Established in 1879 as a railroad town, Beaumont became one of the most important shipping points in the Flint Hills. It stood atop the divide separating Otter Creek and Little Walnut Creek, and westbound trains from Piedmont faced nearly ten miles of steep grade before cresting the divide. A 25,000 gallon wooden water tower was constructed, and 7 trains consumed 35 thousand gallons of water daily; a steam engine alone used approximately 5,000 gallons between Piedmont and Beaumont. In 1890 a roundhouse with six engine stalls and inspection and repair pits underneath was built, and Beaumont became the overhaul station between St. Louis and Wichita. Ninety people worked there, and structures were built for coal, offices, store rooms, an ice house, showers, and a depot. By 1950 cattle shipping had been taken over by trucks, and in 1955 the last steam engine passenger train passed through Beaumont. The wooden water tower was the last one used on the mainline of a railroad in the United States.