Record
About Cato
Cato is an unincorporated community in Crawford County, Kansas, United States.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Cato, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Cato is

Historic maps
14 historic USGS maps cover Cato
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1884 Fort Scott sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1886 Fort Scott sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1893 Fort Scott sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1893 Ft Scott sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1947 Joplin sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1948 Mulberry sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1949 Joplin sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1950 Mulberry sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1954 Joplin sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Joplin sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 Cato sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 Joplin sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1986 Nevada sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1991 Nevada sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Cato
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Kansas index.
- Litchfield16.4 mi S · Crawford
- Beulah16.4 mi S · Crawford
- Uniontown17.9 mi NW · Bourbon
- Walnut18.8 mi W · Crawford
- Monmouth23.7 mi SW · Crawford
- South Mound31.1 mi SW · Neosho
- Moneka34.5 mi N · Linn
- Ladore36.4 mi SW · Neosho
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "Cato": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "Cato, Kansas": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q17182856.
- USGS GNIS 484708.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).