Catholic Parish, was living with Andreas Meier.

Volga German families settled in and around Grinnell.