MARQUETTE ? This central Kansas community’s offer of free land for those willing to build houses is starting to pay off.

“We’ve had close to a 20 percent increase in population,” Mayor Steve Piper said. “The town’s pretty full right now, which I never thought I’d see.”

One hundred residents have joined the town since the land-giveaway program started two years ago. The first phase of the project, with lots for 21 homes, is filled. Homes are being built in the second phase, while plans are under way for a third phase that will include land for new business.

Enrollment in the local elementary school has reached 148, climbing from the low 120s.

Newcomers have been attracted by life in a small town. Donna and James Colley came from California to Marquette, sight unseen, with their four children. They’re renting now while building a home of their own.

Donna Colley, a paralegal, learned about Marquette on the Internet. At the time she and her family were renting a two-bedroom apartment for $1,700 a month, and prices for homes they were considering had nearly doubled to around $500,000.

At her children’s school, as many as 45 students were in some classrooms.

“Do we want to spend that much, live by so many people, gangs, drive-by shootings?” she asked.

She sent for information about the little town in Kansas, and asked the children what they thought about moving.

Their answer: “Let’s give it a chance.”

“It’s been almost a year, but it doesn’t feel that long; it’s so relaxed and peaceful,” their mother said. “I’m still trying to figure how we made it when we lived there.”

Two people moved to town from Miami, and four more are coming from Los Angeles. Mayor Piper said the newcomers seem to enjoy life in a small town and are fitting in well.

“We stress to them this is a community, not just a place to live, and we want them to take part in things,” Piper said.

Tammy Gladding, a mother of two widowed for 10 years, found out about Marquette’s offer when she saw the mayor on a news broadcast. She and her parents came from the San Bernadino area of California in August 2004 to look around, and she liked it enough to move with the kids last Christmas.

She, too, is renting while her new house is being finished. Her search for someone to put in the lawn led her to Rusty Young, a local bar and liquor store owner, and now they’re planning to be married.

Gladding’s children had trouble adjusting at first, but now they’ve settled in, joining a 4-H club and participating in school sports.

“Everything’s going good, and I’m content,” said Gladding.

Rochelle and Philip Hamilton moved to Marquette from Kansas City, Mo., and they’re opening the Butterfly Studio and Butterfly Boutique on Main Street. He’s a photographer, she designs unique gifts, and they’ll live in a loft above their store.

“The people here are absolutely wonderful,” Rochelle Hamilton said.

Piper, a third-generation grocer, said that people coming from big cities may experience “a little culture shock” at first.

But the mayor said, “The Marquette community spirit just takes them over, and they like being a part of the town.”