Town History

Mayetta, named after Mary Etta Lunger, the young daughter of Elizabeth and William Lunger, was founded in October 1886 on Lunger family land. The separate town and Post Office of South Cedar had been established earlier on October 3, 1867 two miles east of Mayetta’s present location. When the Rock Island Railroad began construction of a line from Topeka to St. Joseph destined to cross the Lunger farm, an agreement was reached to establish a town on Lunger land. South Cedar merchants then relocated to the new town of Mayetta when Mrs. Lunger offered a free lot to the first merchant to arrive from South Cedar with his building, a race won by Albert Elliott. 

Nearly half a century later in the late 1920’s, a videographer visited Mayetta, making a short motion picture of local and area residents going about their daily business in downtown Mayetta and at the school. This short 1929 era film is shown from time to time at community events in Mayetta. Mayetta’s history is provided here through research conducted by Carl Nelson and others as stated in “The Pioneer Spirit Lives, Mayetta Centennial” published in 1986 and 2001.