Stull, Kansas

Stull is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1857, the settlement was initially known as Deer Creek by Pennsylvania Dutch settlers until it was renamed after its only postmaster, Sylvester Stull. As of 2018, only a handful of structures remain in the area.

Since the 1970s, the town has become infamous due to an apocryphal legend that claims the nearby Stull Cemetery is possessed by demonic forces. This legend has become a facet of American popular culture and has been referenced in numerous forms of media. This legend has also led to controversies with current residents of Stull.

Stull is located at 38°58′16″N 95°27′32″W / 38.97111°N 95.45889°W / 38.97111; -95.45889 (38.9711124, -95.4560872), at the corner of North 1600 Road ( CR 442) and East 250 Road ( CR 1023) in Douglas County, which is 7 miles (11 km) west from the outskirts of Lawrence and 10 miles (16 km) east of the Topeka city limit.

Stull first appeared on territorial maps in 1857. During this time, the settlement was called Deer Creek. It is unclear where this name came from, although Martha Parker and Betty Laird speculate that it could either be a translation of an indigenous location name or that it could have arisen after a deer was seen by a body of water. The first European settlers in the area spoke German as their native language. Some had come from Pennsylvania Dutch Country, whereas others had recently fled the German Confederation "for more freedom and to escape military duty."

During the late 1850s, the handful of families living in Deer Creek organized a church that met in the homes of its members until 1867, when a stone structure named the Evangelical Emmanuel and Deer Creek Mission was built; this church later became known simply as "Evangelical Emmanuel Church". Until 1908, the sermons at the small chapel were preached in German. In 1867, a cemetery was chartered for the town next to the church. In 1922, those living in Stull raised $20,000 to construct a new, wooden-framed church across the road. The following year, the church changed its official name from "Deer Creek Church" to "Stull Evangelical Church". The old stone Evangelical Emmanuel Church was abandoned by the community in 1922, and over the 20th century, the church slowly fell into a greater and greater state of decrepitude, finally being demolished in 2002. Due to a growing congregation from Stull and Lecompton, a larger church was eventually needed, so in 1919, the community voted to build a new church. In 1922 a new church was built and eventually got the name “United Methodist Zion Church” in 1968. This new church holds services and meetings that continue today under the name Stull United Methodist Church.

In the late 1890s, a telephone switchboard was added to the house of a Stull resident named J. E. Louk, and soon thereafter, on April 27, 1899, a post office was established in the back of the very same building. The town's first and only postmaster was Sylvester Stull, from whom the town derived its name. According to Parker and Laird, the United States Post Office simply selected the name based on the name of the postmaster. The name stuck even after the post office was discontinued in 1903.

Stull residents opened two schools before Kansas was admitted to the Union. The first school only lasted for about five years, the other school named “Deer Creek” experienced increasing enrollments and started being used for church services by the Lutheran congregation and the United Brethren on Sundays. Along with church services, the school held debates, voting for general elections, and competitions in baseball, horseshoes, sewing, and cooking. The school continued until 1962 when it closed; students thereafter went to Lecompton to continue their education.

Farming brought the community new hope and continues to be the common livelihood of the remaining residents. Construction on the Clinton Reservoir led to changes in road routes and farming locations. While this did mean the loss of farms to eminent domain and county purchase, it helped Stull and its surrounding communities become more progressive.