08/16/2026
The Maxson family played an important role in the history of Edna and the surrounding agricultural community. Their roots in the Edna area predate the livestock sale barns for which the family later became well known throughout southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Historical Society states that the Maxson family began a cattle-auction business in 1928 and opened the Maxson Sales Barn in Welch, Oklahoma, in 1967. The Welch barn was eventually sold in 1977 and became the Welch Livestock Auction.
Irvin Maxson, who was born in the Edna area in 1893 and died in 1960, represents an important generation in the family’s history. His lifetime spanned a significant period of change in southeastern Kansas agriculture. He was born when Edna was still a young rural community and witnessed the transformation from horse-powered farming to mechanization, the difficult agricultural years of the 1920s and 1930s, and the growth of the livestock industry that eventually extended the Maxson name throughout Kansas and Oklahoma.
Irvin married Geneva Irene Duncan, and together they raised the family that continued the Maxson agricultural and auction tradition into succeeding generations.
During Irvin’s lifetime, the agricultural economy around Edna was closely connected to neighboring Oklahoma. Farmers and ranchers routinely bought, sold and transported livestock across the state line, and the Maxson family’s business grew to serve this regional agricultural community.
Over the years, the family operated or was associated with livestock sales in:
* Welch, Oklahoma
* South Coffeyville, Oklahoma
* Parsons, Kansas
The Maxson story is an important part of the agricultural history of Edna and the surrounding Kansas-Oklahoma region.
If you or your family have photographs, sale bills, advertisements, auction memorabilia, documents, or other items relating to the Maxson family or their local business, we would be very happy to hear from you. The Edna Kansas Historical Society and Museum would be honored to preserve and share these pieces of our community’s history for future generations.
