USA > Kansas > Barton County > Biographical History of Barton County, Kansas > Part 10
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Bend. The ones who located and laid out the town were D. N. Heizer, Geo. Moses, Thos. Stone, Morris, and Murphy, A. S. Allen, Edw. Tyler were the first settlers of the colony. In the month of January, 1871, Capt. Ruger came up to Fossell and said that they had laid out a town about one mile east of Fort Zarah and had named it Zarah City and were going to make a railroad town of it, and wanted me to go down there and start a blacksmith shop and they would give me two lots if I would do so. Next day Capt. Ruger and I started for Zarah City. The captain had taken a claim north of Zarah City, where we stayed all night. Next morning we went over to the city. We found a good sized store in opera- tion, owned by Perry Hodgen and Tike Buck- ley from Salina. They were the head men of the city. There was a two-story hotel and restaurant owned and run by Dick Strew. A livery stable owned by John Roberts and John Moore, and a saloon owned by Lee Her- zigg from Ellsworth, and run by Edw. Martz. They gave me a corner lot next to the livery stable. A stockman by the name of Jack Jamieson, who had wintered a thousand head of cattle there and drove them in the spring to Montana, said he wanted me to start in business to do his blacksmithing as he had considerable work he wanted done before he started the drive sometime in June. About the first of March, 1872, I moved down to Capt. Ruger's where both our families lived to- gether. I put up a small shop and had a good trade while it lasted. The A. T. & S. F. R. R. was then completed to Hutchinson. Then Za- rah City and Great Bend got to fighting, over the question as to which was to be the rail- road town. Great Bend won out and I never will forget the first dance in Great Bend. It was at the Stoneham hotel, run by Thos. Stone. Capt. Ruger and myself furnished the music. I want to say we had a gay old time. Everyone had a jolly good time while at the dance. I met Sid Crane, one of Jamie- son's herders. He told me that he had filed on some land about one and one-half miles west of Ellinwood. He had done a little plowing on it and would take five dollars for his rights. I gave him the money and put my homestead papers on it. They had laid out a town at Ellinwood. Capt. Ruger, Joe Howard and I went down and helped lay out the town. The railroad company gave each of us a lot for doing the work. Capt. Ruger and Howard pue up a hotel. They gave me the corner lot
where the Cyclone store now stands I bought the adjoining lot for $40. I put up a small shop and did blacksmithing for the set- tlers and cowboys. As many of the settlers were people of limited means they soon run through with what they had and could not pay for their smithing. I told them I would do their work and they could break up sonie land for me on my claim and I would allow them three dollars per acre. In that way I got sixty acres under cultivation. I built a small house and had a good well of fine water
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
and one acre of orchard. The first year i rented it to Jim Wilkinson on shares, each one-half of the produce. We did very well. The next year I rented it to John M. Harris. Each furnished one-half of the seed. I got one-half of the crop of forty acres of wheat which yielded well. The next year I rented to a preacher, Hackensmith. He raised a finc crop of forty acres of wheat which he ent with a header and put it into fine stacks; six- teen acres of roasting ears, when one of the Kansas hail stone storms and blizzards came and destroyed everything I had. Our wheat stack was blown for miles away. The corn and vegetables were all gone when the storm cleared away. I did not have enough left to
fill my hat. That sickened me of farming, so I sold out for almost nothing and in 1880 came to Colorado. Although I know now if I had stuck to old Kansas I might he in better circumstances than what I am now in or per- haps I might have been in the pen. My brother, Matt Towers, came to Hoisington since I left Kansas. He has now two hundred acres of land and has made a success of farming, but has had worse luck, losing a good wife, a great deal worse than losing a little old 40 acres of wheat, as I think I might be worse off after all. I made more money in Kansas killing buffalo than I have made in the hills of Colorado hunting gold.
EARLY POLITICAL HISTORY
A MID the hurry and bustle of business in the spring of 1872, men did not al- together forget their political duties and privileges and, it being the year of a presidential election, the duty of "saving the country" rested with scarcely less weight on the minds of the pioneers of Barton County than on those nearer the center of civilization and political corruption. Meetings were held by the Republicans in each of the three town- ships-Lakin, Great Bend and Buffalo-in the month of July, to select members of the Re- publican central committee. At the meeting in Great Bend A. J. Buckland, who had ar- rived here a short time before from New York state, was chosen chairman of the first political caucus in Great Bend and probably was first one in the county. The committee thus selected soon after met and organized by electing W. H. Odell as chairman and 1). N. Heizer, secretary.
The time of holding the county convention was set. It was to consist of twenty members, five from Lakin township, five from Buffalo township, and ten from Great Bend township. The convention assembled in a building then standing at the corner of the court house square. M. V. Halsey of Lakin was elected township chairman. In addition to the dele- gates already mentioned, five delegates not in the call were sent down from the colony at Pawnee Rock and claimed admission. An an- gry discussion arose on the question of ad- mitting them, when a large number of dele- gates, including the chairman, withdrew from the convention. Those remaining reorganized by electing A. A. Hurd, chairman, and pro- ceeded to nominate a county ticket.
During the campaign of that year-1872- Hon. W. H. Smallwood, candidate for secre- tary of state; Hon. S. A. Cobb, candidate for congress, and Hon. S. C. Pomeroy, candidate for United States senator, addressed the citi- zens of Great Bend on the issues of the cam- paign.
The first political discussion in Great Bend
was between G. W. Nimocks, a young lawyer from Iowa, on the Republican side and D. S. Copeland, also a lawyer, from New York, on the side of the Liberals. This discussion took place in the old Holland building which, at that time, stood on the north side of the square. The vote for president in that year was as follows: U. S. Grant, 160; Horace Greeley, 64. The county election was held without much friction and resulted, as shown in the table to be found in another part of this book under the heading of "County Offi- cials of Barton County."
The delegates to the state convention at Topeka that year were: T. S. Morton and G. W. Nimocks; and to the congressional con- vention at Lawrence, J. B. Howard and Amer- ine.
During the following winter Barton Coun- ty was detached from the county of Ellsworth and the Fourteenth judicial district, and be- came a part of the Ninth judicial district.
FIRST TOWNSHIP ELECTIONS.
(In the following article the following ab- breviations are used: Tre-trustee; C-clerk; T-treasurer; J-justice ;- Ces-constables.) Independent township was organized in 1875 and originally comprised all that por- tion of Lakin township north of a line be- tween townships 18 and 19. The following officers were chosen at the first election held in the fall of that year: Tre., J. L. Ban- grover; C., A. C. Schermerhorn; T., J. T. Soring; Jus., H. E. Barugrover and Chas. O. Blennis.
South Bend township was organized in 1876 and comprised all that portion of Great Bend and Buffalo townships south of the river except range 23. The officers chosen at the first election in November of that year were: Tre., Ira Brougher; C., George C. Kinkaid; T., S. . Mitchell and Jus., Win. Hood and O. Pow- cll.
Walnut township was organized in 1876 and comprised all that portion of Buffalo township north of the line between townships
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OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
18 and 19. The first election was held in No- vember of that year and resulted as follows: Tre., B. 1. Dawson; C., Peter Fox; T., T. Har- per; Jus., John Pascoe and H. White; Ces., John Westover and H. Nordmann.
Homestead township was organized in the fall of 1876 and comprised originally all that portion of Great Bend township north of the line between townships 18 and 19. The first election resulted in the election of the follow- ing officers: Tre., Marsh Meeker; T., D. B. Linder; C., F. Hall; Jus., J. Humphrey and J. Gere.
Union township was organized in July, 1878, and comprised all that portion of land included in township 16, range 13. The first election held in that year resulted in the se -- lection of the following officers: Tre., B. H. Downing; C., Oliver A. Verity; T., Joseph Weatherby; Jus., Jacob Sessler and A. S.
Verbeck.
Pawnee Rock township was organized in 1878, but previous to this, in 1872, it had been made a voting precinct. It comprised town- ship 20, range 15. The election resulted in the selection of the following officers: Tre., Geo. Pool; C., Chas. Lewis; T., Reuben Kem- merling; Jus., Joseph Hannon and James M. Depew; C., Frank Hallowell and W. C. Hatter. ter.
Beaver township was organized in August, 1878, and comprised township 16 of range 12. The first election was held in that year and the following officers were elected: Tre., R. Bruce; C., Willis H. Norton; T., P. B. Free- man; Jus., C. Norton and C. W. Hoffmeister.
Cheyenne township was organized in Au- gust, 1878, and comprised townships 17 and 18 of range 12. The officers elected were: Tre., C. B. Gillis; C., J. N. Reading; T., Wm. Lin- der; Jus., Albert Lent and S. S. O. Warren.
Wheatland township was organized in Au- gust, 1878, and comprised township 16 of range 14. The officers elected at the first election were: Tre., Chas. Hall; C., E. J. Hat- ton; T., M. Sauser; Jus., N. S. Hayes and Fred J. Spencer; Ces., Henry J. Whipple and O. T. Shook.
Fairview township was organized in Oc- tober, 1878, and comprised township 16 of range 15. At the first election held in No .. vember of that year the following were chos- en as officers of the township: Tre., J. W. Brown; C., D. C. Barrows; T., John Johnson ; Jus., Will H. Clark and Henry Webb; Ces., Robert Jordan and W. A. Brown.
Clarence township was organized in Octo- ber, 1878, and consisted of congressional township 19 of range 15. The first election was held in November of that year and re- sulted as follows: Tre., M. F. Campbell; C .. John W. Slinn; T., L. S. Pursell; Jus., A. M. Button and T. F. Craig; Ces., J. H. Rhoades and W. H. Allison.
Eureka township was organized in 1878
and comprised township 18 of range 18. The first officers elected in November of that year were: Tre., Frank Patterson; C., John R. Har- ris ; T., Alex. Dennis; Jus., Aaron P. Jones and James Cummins; C., J. F. Smith and C. Plaisted.
Hayes, Seward, Lincoln and Zion Valley townships were organized in 1878 from the territory that originally was a portion of the unorganized county of Stafford. Hayes com- prised congressional townships 22 and 23 of ranges 11 and 12. Seward, which was at first called Warren township, comprised com- prised townships 21 and 22 of range 13. Lin- coln comprised townships 21 and 22 of range 14; and Zion Valley comprised township 23 of ranges 13 and 14. Later they were all in- cluded in the organization of Stafford County. county.
Grant township was organized in July, 1879, and was composed of township 18 of range 15. At the first election held in No- vember the following were chosen for offi- cers: Tre., Chas. P. Wunderlich; C., John W. Burke; T., C. Cox; Jus., W. M. Butler and C. Ramsier; Ces., Joseph Gleissner and J. W. Brown.
Logan township was organized in July, 1879, under the name of Calumet. In No- vember the name was changed to Logan. It was composed of township 18 of range 11. No election for officers was held in this town- ship, it being governed by the officers of In- dependent township.
Comanche township was organized in July, 1879, out of territory formerly in Lakin town- ship and was composed of township 20 of range 11 and 12, south of the Arkansas river. The first officers, elected in November of that year were: Tre., J. . Brewer; C., W. H. Grant; T., J. W. Wilson; Jus., J. S. Province and C. Fields; Ces., Noah Province and D). Hagan.
Albion township was organized in July, 1879, and was composed of township 17 of range 14 and the first officers who were se- lected at the election held in November of the same year, were: Tre., C. G. Smith; C., C. W. McMasters; T., D. W. Linder; Jus., G. L. Mur .. dock and John W. Linder; Ces., Thomas Mur- phy and Joseph Shields.
Liberty township was organized in Octo- ber, 1879, and was composed of township 20 of range 14. The first officers were: Tre., Wm. Howerton; C., Wm. Brady; Ces., Milton Mossberger.
The commissioners districts as arranged in 1878 were as follows: First: Independent, Cheyenne, Lakin and Hayes townships; sec- ond: Beaver, Union, Homestead, Great Bend, Seward and Zion Valley; third: Wheatland, Fairview, Walnut, Clarence, Pawnee Rock, Buffalo and Lincoln.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
AN EARLY DAY CAMPAIGN AND BARBECUE IN BARTON
By Elrick C. Cole
T HE political campaign in Barton County in 1880 was a warm one and among the various gatherings held that year, the barbecue at Dalzeil's grove was, perhaps, the largest political gathering ever held in the
county until the advent of the Ponplist party. At that time the Republican party, lo- cally, was suffering severe defeats and the struggle for delegates from the state to the national convention had intensified party dif-
ferences. That was the year when the great meeting of Arkansas valley politicians took place in Great Bend and the patriots gathered from Topeka to Coolidge and fought out the proposition of Grant or Blaine and ended in a draw. The rival candidates for the Repub- lican nomination for representative were A. J. Buckland and D. N. Heizer and a count of the delegates after the holding of the cau- cuses showed that Dave Heizer was the win- ner. When this fact was ascertained Buck- land declined to have his name used in the convention and after an ineffectual attempt had been made to draw the delegates to some third man, he bolted the nomination of Heizer. Hon. F. A. Steckel of Ellinwood was the Democratic nominee, and the seceeding Republicans nominated P. G. Donewitz, who was prominent in politics at that time, for representative, and Judge Townsley for at- torney against G. W. Nimocks. This made a three-cornered fight and at that time every vote counted. It must be remembered that in 1880 we had no railroads in this county ex- cept the main line of the Santa Fe. Ellin- wood and Pawnee Rock were the only points which could be reached save by wagon road, but one could travel angling then from the time you crossed the Walnut until the north- east or the northwest corner of the county was reached. Of course there were no towns aside from those on the railroads, but the rural population was almost, if not fully, as large as now, and an effort was made to reach nearly every school house in the coull- ty to hold a meeting. Up in Wheatland was Frank Millard, Charles Hall, Smed Wilkin- son and others. In Albion W. H. Rice, Cap- tain Peck, Murdock, Dave Gray and others, Over in Fairview lived Kirk Barrows, Jolin
W. Brown and his son; over in Independent, which then included Cleveland township, were Al Schermerhorn, Jude Sping, Jim Dalziel and Charles Montgomery and the Dugans. In Buffalo, Levi Gunn, always true and faithful, the Everetts and L. H. Link and in Pawnee Rock were the Bowmans, Tom Brewer, Aaron Garverick and many whose names I do not now recall. Ellinwood was the Democratic stronghold and was only can- vassed quietly but the rest of the county was alive with Republican meetings. I remem- ber there was a sod school house called Al- liance school house over near where Claflin now stands, where a large meeting was held. The crowning rally, however, was held at Dalziel's grove, the clans gathering from all the surrounding country. Great preparations were made for this meeting and the grove was filled with people. There was roast ox and everything else in the eating and drinking line in abundance. Among the speakers was a man named Minear, from Illinois. He was interested in the campaign by reason of the fact that his nephew, named Anderson Wil- liams, at Pawnee Rock, was the candidate for commissioner from the Third district. Minear was a powerful speaker on the common home- spun order and he reached the people in great shape. The crowd was so large that there were two speakers talking at the same time in different parts of the grove. I can see the old man now standing in a header barge, tall, an- gular and bony. His powerful voice and plain talk pleased his hearers and he received a hearty ovation at the close of his speech.
There was a good glee club present and be- tween speeches it sang popular campaign songs. It was way in the night before the meeting closed and many camped in the grove until the next day before returning to their homes. This was one of the most successful political meetings ever held in this county, and, while feeling was high, there was the ur- most good nature and hearty enjoyment of the occasion. It was a day of pleasant meetings for people who seldom met as the means of travel were few and far between, and much slower than now. The place was ideal and the day a perfect one.
NEWSPAPERS OF BARTON COUNTY
T HERE is no single institution that has more to do with the development of a county than the newspapers. People look to a newspaper for a true story of what one may expect to find in a commun- ity or settlement where the paper is published.
Barton County has been fortunate in having had gentlemen in the newspaper business who have done a great deal of work in helping to bring new blood and energy to the county, as well as capital, essentials that are so needful in a new country that is being developed
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OF BARTON COUNTY, KANSAS
from its virgin state. The first newspaper published in the county was "The Arkansas Valley," edited by S. J. MeFarren. There were but a few issues of this paper, the first edition being published in July, 1872. It was a seven-column paper, well filled with inter- esting news reading matter, local news and advertisements. It was printed at the office of the Tribune in Lawrence, Kan., and was owned by T. L. Morris and others. The sala- tatory editorial in the paper consisted chiefly of an apology for publishing a newspaper in the heart of the Great American Desert. The principal articles were those under the fol- lowing headings: "Kansas," from the Pitts- burg, Kan., Real Estate Register; "Enormous Cost of Fencing Land," "Stone Houses," "Tree Culture," "Swindling Immigrants," from the Kansas Farmer; "Exemption Laws of Kan- sas," "Barton County-Soil, Climate, Raill- fall, Health," "Information Immigrants,' "New Homestead Law," "Homesteads," "Trce Planting," "Bounty for
.
Tree Planting," "Bounty for Hedges," "How to Come to Kan- sas," and various miscellaneous articles and useful information. Its loeal columns made mention of T. L. Stone's Great Western Hotel -the Southern; E. L. Morley, hardware deai- 1
Judge C. P. Townsley, Found- er of The Tribune
er; A. S. Allen, druggist; Dahm Brothers, bakery; Riee and Brinkman, lumber merch- ants; Yoxall Sons and Company, lumber ; Poole and Bell, livery stables; John Typer, resaturant building, a 20x60 foot hotel; Mark- wort's store to have a glass front; Moses and Sons running the store of W. D. Hart and Company on the north side of the square; Harpham and Giddings, blaeksmiths; Samuel Maher, banker; John Cook, grocer; T. L. Morris, postmaster; W. H. Odell, county
clerk; A. A. Hurd, M. S. Ketch and others, many of whom have long since passed away.
The advertisements in the first newspaper consisted of a three-column ad from the Western Homestead Co .- A. A. Hurd and T. L. Morris; a column of solid reading matter for the Illinois and Kansas Colony associa- tion, and smaller ads from W. D. Hart & Co., grocers; Hubbard and Heizer, groceries, lum- ber and real estate; John Typer, restaurant; S. Amryne, boots and shoes; Dahm Brothers, bakers; Jacob Collar and Co., millinery; Stone and Williams, dry goods; Great West- ern Hotel, which was run by Stone and Hud- son; John Cook, groceries; Pioneer Grocery, Edward Markwort, Poole and Bell, livery stable; Mrs. J. Holland, news depot; James Holland, furniture; M. S. Keteh, gents' fur- nishing goods; Ed Tyler, restaurant; A. S. Allen, drugs; E. L. Morphy, hardware; Rice and Brinkman, lumber; Yoxall Sons and Co., lumber, etc .; Sameox and Fry, bakers; A. A. Hurd, lawyer, and Valley Printing office, and a number of smaller ads. The second num- ber was issued in 1873. The outside was printed by A. N. Kellogg cf St. Louis and was dated January 14, 1873. the inside-printed later-was dated January 27, 1873, and the ad- vertisements were nearly all dated in April, 1873. It contained a directory of Barton county and Great Bend, articles on society in the country. artieles favoring the erection of a court house and the Arkansas river bridge, fcrest trees, three eleetion notices, an aceount of the farmers meeting for the organization cf the County Agricultural society and a num- ter of local readers. The new advertisers were: G. W. Nimceks, lawyer; D. N. Cope- land, lawyer; J. C. Martin, justice cť the peace and police judge; J. H. Hubbard and Co., real estate; Samuel Maher, banker; W. H. Odell, county elerk; Typer Housc; Wilcox, Lehman and Gray, hardware; Benediet and Moffatt, painters; A. Giddens, horseshoeing; E. T. Dodge, blacksmith; J. H. Hubbard and Co., dry goods, and a big advertisement telling about the job office of the paper.
The price of the paper was $2.00 per year and sinee it was published only twice a year, the paper cost the subseribers $1.00 a copy. Mr. McFarren did not remain in the business very long, his place being taken in the publi- cation of the paper by Samuel Maher, who con- tinued the paper under McFarren's name un- til March, 1873, when McFarren's name was dropped.
In April, 1873, the name of the paper was changed to the "Barton County Progress." Mr. Maher moved the office to the Dubois build- ing on the east side of the square. In May, Mr. Maher discontinued the publication of the paper on account of his inability to secure competent help. No paper was published un- til the following June, when H. Perrine Stults purchased the office for $1,000 and continued publishing the Progress until the fall of 1873 when he grew weary and sold out the paper
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
to J. F. Cummins of Topeka. Cummins paid $1,100.00 and assumed a debt of $750.00 against the plant which was held by Samuel Maher. At first Cummings improved the paper and at the fall election was elected to represent this county in the legislature. During Mr. Cum- mings' absence the paper was in charge of D. M. Sells.
After Cummings returned from Topeka he did not give the paper the attention necessary to make it a success, and it was but a short time until G. L. Brinkman bought the mort- gage against the plant, held by Samuel Ma- her and took possession. The plant was moved to the old Holland building which had just been moved to the north side of the square. A company was organized for the purpose of publishing a newspaper and conducting a job printing shop. The company was composed of G. L. Brinkman, G. W. Nimocks, D. N. Heizer, W. H. Odell, Joseph Howard and A. S. Pres- cott.
Cummings, the former editor of the paper, is said to have died of yellow fever at Mem- phis in 1878.
In 1873, Frank Sheldon started a monthly publication under the name of the Farmers'
S. J. McFarren, First Editor
Friend. It was made up mainly of reprint matter from the Progress and had but a short existence.
The next paper to be published in Great Bend was the Register, which was built upon the ruins of the Progress, which in 1874, had ceased publication. It was first edited by W. H. Odell with A. J. Hoisington as business manager. In June, 1874, Mr. Hoisington was placed in full charge as editor and manager. He got out a good paper and made it a pow- erful influence for good in the community.
In August, 1876, the 12th, to be exact, the
first number of the Inland Tribune made its appearance as a weekly paper. It was edited and published by C. P. Townsley who had been circuit judge of the Fifth judicial dis- trict of the state of Missouri. For several weeks it was composed of all home print, but finally the "patent inside" was adopted. This paper was the beginning of the present pub- lications known as the Great Bend Daily Trib- une and the Great Bend Weekly Tribune pub- lished by Will Townsley, a son of C. P. Townsley, and Warren Baker.
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