Caldwell, an incorporated city of Stunner county, is located 13 miles southwest of Wellington, the county seat, and 3 miles from the southern boundary of the state. The first settlement was made in March, 1871, and the city was named for Alexander Caldwell, United States senator from Kansas. A log building was erected by the town company, and was occupied by C. H. Stone with the first stock of goods in the place. Mr. Stone was also the first postmaster, the office being established soon after the town was laid out. In July, 1879, Caldwell was incorporated as a city of the third class, and at the election on Aug. 7, N. J. Dixon was elected mayor; J. D. Kelly, police judge; J. A. Blair, F. G. Hussen, H. C. Challes and A. Rhoades, councilmen. J. D. Kelly, Jr., was appointed the first city clerk.

Caldwell is situated at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and the Kansas Southwestern railroads, which makes it an important shipping point. It has 2 banks, 2 grain elevators, 2 flour mills, 2 weekly newspapers (the Advance and the News), a number of well stocked mercantile establishments, an international money order postoffice with 7 rural routes, express and telegraph offices, telephone connections, good hotels, graded public schools, churches of the leading denominations, etc. In the immediate vicinity are large deposits of stone, large quantities of which are shipped annually. The population in 1910 was 2,205.