Downs, Kansas, was founded in 1879 when Major William F. Downs brought the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad into the area. The Central Branch (as it was called and will be referred to in this article) laid out the town at the "Y" junction where the railroad tracks split, with one branch going southwest toward Osborne, where it followed the south fork of the Solomon River west, and the other northwest following the north fork of the Solomon.

Downs sprang up from the prairie almost overnight. In its boom, the railroad had eighteen trains running daily. With both passengers and freight, the trains were constantly on the move. Downs also had one of the largest roundhouses in the state with a capacity for ten locomotives and, with its well-balanced turntable, could turn the heaviest locomotive with ease. Several freight trains still run through Downs weekly, operated by the Kyle Railroad of Phillipsburg.

>A detailed description of Downs' beginning is laid out below, copied from the Downs News & Times' Centennial Edition dated July 26, 1979. Of course, not all of the history could be presented here, but interesting tidbits should give you an overview of the town's history.