USA > Kansas > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Kansas > Part 13
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A very pleasant feature of life in Independence during the hot and dry summer of 1901 was the open air theatre at Gas Park, opposite the court house, where a professional actor. assisted by his wife and some very good amateur talent, gave weekly performances all through the sea- son. Indeed. so popular a meeting place did this become that the union services of the churches on Sunday evening throughout the heated term were held there.
The most destructive wind storm that ever visited the city occurred on the morning of June 21st. For about an hour. between two and three o'clock. the wind not only blew hard but hot from the west, the calm that followed being accompanied by a temperature above 90 degrees and in some localities in the country reported to have been over 100 degrees. The greatest damage was done to the court house where the galvanized iron work of the tower was blown off, and some of the windows broken outward, indicating a cyelonie vacuum in the outside air. Aside from this, the damage consisted principally in the unroofing of buildings and awnings. The wind, however, had a very deleterious effect on the corn crop. though that was a failure all over the country that year.
In 1902, Independence began to see the substance of things hoped
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for, and her people to realize that she was passing out of the chrysalis stage and becoming a city in fact as well as in name. The "Washington" and "Lincoln" school buildings were completed and school opened in them about the middle of October. The magnificent five-story "Carl- Leon" hotel was building and was opened for business the following Feb- ruary. The Midland Glass Company came from Hartford City, Indiana, and built a factory here, as well as a large addition to the city north of the Santa Fe railroad. Across the river, the Ellsworth Paper Company's mill was finished and put in operation, and the Adamson Manufactoring Company's sugar plant was erected and began the manufacture of sor- ghum syrup. Business buildings of a superior character were put up, and everywhere evidences of the new life the city had taken on were manifesting themselves. Meanwhile real estate was doubling and treb- ling in value, and the demand for residences was entirely in excess of the supply, notwithstanding they were going up by the score. It was what. in earlier times, would have been called a "boom," but seemed now to be only a healthful and normal growth. During this year the Indepen- dence Gas Company opened the great Bolton gas field, with a capacity of seventy million cubic feet of gas per day, and connected it with our city system by pipe lines, thus making it contribute to our industrial develop- ment. At last things were coming our way, and they have continued to do so up to the present time, in a way that makes the air castles of the early settlers look like pinch-beck jewelry.
The enumeration of the spring of 1902 showed a population of 6,208 in the city, a gain of over 2,000 in two years.
On October 1st, a shocking double tragedy was added to the list of homicides that bas marred the history of the city. The victims were C. W. Hooper and his divorced wife, Luzetta. They disagreed as to the custody of the children, and he was jealons of her still, although sepa- rated. After consulting an attorney in his office over the postoffice, they stepped out into the hallway. where the man shot the woman and then himself, both dying at once. They had not long been residents of the city. having come here from Wilson county a short time previous,
The city election in April 1903, resulted in the choice of W. P. Bowen for a third term as mayor. The opposing candidate was A. C. Stich, of the Citizens Bank. Both ran on independent tickets, by peri tion. and Bowen won by 115 votes, after one of the most hotly contested tights the city had ever seen.
Although it is in no sense history. I find it hard to draw this nar. rative to a close without saying something about the great things in the way of manufacturing industries that it is expected will soon materialize and double or treble the population of the city and extend its boundaries and multiply its business. But these things are, as yet, only ideas in the minds of men and as such only can they be chronicled.
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In the retrospect, now that I am taking leave of this task. I cannot fail to realize how very imperfectly it has been performed. In looking over more than a thousand newspapers and oulling a few of the more striking incidents of each year. I have not really been writing history, but only chronicling a mere fragment of the story of the life of a growing town. Think of the people who have been born and grown to manhood and womanhood here, of the stories of their lives, of the steady growth of the city, of the shade-embowered streets that now stretch out in all directions ; of the thousands of events that have happened here and been fonud worthy of mention in the city press, and of the tens of thousands of incidents that have not been chronicled. but of which many would possess an interest surpassing those that have been preserved by the types -- think of all these things and you will realize with me how little of history is contained in the books that are called history. and how mich must remain nuwritten in our meager annals.
Town Building in the South-East Corner of Montgomery County
BY DR. T. C. FRAZIER.
Claymore, Westralia, Tally Springs, Parker, Old Coffeyville, Colleyville and Liberty
The Verdigris river (so named on account of the dark green color of its waterst has its origin in Woodson and Greenwood counties and, run- ning in a sontheasterly direction. crosses the south line of the state near the southeast corner of Montgomery conuty.
In the early days, just preceding the opening of the Osage Diminish ed Reserve to white settlement, no less than four Indian villages oc- eupied the banks of this stream, near the point of its emergence from the state of Kansas on the way to its confluence with the Arkansas near Forl Gibson. Whether from this fact, or because certain traders had estab lished themselves near these Indian villages, the idea that an important city would soon spring up near this point seems to have taken fast hold upon the minds of the early settlers.
So nearly unanimous was this opinion among the hardy pioneers that no less than six towns were projected, within an area enclosed by the segment of a circle drawn from a point five miles up the east line of the county to a corresponding point on the south line, within two years after the country was opened to settlement. Some of these were laid out and plats prepared for filing even before the ratification of the treaty by which the Indian title was extinguished, and almost every "squatter" in- dulged in rosy dreams of the time when his claim would become a part of the metropolis of the county.
There can be no doubt, now. that the confidence of the early settlers, in the fitness of this location for the upbuilding of an important trade center, was well founded, but the eagerness of so many of them to enjoy the honor and emoluments, supposed to accrue to the founder of a pros-
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
perous city, came near disappointing the hopes of all, for the fierce battle for supremacy, by which the aspiring villagers were rent and torn, so dissipated the town-building energies, which should have been concen- trated in one united effort. that capital, which might have been attracted to any one of the sites chosen, was driven away by uncertainty as to what the ontrome would be.
What might have been the result if either of these locations bad been backed by a united effort. none can know, but any old settler will tell you, that the energy wasted in the fierce struggles for supremacy, among those rival towns, would, if expended in building up one locality. have made it the best and biggest town in Southern Kansas; as it is I doubt not that many loyal citizens will now tell you. that the best, if not the largest. town in Southern Kansas is to be found in the southeastern corner of Montgomery county.
In June 1869. Governor Harvey issued a proclamation organizing the county of Montgomery and apponiting three commissioners who, at their first meeting. in the following month. divided the county into three townships, indicated by two parallel lines crossing the county from east lo west. Later on these townships were subdivided by two parallel lines crossing the county from north to south, thus creating nine townships, each having an area of about seventy-two square miles. Of these sub- divisions, the southeastern. comprising the territory now included in Parker and Cherokee townships, was known as Parker township and within the limits of this territory much of the early history of the county was made. Here the towns of Claymore. Westralia. Tally Springs, Parker and Old Coffeyville rose and fell in rapid succession. to be succeeded by the present city of Coffeyville. all located, as above stated, in the south- east corner of the township, Bear where the Verdigris river crosses the sonth line of the state.
In as much as the early population was concentrated in and about the villages, and that it shifted from one to another as confidence in the stability of one site waned. to be succeeded by a boom movement in a rival place, it is evident that the makers of the early history were inter. ested in the growth and development of more than one of the rival towns. It seems advisable. therefore. that certain early events, which affected the community as a whole, should be treated of before entering upon the recital of the special life history of the individual villages.
Early Settlers
Lewis Scott, a colored man, who made a settlement in the Verdigris valley mil-way between the sites subsequently chosen as the location for the towns of Coffeyville and Parker, in February 1867, claimed to be the first "white" settler in Montgomery county. This claim is confirmed by the late E. E. Wilson. author of a valuable historical sketch published in
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Edward's Historical Atlas of the county in 1881. Andreas, in his his- tory of Kansas, accords whatever honor that may be due to the pioneer settler to Green L. Canada who, he says, "in January 1866, settled at & point on Pumpkin creek, which was subsequently selected as the site for the village of Claymore." This historian, however, is in error. Green L; Canada did make a settlement on Pumpkin creek in 1866, as stated by Andreas, but at a point within the borders of Labette county, one of the sub-divisions of which-Canada township- still bears his name. From this place Mr. Canada moved in December 1868 to a point lower down the creek which was subsequently selected as the site for the village of Clay- more. So the fact remains, as stated by Mr. Wilson, that Lewis Scott was the pioneer settler of the county.
In December 1867, Zachariah C. Crow settled on a claim adjoining that of Lewis Scott. The following names are remembered as being among those who came to this corner of the county in 186%: John A. Twiss. T. C., A. ILand Allen Graham. J. F. Savage, Jack Thompson. E. K. Konce, William Fain, Mrs. E. C. Powell. John Lushbangh. Green L. Canada. John MeIntyre, Joe Roberts and W. T. and S. W. Mays. Of these. only J. F. Savage, John Melntyre and Mrs. E. C. Powell remain, while many who came in 1869 are still here.
Within the limits of Parker township, as originally constituted, the first three school districts in the county were organized. Within this territory the first school-house in the county was built ; the first school taught; the first sermon preached ; the first marriage solemnized; the first church organized and the first building to be used exclusively for church purposes erected. Here was held the first inquest and the first preliminary examination on a charge of murder, conducted under the forms of law. Within the limits of this township the most startling and sensational art of mob violence known in the history of the county was enacted. and here an enormous bonded debt was fastened upon the county by election methods the most daring and conscienceless that can be conceived.
The first school-house, erected near Tally Springs, in the early sum- mer of 1869, was a very primitive structure indeed. Its walls consisted of slabs set on end and supported in an upright position by poles at- tached to four posts set in the ground. The bare earth served as a floor and the roof was partly of clap-boards and partly of straw out from the prairie near by. Windows were unnecessary, as the chunks between the slabs of the walls admitted all the light and air that was needed. In this rude structure John C. Kounce, a young son of Dr. E. K. Kounce, taught a small subscription school in the summer of the same year: which is believed to be the pioneer school of the county. During the winter of 1869-70 Miss Laura Foote conducted a school at the village of Claymore which, some historians claim, was the first school taught in the county,
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but there can be no doubt that the Konnee school preceded that taught by Miss Foote by several months.
Religion
The itinerant Methodist preacher is usually the first to spread the "glad tidings" in pioneer settlements of the west, but in this county he was preceded by his Baptist brother. Rev. F. L. Walker, a Baptist min- ister from Oswego. Kansas, preached an open-air sermon at Tally Springs in the summer of 1869. which is believed to be the first effort at religious teaching over attempted in the county. At this time the first church organization was effected under the name and title of Salem Bap- tist church.
A little later on Elder Jolm Randle, a Christian minister. preached a series of sermons in the same locality sometimes occupying the school- honse above described and sometimes holding forth in the open air, or at the houses of the neighboring settlers; especially at the home of the widow Fike whose daughter the Reverend gentleman afterward mar- ried. This is claimed by the old settlers of that neighborhood to be the earliest protracted meeting, or religions revival held in the county.
The old log church which stood on an elevated point in the north- west corner of the township, beside the wagon road leading from Coffey- ville to Independence, was undoubtedly the first building erected in the county to be used exclusively for church purposes. It was built by the united efforts of the settlers in that part of the township, of rough hewn logs, contributed by the "squatters" on the timber lands along the river and raised by an assemblage of neighbors gathered together by previous appointment for that purpose; the four corners being seenrely notched together; the space between the logs filled with bits of wood plastered with clay and the whole being covered with a substantial roof of clap- boards.
This old church was, for years, the shrine toward which young and old bent their steps on each recurring Sunday, but time, which effaces all things, has left nothing. save the neighboring graves, to mark the site of the sacred edifice.
Wedding Bells
About mid-summer of 1869 "Old Man Vasser." the pioneer gun- smith. living on a claim just north of the village of Claymore, gave his daughter. Catherine, in marriage to one, James Daneho. This was believ- ed to be the first marriage in the county and the men and boys from the village, and neighboring claims, proceeded to celebrate the event in true frontier style; creating such a frightful din that some unsuspecting neighbors tled from their homes in mortal fear of an Indian uprising.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY. KANSAS. The First Murder
In March or April 1870, an old man named MeCabe. living alone in a little cabin a short distance northwest of Tally Springs, was found dead a few yards from his cabin door. The discoverer of the body, hav- ing reported his ghastly find to George Carlton. a claim-boller living near by. alarmed the neighborhood and led a party of half a dozen or more to the scene of the tragedy.
The condition of the premises. as seen at this visit, indicated that the old man had been stealthily approached while sitting at his break- fast : that a shot, which passed through his boot leg, had given the first intimation of danger: that MeCabe had risen hastily and engaged in a struggle with his assailant, and that the victim, after being shot through the body at such close range as to set fire to his clothing, had run from the hut and fallen forward on his face, and that the body had been rolled over and the pockets rifled.
This mmurder furnished the occasion for the first inquest held in the county, and incidentally showed the "squatters'" respect for orderly methods of procedure in such emergencies. The county not yet being fully organized, there was no officer in reach. so far as these settlers knew, who was qualified to take charge of this case, but the assembled neighbors, desiring, as far as possible, to observe the forms of law, pro- ceeded to elect a jury composed of J. F. Savage. George Carlton, Mike Carlton. E. K. Kounce, John Mccaleb and John Swarbourg. These gen- tlemen effected a formal organization by electing Mr. Savage foreman and were sworn in as a coroner's jury by C. H. Wyckoff, an attorney at law.
This jury instituted a formal investigation which resulted in the conclusion that the facts were substantially as stated above, and that the motive was robbery. A bullet digged from the earthen floor where it had buried itself after passing through the victim's trousers and boot leg. indicated that the attack had been sudden and unsuspected, and the upset table and scattered ware showed that the man had risen hastily to defend himself. or escape by flight. The burned clothing at the point where the fatal bullet entered the body indicated close contact with the murderer, as if there had been a struggle for life, and the similarity of the exhumed bullet to the one out from the body of the murdered man was evidence that the assault was made by but one person, while the in- verted pockets showed robbery to be the motive for the deed.
It was also apparent that the assassin had done his bloody work hastily, as several dollars in bills were left in his victim's vest pocket and a piece of script. or fractional paper currency. was found on the ground beside the body.
The finding of the jury was, that "deceased came to his death by
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
means of a leaden bullet fired from a pistol in the hands of some per- son unknown." The body was then removed to the house of George Carlton and prepared for burial which, however, was further delayed, as will be seen below.
First Preliminary on the Charge of Murder
The unauthorized proceedings of the Tally Springs settlers, in the matter of the Mel'abe murder, although honorable and well-meant, were not permitted to pass unchallenged. While MeCabe's body still waited tor burial Eli Dennis, of Westralia, who had recently been commission- ed a Justice of the Peace, appeared upon the scene with a posse and. taking possession of the body, proceeded to hold another inquest. I am not informed as to the finding of the second jury but it must have cast suspicion on three brothers named Shaw, who wore holding a bunch of rattle in the neighborhood and contesting the right of MeCabe to hold the claim he occupied.
It was alleged by the settlers on the north side of the creek. that the Westralia party came out prepared not only to hold the inquest but to exeente the murderous Shaws, who. it is believed. were already adjudged guilty of the crime. An air of probability is given to this suspicion by the fact that one of the equipments of the party was a length of new rope which could have had no legitimate office to perform in the ceremonies attending a legal inquest upon the dead body. However this may be, word had gone ont that the Shaws were in danger and the Tally. Springs party hastened to the scene of action where they found the suspects under arrest, and a conneil in progress under a large oak, with spreading branches standing out from the body suggestively. The most of these neighbors having brought their long squirrel ritles with them the visit ing gentlemen from the south side of the creek. esteeming discretion the better part of valor, silently withdrew leaving their prisoners in the hands of the Tally Springs contingent. This movement proved only to be a feint. as a posse was sent out early the next morning to re-arrest the Shaws and bring them to Westralia for trial.
Then followed the arraingument and trial which, as before stated, was the first formal examination held in the county on a charge of mur. der. Eli Dennis, J. P .. presided and J. M. Sendder enacted the roll of proseentor, while C. W. Ellis and J. D. MeChe, two young men who sub- sequentiy rose to positions of prominence in the judiciary of the state, were retained as counsel for the accused. The legal battle raged fiercely for several days but victory finally perched upon the banner of the de- tendants' attorneys and their clients, being released. hastily left the country.
The real murderer of MeCabe will never be known, but some of the settlers north of the creek suspected one. Bill Howell. a suspicions looking
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fellow. who had for some time been hanging around the camp of the Shaws and who, as was afterward remembered. disappeared on the day of the murder. and was never again seen or heard of in this part of the country.
Bonding the County
In 1870 the L. L. & G. Railway Company submitted a proposition to build twenty-one miles of road in the county. conditioned upon the voting to said company. in aid of the enterprise, the sum of two hundred thousand dollars in county bonds. As it was evident that the road would be built across the county near its east line. Parker township un- dertook to see that the proposition was accepted by an affirmative vote. and in order that there might be no failure in carrying out that purpose. all restrictions on the elective franchise, on account of age. sex and residence, were temporarily removed.
The election was held at the town of Westrabia and for that day the fight between the rival towns was suspended, the citizens of each vicinity vieing with those of the others in their efforts to carry the proposition through to a successful issue each faction. of course. expecting its favor- ite locality to be made the terminus of the line. and each. no doubt. hav- ing assurances from the manipulators of the project, that its desires would be gratitied. All were. therefore, animated by a determination to poll enough votes to overcome any opposition that might be developed in other parts of the county.
When the day appointed for the election arrived a board, friendly to the proposition, was installed and the voting began. it soon developed. however, that Eli Dennis, one of the judges, was inclined to be over-crit- ical as to the qualifications of voters, so a novel scheme was concocted to get him out of the way. It chanced that he was the local justice of the peace and numerous litigants had business with him that day that was too important to admit of delay so he was called aside for frequent and prolonged consultation, during which intervals visitors from Labette county, the Indian Territory. Arkansas and Missouri, and such small boys as were ambitious to cast their "maiden ballot." were rushed to the polling place and permitted to vote for the bonds, no questions being asked, except that each voter give a name. his own or not, no matter, 10 be entered on the tally sheets.
Under these circumstances it is not surprising that men voted "early and often," but even these irregularities were not sufficient to sat- isfy the manipulators of the job. It is alleged that Fred O'Brien, an expert penman employed in George Hall's grocery at Parker, procured some blank tally sheets which he filled with names copied at random from an old New York directory found among the effects of his employer. These were passed in to the election board with the number of ballots to
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
correspond with the names on the bogus sheets, and made a part of the returns.
I can not now recall the number of votes polled at Westralia on that eventful day but it was not far short of the total population of the county. By such means the coveted aid was voted and in the following year the road was built, but with characteristic ingratitude the company ignored the claims of all the friendly towns and selected a site just north of the village of Coffeyville for the terminus of the line.
This exhibition of bad faith on the part of the company aroused an intense feeling of bitterness in the outraged community which culmin- ated in an effort to defeat the delivery of the bonds. Suit was brought in the United States court at Leavenworth, with Albert Il. Horton as at- torney for the county, but for some reason-which has never been satis- factorily explained-the county commissioners suddenly changed front and ordered the suit dismissed "without prejudice;" this wasaccordingly done and an order issued for the delivery of the bonds, which of course, passed into the hands of innocent purchasers, and thus another link was forged in the conspiracy against the county.
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