“Smallville” is Superman’s fictional Kansas hometown.
“Stubbville” is the Sunflower State city where Steve Martin’s and John Candy’s characters catch a train after a frigid ride in the back of a pickup in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
That’s reel life.
In real life, Kansas communities with names that end in ‘ville” are pretty common.
In celebration of Kansas Day, here are the 24 incorporated Sunflower State cities identified in U.S. Census records as having names that end in “ville,” listed in order of population, plus one in Nemaha County that’s unincorporated but nevertheless has 182 people.
The list doesn’t include “Larryville,” a common nickname for Lawrence, or “Aggieville,” the Manhattan bar district.
1. Haysville
Haysville, which the 2020 U.S. Census says has a population of 11,262, is in Sedgwick County in south-central Kansas. The city is named after its founder, W.W. Hays. It has been called the “Peach Capital of Kansas,” though peach production there has waned.
2. Coffeyville
Coffeyville, population 8,826, is in Montgomery County in southeast Kansas. It is named after Col. James A. Coffey, an early trader in the area. Coffeyville is perhaps best known as the place where the Dalton Gang met its demise when it tried to rob two banks at once in 1892.