Silkville is a ghost town in Franklin County, Kansas. It sits roughly 25 km (15 mi) SE of Lyndon. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Silkville is a ghost town in Williamsburg Township, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It was located approximately two miles southwest of Williamsburg at the intersection of U.S. 50 highway and Arkansas Road. The settlement was founded in the late 1800s by a Frenchman named Ernest de Boissière, who believed in Fourierian utopian socialism. Silkville was a sericulture-based settlement, and remuneration was based what each settler could produce. Silkville's silk was praised at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, but loss of settlers and difficulty in selling the silk resulted in the settlement's collapse. Only a few buildings remain.From the Wikipedia article “Silkville, Kansas”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Silkville the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 59° (ENE) at the June solstice and 120° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 301° (WNW) in June to 240° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 75° in summer but only 28° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:26 AM | 90° E | 7:34 PM | 271° W | 51° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:59 AM | 59° ENE | 8:50 PM | 301° WNW | 75° | 14h 51m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:10 AM | 89° E | 7:21 PM | 271° W | 52° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:36 AM | 120° ESE | 5:05 PM | 240° WSW | 28° | 9h 29m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Weathered wood and rusted metal show texture best in low-angle light; overcast skies suit interiors and moody black-and-white work.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:10 AM | 7:39 AM | 8:19 AM | 4:45 PM | 5:25 PM | 5:54 PM | 9h 47m |
| February | 6:46 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:50 AM | 5:24 PM | 6:00 PM | 6:28 PM | 10h 47m |
| March | 7:08 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:09 AM | 6:54 PM | 7:29 PM | 7:56 PM | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:19 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:22 AM | 7:23 PM | 7:58 PM | 8:26 PM | 13h 12m |
| May | 5:42 AM | 6:11 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:49 PM | 8:27 PM | 8:57 PM | 14h 16m |
| June | 5:27 AM | 5:58 AM | 6:38 AM | 8:09 PM | 8:48 PM | 9:20 PM | 14h 50m |
| July | 5:40 AM | 6:11 AM | 6:49 AM | 8:08 PM | 8:46 PM | 9:17 PM | 14h 36m |
| August | 6:09 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:13 AM | 7:41 PM | 8:18 PM | 8:46 PM | 13h 40m |
| September | 6:38 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:39 AM | 6:57 PM | 7:32 PM | 7:58 PM | 12h 28m |
| October | 7:05 AM | 7:31 AM | 8:07 AM | 6:09 PM | 6:45 PM | 7:12 PM | 11h 14m |
| November | 6:36 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:43 AM | 4:32 PM | 5:10 PM | 5:39 PM | 10h 06m |
| December | 7:03 AM | 7:33 AM | 8:14 AM | 4:21 PM | 5:03 PM | 5:33 PM | 9h 30m |
Local time (America/Chicago), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
From Silkville, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 5.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 23° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 3 (rural sky), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| February | 5:19 AM – 5:39 AM | 0.3 | 12° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:38 AM – 5:58 AM | 1.3 | 19° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:33 AM – 5:03 AM | 2.5 | 22° | SE → S |
| May | 12:34 AM – 4:14 AM | 3.7 | 23° | SE → S |
| June | 10:46 PM – 3:56 AM | 5.2 | 23° | SE → SSW |
| July | 10:39 PM – 2:29 AM | 3.8 | 23° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:56 PM – 12:26 AM | 2.5 | 22° | S → SW |
| September | 9:02 PM – 10:32 PM | 1.5 | 19° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:13 PM – 8:33 PM | 0.3 | 13° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -19° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.61 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 8.0+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show September as the clearest month (about 41% average cloud cover) and February as the cloudiest (60%). July is the warmest month and January the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 73 | 75 | 83 | 90 | 94 | 106 | 112 | 113 | 107 | 94 | 80 | 73 |
| Low °F | -10 | -3 | -2 | 19 | 31 | 46 | 53 | 49 | 39 | 20 | 9 | -3 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this ghost town
- For interiors with windows, blend two exposures (one for inside, one for the view) instead of relying on HDR alone.
- Old buildings under the Milky Way make strong night images in dark rural skies.
- Look for details: door hinges, faded signs, square nails and window frames tell the story.
- Leave everything as you found it; removing artifacts from public land is illegal.
- Tell someone where you're going in remote areas and carry the ten essentials.
Season: High-elevation mining towns are reachable mostly from June to October; desert ghost towns are best in spring and autumn.
Suggested gear: Wide-angle lens, Tripod, Headlamp, Sturdy boots. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Permits, drones & access
Private property: Many ghost towns sit on private land or protected historic sites. Respect signs, never enter unstable buildings and leave artifacts in place.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Silkville, closest first.
Campgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Outlet(Melvern)20 km (13 mi) · reservable
- Coeur D'Alene21 km (13 mi) · reservable
- Outlet (Pomona Lake)23 km (14 mi) · reservable
- Arrow Rock24 km (15 mi) · reservable
- Michigan Valley24 km (15 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Silkville?
What time is golden hour at Silkville?
Where does the sun rise and set at Silkville?
Can you see the Milky Way from Silkville?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Silkville?
How far is Silkville from Lyndon?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.