USA > Kansas > Sedgwick County > History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas, past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county, Vol. II > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
Gc 978.101 Se28b v.2 1390091
M. L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00828 6855
Court House. Wichita, Kans.
4
SEDGWICK COUNTY COURTHOUSE.
HISTORY OF WICHITA
AND
SEDGWICK
COUNTY
KANSAS
PAST AND PRESENT
INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF THE COUNTY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF HON. O. H. BENTLEY
Vol. II
Illustrated
1910 C. F. COOPER & CO. CHICAGO
455
SCRAPS OF LOCAL HISTORY
THE STAGE COACH PERIOD OF WICHITA. By 1390091
FRED A. SOWERS.
The public carrier system that peopled this valley so marvel- ously in the early seventies was crude and simple, consisting of vehicles of every kind and class, drawn by animals of high and low degree ; mules, oxen, horses, and even burrows, a motely and heterogeneous mixture of all kinds and classes of people came with them, and they mingled together without distinction. The prairie schooner comers and the ox-cart people as well as the old- fashioned barouche occupants went into camp together on the outskirts or crowded the dimly outlined lane through the prairie and sunflowers, irregularly dotted at intervals with one-story houses, and dignified by the name of Main street, Wichita. News was transmitted by newcomers and each new arrival brought his budget, which started a scurrying to and fro among the inhabi- tants, like a prairie dog town, chasing back and forth to get and tell the latest news, as there were no newspapers here then; so came in one day a newspaper printed at Lawrence, Kan., convey- ing the intelligence, as read out loud by Uncle Reuben Riggs, a newly arrived country lawyer from faraway Illinois, that one Henry Tisdale, of Lawrence, Kan., had determined to erect a stage station at the new town, just started, called Wichita, way down on the Arkansas river. This station was to be a relay station and was to maintain several teams and stage outfits. The stages then hung about Humboldt, Emporia, Fort Scott, with several that had ventured as far as Eldorado and Augusta.
This news was received in much the same way the announce- ment of a new railroad coming to our city would be today if it included terminals, shops, etc. So, true to the item, along in the spring came Bi Terrill, superintendent of the Tisdale overland, with the material and a couple of carpenters. Together they staked out and located a stage barn on a few lots near where the Second ward school house now stands, then the property of Uncle Waterman. This location for a time became the Sabbath and idle-hour mecca for citizens and newcomers to visit while in process of construction, and when the occupation and stage coach equipment was being added, it then was as absorbing and
U 1 Sender $ 50.00 Val. ; 21 12.6-16 H.C. 3682 N
456
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
looked upon with much the same interest that our citizens of today visit and view the construction of the Beacon Building, the Schweiter Building, or the Forum; the effect on real estate inflation was also the same, only in a minor degree, for owners of lots in the vicinity of the stage stables stiffened the prices, and every one was, as today, a unit in predictions as to the future growth and greatness of Wichita. But to go back to our subject -the kind and character of the earlier vehicles used to bring emigrants. First came, with the establishment of the public car- rier system, the old-fashioned two-mule "jerkie," a thing about as comfortable to ride in as a tobacco hogshead for a toboggan, rolled down a rough hill; this kind of vehicle seemed constructed to teach difficult acrobatic feats, and it was soon discovered that the strong-ribbed roof was of a necessity to keep the passengers from being shot up and out over the sides, thus entailing upon the stage company numerous suits for damages to life and limb. A Frank Todd was the driver of one of these "jerkies," and in his boyish, devil-may-care spirit seemed to take delight in making the passengers he carried as uncomfortable as possible. He would husband the resources of the mules, so to speak, until he ' came to an unusually rough, rock-ribbed or wallowed road; then he would put the "bud" to them, and the way the "jerkie" would flounder, grate, raise up and dip and side toss, turn upside down and churn the passengers was simply awe-inspiring; a yell and protest from passengers inside, some in deep bass oaths, others in the hysterical screams of women and children, were lost in the whirl, smash and resonant whack of the whip, and the loud-mouthed pretended "whoas" of the driver, who in reality was making no effort to restrain them, for that was no part of the program. There were two of these hell-conceived convey- ances called "jerkies." They were routed from Emporia and later from Cottonwood Falls, as the Santa Fe Railroad kept build- ing west toward Newton. The driver of No. 2 "jerkie" was a round-faced, star-booted, uproarious "little periwinkle," who was afterward killed in some kind of a fracas at Sedgwick City ; he was usually accompanied in his drive in from the outskirts, seated alongside of him, by a dirty-faced little claim-holder who was also the possessor of the only clarinet within a hundred miles around, which he kept assiduously blowing on minor keys with a flat sameness that emitted a fa-la-lal-fa-lou from the sonorous department of the clarinet, which, besides heralding the approach
457
SCRAPS OF LOCAL HISTORY
of the stage from several miles away, brought the sparsely settled community into the solitary street to watch the incoming stage, to note the arrivals and learn the news, and to cluster about the three stopping places-the Munger House, Martin's restaurant or the Allen boarding-house, located near the corner of Third and Main streets.
After the "jerkies" were pushed west, the old-fashioned over- land coaches came into use, having been displaced by the build- ing far west of the Union Pacific Railroad. Some of those coaches were peeled with bullets and gouged with arrows, reminiscences of Indian fights, flights and narrow escapes. Their drivers were heroes of such escapades and were gentlemen of cloth, arrayed in shining top boots, big pearl buttons and broad-brimmed som- breros, a belt and two revolvers. Dan Parks, our oldest police- man, was a driver of one of those Pullman coaches-Pullman com- pared to the "jerkie." Dan made the drive from Augusta, while Bill Brooks, one of the historical drivers, who had rustled with Indians and drawbacks from a boy, drove from Emporia, Cot- tonwood Falls and Eldorado. His pride was to deliver the mail, Indians or no Indians, high water or floods; so on several occa- sions arriving at the east bank of Chisholm creek, at Central avenue now, where the crossing was-Chisholm was then quite a river here; on several occasions the water was out of its banks, and Chisholm creek reached to where the high school now stands. Bill, on such occasions, would dump his passengers with Dan Hoover, whose claim house was on the east side of Chisholm, near the hills; he would then unhitch the lead horses, fasten the mail on one horse, mount the other and swim the mail into the hamlet. Bill was a desperado as well as a stage driver. He was killed afterward in a pistol duel near Eldorado or Cottonwood Falls. In the meantime, by stage, prairie schooner, freight wagon, be- sides divers and sundry conveyances, Wichita grew to be quite a smart village. With the rapid changes came the railroad, built from Newton down to Wichita by the A., T. & S. F. R. R., in May, 1872; thus was displayed the old stage coach mode of travel, while civilization began to crowd out many of the endeared objects of pioneer life, leaving for a time a heart-burdened sense akin to pain. Such feeling was generated in the pioneer bosom in the sad day and the hour the old-time stage drivers threw their long whiplash over the leaders for a final departure, with a regal smile and a toss of their sombreros voicing back a long fare-
458
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
well, they disappeared over the prairie swell, seeking their new stations farther west .- Fred A. Sowers.
THEATERS IN WICHITA.
The New Auditorium. 157 St. Francis avenue; seating capac- ity, 1,800; J. A. Wolfe, manager.
Crawford Theater. 201-205 South Topeka avenue ; E. L. Mart- ling, manager.
Elite Theater. 409 East Douglas; seating capacity, 400; F. A. Beal, manager.
Marple Theater. 421. East Douglas avenue ; seating capacity, 650; W. H. Marple, manager.
The Novelty Theater. 408 East Douglas avenue; Frank Gar- rety, proprietor.
Orpheum Theater (vaudeville). 119-123 North Topeka ave- nue; Mrs. Mary Waterbury, proprietor; E. G. Olson, manager.
The Princess Theater (vaudeville). 115 South Lawrence ave- nue; seating capacity, 1,000; L. M. Miller, manager.
Yale Theater. 504 East Douglas avenue ; vaudeville and mov- ing pictures; seating capacity, 350; Fells & Hamilton, managers.
"IDA MAY" A VICTIM OF COWBOY SPORT.
Murray Myers, election commissioner, tells a story about the time when a lot of cowboys "shot up" the house of "Ida May," a character of the early days in Wichita. Although "Ida May" was not by any means as modest and moral as her name might lead one to judge, she was quite a figure at the time, and she occupied the largest building on Main street. This building was at the corner of Eighth and Main, and had been built by Morgan Cox and a man named Green, who sold it to the woman. "At sup- per one night some of us heard that a bunch of cowboys were going to have a little fun at 'Ida May's,' so we slipped out around toward the river and sneaked up as near to the house as we thought was safe," said Mr. Myers. "Presently we saw the cowboys coming on horseback. There were about forty of them and they were riding like mad up Main street, which in places was not much more than a cowpath. They surrounded the house and then the fun commenced. The boys were careful to shoot high at first, so no one would be hurt. Every volley was followed by a series of screams that could be heard distinctly by
459
SCRAPS OF LOCAL HISTORY
those of us who were lying hidden far enough away to be safe. Those fellows circled about that house and fired into it nearly an hour, and when they quit and rode away there was not a whole window or door in the building. It was said that at the first vol- ley all the inmates of the place lay down on the floor and in this manner escaped injury from the flying bullets."
THE FUEL PROBLEM PERPLEXED PIONEERS.
"The problem of fuel to supply the needs of the settlers in this county was one of the most perplexing that they had to face," declares E. A. Dorsey, city treasurer. "This was especially true of those who settled in the western portion of the county. There being no timber and no coal on sale west of Wichita, the settlers were often forced to adopt dire expedients to prevent suffering in their families. Much of the corn raised in 1871 and 1872 was burned, settlers having demonstrated to their satisfaction that the corn on the market, after hauling, would not purchase coal enough to make equal heat. Cornstalks and sunflowers were common fuel for summer use, but the great stand-by for winter was buffalo chips, called by the Irish settlers 'Kansas peats.' When dry, these made an intense heat, and for use in the open campfire were superior to wood. There was one drawback to their use in stoves, however. The odor from the smoke permeated every part of the house. This peculiarity of the fuel occasioned one custom altogether unique. In the event that a member of the family was away from home at night, instead of placing a light in the window for his guidance home, a fire was started in the stove and the smoke gave the wanderer unfailing guidance from any point of the compass. One friend of mine, with particularly acute sense of smell, used to declare that he could smell the smoke from his chimney a mile against the strongest Kansas wind."
FARMERS BROUGHT WHEAT MANY MILES TO WICHITA.
J. T. Holmes, now in the restaurant business on North Main, was one of the real pioneers of Wichita. He came here in 1870, and remembers the days when Wichita, though a small town, was the center of trade for the farmers to a distance of sixty miles or more. These farmers, with their ox teams generally, but with an occasional horse or mule team, hauled all their wheat to Wich-
460
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
ita, and Mr. Holmes says he has seen hundreds of these loads of wheat standing in line waiting to be weighed. There were at that time five sets of wheat scales in the vicinity of the Santa Fe, which was the only railroad, and it took three policemen during the wheat hauling season to keep the men in line and prevent them from fighting to get ahead of one an- other. Mr. Holmes says he has also seen dozens of wagon loads of buffalo and cattle bones waiting to be weighed in much the same manner as the wheat wagons, many farmers who had no wheat to sell being driven to the necessity of gathering up the bones that were scattered over the prairies and hauling them to town to sell.
SEDGWICK HOME LUMBER HAULED FROM EMPORIA.
"I remember very well the day when the teams started from Wichita to Emporia after the lumber that was used in the build- ing of what is now the 'Sedgwick Home,' " said Cyrus Sullivan, a pioneer, now engaged in the real estate business here. "It was one day in April, about the 20th, 1870, I think, when 'Billy' Greif- fenstein started the teams off after the lumber for what was to be the finest dwelling in Wichita for several years. Up to that time most of the lumber that had been used in Wichita was cot- tonwood, sawed at some of the mills along the creeks or rivers near town, and this action of Mr. Greiffenstein's in sending away for pine lumber to build a house was regarded as an evidence of his wealth and importance in the community." Greiffenstein, who was afterward mayor of the town three or four terms, lived in the house several years, and it was finally bought by the city. About a year and a half ago it was given to the Associate Chari- ties of the town to be used as a home for indigent persons.
THE TREND OF BUSINESS.
By LINDLEY BOYD.
I have been a real estate dealer for many years in this and other states. For several years past I have carefully watched the trend of business in Wichita. For many years Main street
461
SCRAPS OF LOCAL HISTORY
seemed to be the principal north and south street; the building of the Missouri Pacific depot near Second street and the building of the court house in its present location seemed to fix business in this way; later on came the building of the Missouri Pacific depot on West Douglas avenue, the city hall, the government postoffice, the Beacon Building, the Eagle Building, all south of Douglas avenue, has materially changed business in Wichita. In addition to this, Market street is rapidly building up in the blocks on each side of Douglas avenue; such also is the case with Law- rence, Emporia, St. Francis and other streets each side of the avenue on the north and south, but the building of the Smyth Block, occupied by the large dry goods firm of George Inness & Co., marked a distinct movement to the eastward in the business life of Wichita.
It must be recalled also that all of the railway depots except the Missouri Pacific are on the east part of Douglas avenue and on the south side of said street. In addition to this, four theaters and a new one just building are on the south side of Douglas avenue or south of the avenue. All of these things have given a strong trend of business to the eastward, and have entirely changed the character of the south side of Douglas avenue. The time was when the north side of Douglas avenue had the most travel and the most business. All that is changed, and the princi- pal travel at this time is upon the south side of Douglas avenue. The old-timers of the town have abandoned the idea that the town should revolve for all time to come around the corner of Main and Douglas avenue.
SEDGWICK COUNTY PAYS ITS FULL SHARE OF TAXES.
There are 105 counties in the State of Kansas, and they are worth, at a very conservative estimate, $2,750,000,000; of that amount, Sedgwick county furnishes $108,000,000, which is about one-twenty-fifth of the valuation of the state.
Sedgwick county certainly stands for its full share of state taxes. The valuation of the entire state for taxable purposes is about $2,750,000. The rate is one mill, which makes the state tax $2,750,000, of which Sedgwick county pays $108,000. Thus this county pays one-twenty-fifth of the entire state tax. It possesses one-twenty-fifth of the taxable wealth of the state.
There are 105 counties in the state. Wyandotte is the only
462
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
one which pays more than Sedgwick, and its valuation exceeds ours by less than $2,000,000. The vast wealth centered there in the packing houses, stock yards and railway terminals just a little more than offsets our lead in real estate values.
The farm lands of Sedgwick county which represent individ- ual wealth are worth double those of Wyandotte, and city lots are quite as valuable here as there. In individual property upon which taxes are paid, Sedgwick leads the state.
Wichita, which, next to Kansas City, Kan., pays the most to the state treasury, and meets one-twenty-fifth of the entire ex- pense of state government, has not a single state institution. The metropolis of Kansas has developed without the aid of state money, even in driblets. Kansas City gets back, in the school for the blind, part, if not all, it pays the state. Topeka realizes in state money paid out for local purposes several times as much as it pays in. It has the insane asylum, the reform school for boys, and all the state officers, nearly, live there and expend their salaries there.
Atchison has the Soldiers' Orphans' Home; Leavenworth is close enough to Lansing to get back from the penitentiary spend- ings as much as it pays the state; Lawrence is the seat of the uni- versity, where ten times its tax is spent. Emporia has an expen- sive normal school, and other cities like Manhattan, Hutchinson, Parsons, Dodge City, Winfield, Osawatomie and Beloit get back more than they pay in, but not one cent comes back to Wichita. Our senator and representatives leave more than their salaries in Topeka, so we may say truthfully that we do not get back a penny of the $108,000 paid to the state.
In this connection it may be objected that the district judge and the court stenographer receive their pay checks from Topeka. It is true all over the state that judges are paid from Topeka, because it frequently happens that one judge presides in several counties, and it would be embarrassing both to the judges and the counties to have to figure out the proper ratio each should pay.
It is true that the legislature has appropriated $500 to several Wichita hospitals and charities, but this is because those institu- tions are open to all. Residents of other counties, stranded here, taken ill here, find refuge in these aided institutions, and every year they give service to more state wards, or persons that the state usually cares for, than the amount appropriated.
Until the new census is published, it will be impossible to get
463
SCRAPS OF LOCAL HISTORY
a direct ratio between the population of this county and city and the state, but it is probable that the ratio will be not less than one-twenty-fifth, and it may be one-twenty-third. But from any standpoint it is clear that Sedgwick county and Wichita deserve consideration at the hands of the state, when it is considered that for years this community has contained nearly 5 per cent of the population and has paid 4 per cent of the state taxes and never received back hardly a penny of it.
THE WICHITA HORSE MARKET.
All of the old-timers of the county will recall the old-time horse market of Wichita on West Douglas avenue. This market extends from Water street to the bridge across the Arkansas river. It was here that we heard that old resonant Howler, "Old Four Eyes," plying his daily avocation and selling horses and mules at auction. Here also was Bill Bilderback and Joe Fisher, Fatty Lawson, Barney Levi, and many others. Here also at a later date came Uncle Jimmy Benner, whose stentorian tones still wake the echoes of the street. Harry Hill, afterwards known as Oklahoma Harry Hill, and the Morgan brothers, kept feed and sales stables on West Douglas avenue, and from the earliest his- tory of this locality the west end of Douglas avenue has been a market devoted to the sale of horses, mules and other live stock. Here also in an early day was the favorite stamping ground of Doc Black, a frontier character in Wichita. Most of these men have passed over. They have gone and the new-comers of a later day know them not ; but the old-timers recall them as the web and woof of a frontier period fast passing away in Wichita .- Editor.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
AN EARLY INCIDENT OF WICHITA-JUDGE S. M. TUCKER SUBDUES HURRICANE BILL.
"Tell you a story of the early days of Wichita? Well, that is a hard job. Not hard to tell a story, but mighty hard to select any certain one," answered a pioneer citizen of this city to the query of an "Eagle" reporter. "The early history of the city is replete with stirring incidents, any one of which would make good reading for the citizens of today. To the old-timers it would recall bygone days. To the boys, girls and strangers it would prove an eye-opener. Let me see-do you see that elderly man going along there, wearing a cap?" suddenly asked the pio- neer. "You know him, don't you?" On being answered in the negative, he continued: "That's Tucker-S. M. Tucker-Judge, as everybody knows him. There is one of the bravest men that ever lived. During the summer of '72 a gang of roughs came here from Texas. They were called the 'Texas gang,' and a more desperate bunch than these rangers never existed. Under the leadership of 'Hurricane Bill'-Bill Martin was his name-they used to ride around shooting up the town and committing all kinds of depredations, until the people were well nigh frenzied.
"The citizens decided that it was about time to get rid of this gang, and as the local police force seemed unable to handle them, a sort of vigilance committee was formed. Why, these toughs always stood off the police in a fight. Shooting scrapes were common in those days, and saloons and hotels lined the streets. The city court and jail was then in the basement of the old court house at the corner of First and Main streets. We had a huge triangle of iron bars hung up outside and when the citi- zens' committee was wanted, an alarm would be sounded on the triangle.
"Several times the alarm was sounded, and we went after the Texans, but always without avail. One afternoon, however, it did ring, and about fifty citizens responded, every one of them armed with shotguns, rifles and revolvers. When the alarm
464
L
465
AN EARLY INCIDENT OF WICHITA
sounded, Tucker was sitting in his office with 'Bill,' afterward Judge, Campbell. Every business house and office in those days had some kind of a gun, ready for action, lying around handy, and in Tucker's office was a shotgun and a rifle. Tucker grabbed the shotgun and ran out into the street, closely followed by Camp- bell with the rifle. By this time the citizens had collected on the southwest corner of what is now Water and Douglas, and the cowboys were on the opposite corner, or, as it was known then, 'horse-thief corner.' There were enough revolvers, rifles and shotguns in sight to equip an army. Bill Smith, who was marshal at the time, tried to persuade the citizens to disperse, declaring that if we tried to make any arrests trouble would be plentiful and that some of us would be killed. Tucker came up about this time, and hearing Smith's caution, said : 'This is the third time I've been out on this kind of a call, and we have never made an arrest. I don't care for trouble; I am used to it. Point out the man you want arrested, and I'll arrest him, kill or get killed. 'All right,' said Smith. 'Arrest "Hurricane Bill."' A great silence fell over the mob, and as Tucker cocked one barrel of his gun the sound could be distinctly heard by every one. Tucker imme- diately stepped into the street, while the eyes of the citizens were turned on him and the Texans, tightly gripping their guns, watched their leader with breathless interest. Quickly leveling his gun at Hurricane, Tucker said, quietly but firmly : 'William, I want you; you are under arrest.' As the desperado attempted to lift his revolvers, Tucker cried : 'Lay down those guns.' 'You can have me,' said the bad man, as he dropped his two revolvers, one cocked and ready for business, the other a self-action pattern. 'Walk over to the police station,' commanded Tucker, and the fallen leader faced about and obeyed the command of the man that had subdued him. When the gang saw that their leader had given up, they became panic-stricken and all dropped their guns, and for a week after searchers reaped a harvest picking up revolvers in the weed patch on 'Horse Thief Corner.' We were all taken off our feet with surprise, the thing happened so quickly, but we soon recovered, and before that gang had a chance to make up their minds what to do we were over there and lined them up and marched them over to the police station, where they were fined over $600.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.