In 1877, James Keeney, a land speculator in Chicago, bought land at the place of modern-day WaKeeney from the Kansas Pacific Railway. He, and business partner Albert Warren, created Warren, Keeney, & Co., surveyed and plotted the site in 1878. They created a colony there in 1879. They named the colony WaKeeney, a portmanteau of their last names. 