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Gc 978.101 C83W 1519073
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
=
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01103 1223
THE - WINFIELD COURIER
CALIFOR.
A.T. & S.Y. S
A.T.& S.F CHICAGO
ST.L&SF To ST. LOUIS
B.K.R.R. TO PAN HANOLE
SK. RR TO KANSAS CITY
TO SOUTH WEST
A.T A S. F.
GALVESTON
MO. P.c. R. R. O KANSAS CITY
3
SUPPLEMENTAL EDITION March 14. 1901
B.F. Sadi
NIA
MO. P.S. R.R.
TO DENVER
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
WINFIELD COURIER HISTORY
OF
COWLEY COUNTY, KANSAS
By D.A.Millington up to 1882 and
brought down to January 1,1901 by E. P.Greer
Supplemental Edition
GC 978.101 C83 cm
Winfield, Kansas Courier Print 1901
1519073
To the Readers
of the Courier
T HIS Souvenir Edition of the Courier has been produced under many difficulties. It was begun with the hope that it would conservatively and truly set forth the history and resources of Cowley County and the growth, development and present condition of our beautiful and prosperous city, all in a permanent form for preservation. [The faces of the men who have made, and are making the material and political history of Cowley County and Winfield, are fast passing from our view. The grim reaper has been unusually busy with his harvest during the past few years. It is therefore becoming and proper that their Ikonesses be preserved. For these reasons we have given the Souvenir magazine form and substantial binding. Let every citizen preserve a copy. In years to come it will be of priceless value. We have endeavored to make this work worthy of the subject.
We here take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to our friend and worthy townsman, Col. H. C. Loomis, for the great interest manifested by him in the work. His aid and suggestions have done much to insure its success.
Major D. B.Casteel has by his own efforts inaugurated and made successful this work. He did all the soliciting and compiled and wrote all the matter. He has prepared the material for many special newspaper and magazine issues, and his work bears the impress of studious care. We have found him just what he is recommended to be, capable, energetic and honest. Of necessity some typographical errors appear. It seems almost impossible to keep such a work free from them. The cover design is from the pen of Mr. B. F. Sadil, in whose artistic talent the city takes justifiable pride. The mechanical work throughout is the product of the Courier Printing Plant and done by young men who have learned their trade in the Courier office. We hope it will give satisfaction and prove a valuable work of reference now, and more so in the years to come.
Respectfully,
E. P. GREER.
ERRATA
On page 2, line eight, second column, "1879" should read 1869.
On page 2, line eighteen, second column, " west " should read east.
The illustrations on Page 15 are interior views of the Southwest Kansas College instead of the Luth- ern College.
On page 53, line seventeen, second column, "1845" should read 1855, this being the year of Mr. Robinson's birth.
Henry ledomnit
The C ourier.
VOL. XXXII
WINFIELD, KANSAS, JANUARY 31, 1900
NO. 86
HISTORY OF COWLEY COUNTY, KANSAS
By D. A. Millington up to 1882 and brought down to January ist 1901 by E. P. Greer
HERE is a legend, that in 1537, De- Soto's great expedition in search of the "Fountain of Youth," and of the precious metals, which journeyed from the shores of Florida in a north-west direction, crossed the Mississippi river near New Madrid, continued its course westward to the present territory of Cowley county, Kansas, dug for silver among the Flint Hills, in the eastern part of the county, and among the hills of Liberty township, where old ex- cavations still remain, and finally discovered the "Fountain of Youth," which is now known as the famous Geuda Springs, near the west side of this county.
Another legend is, that in 1542, Coronado, in his search for the seven citics of Cibola and the Suiviri, crossed the Arkansas, near Buffington's ford, the Walnut at the Kick- apoo ford, and camped a few days near where Baden's mill now stands, in the western portion of the present city of Winfield, and left broken arms and utensils, which have since been plowed up, one of which, a very rusty piece of sword, is now a relic in the Courier office at Winfield.
During the first half of the pres- Early Condition. ent century this land was in the remote centre of the "Great American Desert" of our old geographies. This desert was no myth, but a reality. There was no timber, except narrow strips skirting the principal streams, kept narrowed by the annual fire which swept the plains, whose rolling, ridgy surface was only sparsely covered by the mesquit, a small buffalo grass, which fed the millions of buffalo, which traversed the country in their annual migrations. Here, the coyote, the wolf, the deer, the antelope, the wild turkey, the beaver and the otter were at home, and the trapper of the plains and mountains sometimes visited it for game. It was the hunting grounds of the Osages, Cherokees and many wild tribes of In- dians, who annually fired the short buffalo grass, and the general fires swept over the whole country,
CITY BUILDING, WINFIELD
killing out any venturesome vegetation that other- wise would have increased and flourished, and the country was kept bare of all other vegetation, save the short sparse grass, which fed the fires. The con- sequence was, as in all other desert countries, that the almost bare ground absorbed the sun's heating rays and made the summers intensely hot, and the continued rising of the heated air from the surface kept the vapors above from being chilled into clouds and rain, while during the night the radiation of heat from the uncovered, unprotected ground was very rapid, still preventing the chilling of the vapors above it into rain, but making the nights very cold. Thus no rains fell, except very rarely in extraordinary coll- vulsions of the atmosphere, when it came down like a del- uge for a few hours, raising the streams to heights since unknown, and quickly flowing away without saturating the . ground.
With the settlements of later years came the firebreaks and cultivation; the blue stem grass crept in, and in time sodded heavily the prairies, covering the earth with a tall grass; fires were less frequent and less general; the timber skirts spread out along the streams, trees were planted; the earth became more and better covered with vegeta- tion; rains became more fre- quent, and were better re- tained in the ground; the storms became less violent; the soil became exceedingly productive, and finally it was proven that almost every kind of tree, fruit, grain and grass would flourish here with the proper care. Up to 1869, this country was only inhabited by the nomadic red man. The Osages had their villages on the east banks of the Arkansas river, opposite the mouth of the Ninnescali, and on the east side of Timber creek, a mile above the present site of Win- field. A great Indian trail, traveled largely by the Osages from their villiages along the Neosha, Verdi- gris and Elk to their western hunting grounds, entered the county over the flint ridge on the east, crossed the Grouse, two miles above Dexter, passed over the present townsite of Tisdale, crossed the Walnut at Winfield, and crossed the Arkansas at the mouth of the Ninnescalı.
THE WINFIELD COURIER
On the 3rd day of March, 1867, the Kansas Legislature, in session at the old Constitution hall at Topeka, erected and carved out a new county on the south border of the state, in latitude 37º north, and extending North 33 miles; the east line of which county was 105 miles west to the east line of the state, and extending west 3412 miles. The new county was named Cowley, after Lieut. Mathew Cowley, a brave soldier of the 9th Kansas Vol. regi- ment.
COWLEY COUNTY COURT HOUSE, WINFIELD
It is between latitude 37 and 37" and 33' north. and between longitude 96' 38' and 97º 20' west of Greenwich. It embraces townships 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and north half of 35 south, ranges 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 412 miles West side of 8, east of the 6th principal meridian, containing 1144 square miles.
A strip of land about three miles wide, running east and west, across the state, along the south line, known as the Cherokee strip, had been reserved to the Cherokees as a roadway to the hunting grounds farther west. North of this strip was a strip thirty miles wide, running from the east side of the Verdigris, west, to the west line of the state, which belonged to the Osages, and was known as the "Osage Diminished Reserve." The county of Cowley ran across these two strips, north and south. The several sub- tribes of the Great and Little Osages under the great chiet, Chetopa, and the chiels, White Ilair, Little Beaver, Napawalla, Big Hill, Black Dog and others, frequented the Grouse, Silver creek, Walnut river, and Ar- I ansas river country, and had their hunting camps here.
In August, 1868, N. J. First Settlement. Thompson built a log cabin near the south line of Butler county, east of the Walnut river, and occupied it. It was afterwards found to be in this county. The next settlement we have an ac- count of, was south of N. J. Thompson's, by Wm. Quinby and a Mr. Sales, but we have no date.
During 1868, some cattle speculators got to coming down among the Osages to buy cattle which
the Osages were stealing from the Indian territory farther south, and would sell in large numbers at low prices. These cattle speculators gained a know- ledge of this county, its beautiful streams, prairies, mounds, hills and rich. bottom lands, and their re- ports attracted much attention and stimulated a number of persons to trespass upon these lands and make settlements in 1879. James Renfro and sons, T. B. Ross and sons, John and Joe Stansbury, B. F. Murphy, T. A. Blanchard, S. B. Williams, F. W. Schwantes, and some others penetrated as far south as the bottoms, three or four miles north of Winfield, and made settlements early in 1869. In June, 1869, Cliff M. Wood brought some groceries down from Chase county to sell to the Indians and settlers. He kept them awhile at the house of James Renfro, but soon erected a kind of stockade, near where Bliss' mill now stands, on the west banks of the Walnut, and moved his stock therein in July. The Osage Indians were quite numerous and annoyed him much by their attempts to steal and other un- friendly demonstrations. Finally, Cliff thought it prudent to move back to Renfro's for safety. After- wards, in August, the settlers were ordered out of the valley and hostilities threatened. Cliff's stockade was burned down by the Osages, and the settlers stampeded to Butler county. Judge T. B. Ross only remained. He was to stubborn too run and there- fore stood his grounds.
In June 1869. E. C. Manning came down with P. Y. Beeker, and erected a cabin for the latter in the bend, two miles south of Winfield which was the first building south of where Winfield now stands. At that time Mr. and Mrs. Bridges and three men were found encamped on Posy creek. Mrs. Bridges was the first white woman who penetrated so far south. She was afterwards quite a writer for the local papers.
At that time, June 11th, 1869, E. C. Manning
FIRE TRUCK NO. 3, WINFIELD
laid claim on the land in the north west part of the present city of Winfield.
After the fear of the Indians had somewhat sub- sided, in September, several families returned with others, who made claims in the vicinity of Man-
THE WINFIELD COURIER
nings'. These were C. M. Wood and wife, Pretty- man Knowles, James H. Land, J. C. Monforte, W. G. Graham and their families. To Mrs. Florence Wood, wife of C. M. Wood, belongs the honor of having been the first white woman to settle south of Timber creek, and go through all the early dangers and troubles with the Indians. During December, 1869, Alonzo Howland, W. W. Andrews, Joel Mack, H. C. Loomis, and A. Meanor took up claims in the same vicinity. Mr. Howland built on his claim, just south east of Winfield, the first frame house built in the country. He hauled the lumber 100
a shingle or piece of board. The following is a sample:
.. NOATISS."
This klame was took by me Orgust 9 1969 Fam goan for my fokes. If anybody dairs to squat on this elame while ime goan he will git a lode of buck-shot Plenty of klames further south.
Jony SMITH.
Claim disputes were adjudicated by a settlers' meeting.
During the summer of 1869, 11. C. Endicott, Geo. HIarmon, Ed. Chapin, W. Johnson, Pat Endicott,
SOUTHWEST KANSAS COLLEGE WINFIELD
miles, without the least sign of a road part of the way. In December, E. C. Manning built a log house on his claim, and kept in it a small stock of goods for trade with the Indians and settlers.
At this time and up to July 15th, 1870, the settlers were trespassers on Indian lands without any rights, and the Osages only allowed them to remain by the payment of a tax of $5.00 per head to the chief, Chetopa. But the settlers paid the little five dollars, took the other risks, and made their claims, staking out each about 160 aeres, and putting out a notice, stating intentions, written on
Pat Somers and Z. K. Rogers took claims as far south as the vicinity of where Arkansas City now stands.
On the 9th of January, 1870. a party of fifteen men consisting of Thomas Coates, John Coates, Wm. Coates, Jos. Reynolds, Gilbert Branson, Henry Branson, Winton Phenis, I. H. Phenis, H. Haywood, I .. B. Bullington, T. J. Raybell, D. T. Walters, S. S. Severson, John Nichols and O. J. Phenis, came in and took claims along the Grouse valley.
About January 1st. 1870, W. R. Brown, G. II. Norton, T. A. Wilkinson, H. D. Kellogg, John Brown
4
THE WINFIELD COURIER
and H. B. Norton, members of the Walnut City Town company, camped in the grove on C. M. Woods claim, near where the Timber creek iron bridge now is. A number of leading citizens of Emporia, among whom were P. B. Plumb, Jacob Stotler, C. V. Esk- ridge, L. B. Kellogg, and the above named, with H. L. Hunt of Cottonwood Falls had organized a town company, under the above name, for the purpose of locating a town at the junction of the Walnut and Arkansas rivers, which should be the "future great," the county seat and emporium of Cowley county.
now stands, as the site for the new town. H. B. Norton took a claim adjoining the town site on the north, and H. D. Kellogg on the south. They re- linquished their claims south of the Timber creek, which were subsequently taken by A. A. Jackson, A. D. Speed, A. J. Thompson and others.
When this Walnut City Town company arrived at the mouth of the Walnut, they found the bottom and timber claims in that vicinity occupied by H. Endicott and his son Pat, Geo. Harmon, Ed. Chapin, Pat Somers, J. Carr, J. Hughes and others.
CENTRAL SCHOOL WINFIELD
There had been no survey of this county, and the imperfect maps of that time, located the junction of these two rivers about the center of the county. After some consultation they took five claims about where Winfield now stands, as a site for the proposed town, but continued on to the junction, and after looking the ground over, they concluded to put their faith in the maps and adhere to their original plan. So, 01 Jan. 1st, they located in the name of John Brown, John Strain, T. A. Wilkinson and G. H. Norton, the four claims on which Arkansas City
This town company consisted of fifteen members, including the four claim holders who were to hold the claims until they could be entered, and then the claims were to be turned over to the town company. On their way down they discovered a town site called Walnut City, in Butler county and therefore concluded to change the name of their town to Delphi. On their return to Emporia they concluded to change the name to Cresswell, in honor of the postmaster general of that time. It was known by that name for three months, until the county had
5
THE WINFIELD COURIER
been divided into three townships, and the township containing their townsite had been named Cresswell, a name which the township has ever since retained. But, in April when a post-office was to be established in the town, it was discovered that Cresswell post- office had already been established in the state, and Senator E. G. Ross, who made the application, named the post-office Arkansas City, and this name was adopted for the town and has been retained to this time. Early in January, building was com- menced on the new town site, and pushed with energy and hope. Backed by the capital of the in- fluential founders of Emporia, and the earnest work
by the subsequent survey, should include the claim house of E. C. Manning, was made the nucleus of the town, and was named Winfield. The town com- pany organized with E. C. Manning, president; W. W. Andrews, vice president; C. M. Wood, treasurer; W. G. Graham, sec .; E. C. Manning, J. H. Land, A. A. Jackson, W. G. Graham and J. C. Monforte, directors. Main street, 120 feet wide was laid out north and south, across this supposed 40 acre tract, and the town company agreed to build for E. C. Manning a two story log building for a store, and the upper story to be used for public purposes, to pay for the 40 acres of his claim.
SOUTH WARD SCHOOL, WINFIELD
of those located on the town site, it pushed ahead rapidly and soon made quite a show.
The settlers about Timber creek had no capital to back them, but the enterprise of their Cresswell neighbors stimulated them into an effort to start a town. They repudiated the old maps, concluding that the center of the county was on the fine plateau of the second bottom land, bounded on the south and west by the Walnut, on the north by the Timber and on the east by a fine range of mounds, and on January 13th they commenced the organization of the Winfield town company, with the view of start- ing a rival town, which should be the future county seat. In the selection of a name, the christian name of Winfield Scott, a noted Baptist preacher, then in charge of the Baptist church at Leavenworth, was adopted. The 40 acre sub-division of land, which,
County Organization.
Early in February, 1870, a bill was introduced into the Legis- lature of the state, then in session at Topeka, to organize Cowley county, making Cresswell the temporary county seat. The
great influence of the Emporia founders of Cresswell, in the councils of the state, rendered it almost cer- tain that the bill would pass, and as soon as the news of the movement reached Winfield. measures were taken to "head it off." C. M. Wood, A. A. Jackson and J. H. Lamb were started out to take a census of the county, which they completed in three days, showing a population of over six hundred. With E. C. Manning they went on to Douglas, in Butler county, where, on February 23d, they swore to the correctness of their work, before H. C. Lamb, a Jus-
THE WINFIELD COURIER
tice of the Peace (for there was no one then author- ized, in Cowley county, to administer oaths.) E. C. Manning then took the census returns, made out the necessary papers, hurried to Governor S. J. Craw- ford, in Topeka, and as all the proofs were presented which the law required, the Governor at once issued his order under the law, proclaiming Cowley county organized, with Winfield the county seat; W. W. Andrews, G. H. Norton and S. F. Graham, County Commissioners, and E. P. Hickok, County Clerk.
The first meeting of the board of County Com- missioners was held in the log claim house of W. W. Andrews, just northeast of Winfield, March 23d, 1870, and W. W. Andrews was elected chairman of the board. The county was then divided into three
votes. Winfield was declared elected. Morgan Wil- lett, T. A. Blanchard and G. H. Norton were elected County Commissioners; Frank A. Hunt, sheriff; 11. C. Loomis, County Clerk; E. P. Hickok, District Clerk; John Devore, County Treasurer; W. E. Cook, Register of Deeds; T. B. Ross, Probate Judge; F. S. Graham, County Surveyor; W. G. Graham, Coroner.
The township officers elected were: Rock Creek. -E. D. Phillips, Trustee; M. M. Martindale, Treas- urer; G. M. Dawson, Clerk; S. Dawson, J. P .; J. Pattison, Constable. Winfield .- W. W. Andrews, Trustee; T. B. Ross and J. C. Monforte, J. P .; R. S. Sayres and G. H. Bronson, Constables. Cresswell. -John Fisher, Trustee; R. A. Gilman and Ed. Chapin, J. P .; Geo. Harmon and J. C. Evans, Constables.
WEST WARD SCHOOL, WINFIELD
municipal townships, and three commissioner dis- tricts corresponding to the townships. Commis- sioner district No. 1, Rock Creek township, embraced that part of the county north of the latitude of the mouth of Little Dutch Creek. No. 2, Winfield town- ship, embraced that part of the county south of No. 1, and north of the line hounding E. P. Hickok's claim on the south, and extending south west to cross Grouse creek, ten miles above its mouth. No. 3, Cresswell township, embraced the balance of the county south west of No. 2. At this meeting
THE FIRST ELECTION
was called, a special election to elect county and township officers, and to elect a county seat, to be held on May 2nd, 1870. At this election, for county seat, Winfield had 108 votes and Arkansas City 55
Subsequently, Judge Brown of the 9th Judicial dis- triet, of which Cowley county was a part, appointed T. H. Johnson, County Attorney.
On July 6th, Col. Loomis appointed Dr. W. Q. Mansfield his Deputy County Clerk, and John De- vore appointed j. P. Short his Deputy County Treasurer. T. A. Blanchard was elected chairman of the board of County Commissioners.
On July 15th, 1870, Congress passed a law to open up the Osage Diminished Reserve to settlement. The law was first to be ratified by the Osage chiefs and then the land was to be surveyed by the govern- ment and sold to actual settlers in quantities not exceeding 160 acres to each "in square form," when they should have occupied and made substantial improvements thereon for six months. The passage
7
THE WINFIELD COURIER
of this law brought a very large number of settlers to Cowley county. Among these were J. C. Fuller and D. A. Millington who arrived at Winfield, Aug. 15th, and at once bought the claim of A. A. Jackson, adjoining the claim of E. C. Manning on the east, with the view of giving the town a start in the race for supremacy. At this time the old log store had been built by the Winfield town company, and occu- pied by E. C. Manning as a store and post office, of which he was post master. This was situated on the ground where the Odd Fellows hall now stands. Max Shoeb had built a log blacksmith shop on the lot south of where the Winfield National bank now stands, W. Q. Mansfield was commencing a small drug store just north of the log store, and Frank
mediately followed by the Arkansas City Traveler. at Arkansas City Aug. 24. The new accessions to Winfield began building, stimulating others to build, inducing immigrants to stop at Winfield and improve lots, and in the next three months thirty buildings had been erected, and the rivalry between the two towns was warm and earnest.
On the 29th of Oet., the Osage tribes met in council, on Drum creek, and ratified the law of July 15th, opening the Osage Diminished Reserve to settlement, and from that time all restraint was removed from the free settlement of this county.
The first postmaster in the county was G. H. Norton of Arkansas City, appointed in April 1870. The next was E. C. Manning of Winfield, appointed
EAST WARD SCHOOL, WINFIELD
Hunt was commencing to build a hardware store adjoining. These with Manning's claim house was all there was of Winfield.
At this time Arkansas City was flourishing. There were more than fifty buildings on its town site. Its proprietors were intelligent and enterpris- ing, and working like beavers. They claimed to be near the center of the county, and that the state line was sixteen miles south of their city, where they had seen the line. Many people, wishing to locate in the future county seat, were locating there and making improvements. Arkansas City had a boom and Winfield was neglected.
A newspaper was started in Winfield, called the Cowley County Censor, by A. J. Patrick, the first number of which was issued Ang. 13th. This was in-
in May. The first celebration was July 4th, at Win- field. Prof. E. P. Hickok was the orator of the day, and the settlers came from distant parts of the county and made a field day of it. The first United States census was taken in June in 1870, Zimri Stubbs, enumerater. The population numbered 726.
The first session of the district court was held in Winfield, May . 23d, 1871, by Henry G. Webb, Judge of the 11th judicial district. Another term was held by the same judge, October 9th, 1871. In Feb. 1872, the Legislature created the 13th judicial district, and the Governor appointed W. P. Campell judge, who held court at Winfield, March 25th, 1872, and being elected Judge in November, 1872, and again in 1876, he remained judge of this dis- triet, and held two or three terms of court a year in
8
THE WINFIELD COURIER
Winfield. nutil January, 1881. when he was succeeded by E. S. Torrance. M. G. Troupe was appointed to succeed Judge Torrance, who resigned in 1887, and served until January. 1893. when A. M. Jackson was elected and served until 1894. At this time the Legis- lature changed the district, placing Cowley and Sumner together, and J. A. Burnett became Judge of this dis- trict. He was succeeded in 1899 by W. F. McBride. who occupies the bench at this writing.
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