USA > Kansas > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Kansas > Part 16
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Liberty
The village of Liberty was originally located on a high bluff over- looking a beautiful stretch of the Verdigris valley, two miles north and one mile west of the present site. In the early days it was a prominent factor in the politics of the county, being a formidable rival of Indepen-
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
dence for county seat honors and, in fact, the actual seat of government for a short period in 1869-70.
When the county was organized by proclamation of Gov. James M. Harvey, on the third day of June 1869, Verdigris City, located about five miles north of the subsequent site of the town of Liberty, was designated as the temporary seat of government ; the permanent location of which was to be submitted to a vote of the people at the following November election.
Independence, Verdigris City and Montgomery City were the rival aspirants but the few settlers in Verdigris and Montgomery cities, realiz- ing that their respective sites were not favorably located for the purpose, pooled their issues, founded the town of Liberty and immediately entered that beautiful city as a contestant for the honor of being the capital city of the county.
This narrowed the contest down to a fight between Independence, located on the west, and Liberty on the east side of the Verdigris river. Morgan City was also a candidate but was not considered formidable, except in so far as she might divide the vote that would otherwise go to Independence.
In this contest Independence was under the disadvantage of having to cross the river to vote. being attached to the voting precinct at Verdi- gris City where the friends of her principal rival were in control of the election machinery. She, however, made a heroic but futile effort to cap- ture the election board, sending two wagon loads of her citizens on an early morning drive for that purpose ; but the plot being discovered, they arrived too late to obtain more than one place on the board. and that had been left open for them "by courtesy."
Because of informality in certifying the returns from the Verdigris City precinct the vote of Drum Creek township, in which Independence was located, was thrown out and Liberty, with the whole east side ticket, declared elected.
This action of the canvassing board was contested by the friends of Independence before the Probate Court of Wilson county, as is clearly set forth in the article on the "Bench and Bar" in this volume. The action of the court in declaring the election invalid, left the County Com- missioners first appointed in control of county affairs, and as they were in sympathy with east side sentiment, they soon met and ordered the log court house, with all the offices and records, removed from Verdigris City to Liberty. This, however, did not settle the matter, as the west side eon- tingent claimed that the action of the board was illegal and that the county seat was still at Verdigris City.
In support of this contention they sent an agent to Topeka, who pro- cured the appointment of a new Board of Commissioners. On the receipt of their commissions the members of the new board-W. W. Graham,
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Thomas Brock and S. B. Morehouse-repaired to Verdigris City where, sitting in their wagon. they organized, and appointed a new set of county officers, ordered that the next term of the District Court be held at Inde- pendence and that the various county offices be kept there temporarily.
The old board and their appointees, failing to get an order of court requiring the return of the records and offices to Liberty, soon surren- dered and matters moved on quietly until the fall election in 1870, when the county seat question was again voted on by the people and Indepen- dence chosen by a vote of 839. to 560 for Liberty, This terminated the aspirations of the little city for civic and commercial greatness.
In 1871 the construction of the L. L. & G. Ry. across the east side of the county caused the removal of the village to its present site where, sur- rounded by a good agricultural region, its business men have continued to enjoy a prosperous country trade, although the place seems to have reached its maximum growth. However, the village is within the gas belt and is now prospecting for oil with a fair probability of finding enough of the black fluid to libricate the wheels of progress without limit.
The population of Liberty is about 300.
To one of the founders of this village-the late Daniel McTaggart- we are indebted for the demonstration of the fact that cotton can be suc- cessfully grown in Southern Kansas. Some years ago quite a colony of. Negroes from Texas settled in the Verdigris valley between Coffeyville and Liberty. Soon after the arrival of these people Capt. McTaggart conceived the idea of inducing them to try cotton growing, and, as an inducement, he furnished the seed and installed a gin at his mill near the original townsite. Quite a considerable acreage was planted, and while the yield was not large the fiber was of good quality and the yield per acre large enough to justify the continued production of this important staple as a side erop.
Caney and Elk City
BY J. R. CHARLTON.
Caney, the Queen City of Montgomery county, is situated in the southwest corner of the county, about one mile from the Indian Territory line, and about the same distance from the east line of Chautauqua county. It is built upon a sandy knoll, skirted on the north by the beau- tiful stream, Cheyenne creek, with its beautiful farms, on the west by the broad and rich valley of the Caney river, and on the south by the classic and limpid stream known as "Mud creek," while upon the east lies the broad, rolling and productive prairie lands. No prettier site can be found in all the county for a city, overlooking, as it does, for miles, the sur- rounding country.
Looking to the south and the south-east one beholds the beautiful mounds, and undulating prairies, and the fringes of timber along the
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
streams, where are to be found the farms and the happy homes of the Cherokee and the Delaware Indians, who have accepted the fruits of the onward march of civilization, and, with their schools and churches, living in their neat little residences upon their well kept farms, are a happy and contented people. Looking off to the south-west, as far as the eye can reach, are to be seen the hills and rolling lands, where roam vast herds of cattle of the Osage Indian Reservation. The Osage, unlike his Cherokee and Delaware brethren, has persistently refused to become civil- ized to any great extent. He disdains "store clothes," and elings to the blanket and breech elout of his fathers. Perhaps he can be said to be civilized, only in one particular. and that is, that he gets drunk just like a civilized white man.
Late in the fall of 1869, the first white settlers settled upon what is now the townsite of Caney. Among them were Jasper N. West and fan- ily, J. H. Smith and family, Berryman Smith, a single man, and "Uncle John" Hodges and family. Of those earliest settlers "Uncle John" Hodges, alone, is with us. He has been a continuons resident of Caney from that time to the present. Jasper N. West was Caney's first post- Elf master. During the winter of 1869 Dr. J. W. Bell and family came to Caney and he was the first tradesman, condueting a small store in which was kept for sale, (in a small box house made of native lumber, which was probably hauled here from some point east.) a little sugar, coffee, meat, flour, and. as we were informed by one who was there, a goodly supply of clothes pins. This structure was erected near what is now the crossing of State street and Fourth avenne, at the public well, from which particular point nearly all the earlier transfers of title to real property had their starting.
In the early part of the summer of 1870, O. M. Smith engaged in the mercantile business. "O. M .. " as he was familiarly called, was then a single man. He had a small stock of general merchandise, and he cooked, ate and slept in the store building. Jasper N. West built the first log house and it was located on what is now Block 61, and was the first and only place for the weary to take rest, and have their Inger satisfied and thirst quenched. Old "Uncle Robert" Hammill, in the early spring of 1870, came in with his two sons, with four yoke of Texas cattle, and lo- cated on the farm now owned by Thomas Steel, and about the same time "Unele John" Badgley located the place now owned by J. A. Fleener. Jasper N. Smith commenced. and probably completed, in the early part of 1870, a frame building for a hotel, on the site now occupied by the Reed residence, in Block 54, moving from his log house to the same.
Bill Copen was Caney's first blacksmith. Dr. A. M. Taylor, who came in November 1870, was Caney's first physician, and the doctor is still with us. James G. Woodruff came in during the early summer of 1870. Jasper N. West, J. H. Smith, Berryman Smith and James G. Woodruff
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
took the four claims cornering at a point where the public well, spoken of above, was located and conceived the idea of locating and platting a town. On May 11th. 1870. Capt. J. E. Stone dropped in among them, and the four claim holders, above named. with Stone and O. M. Smith, caused to be surveyed and platted what is a portion of the present city of Caney. "Uncle John" Hodges took the claim and made some improvements there- on, now owned by S. K. Jack. Levi Glatfelder located and improved the farm, together with other lands, upon which Mrs. Gladfelder now resides, two miles east of Caney. After the survey and platting of Coney quite a number of houses were erected and a mail ronte was established from what was then the village of Parker to Caney and then to St.Paul on the west side of Caney river. From that time on there was a steady stream of immigrants into Caney and the township. The latter was rapidly settled up by a thrifty, hard-working, and industrious class of people, and busines men of all classes began to locate in the village.
From that time on Caney became known as a first class trading point. Being a border town, its business men did a good business with the In- dians and the whites residing in the Territory
In July 1885. Cleveland J. Reynolds started the first paper in Canes, the Caney Chronicle, which has been issued continuously since, and entered upon its eighteenth year. It hasbeen published for the last seven years by H. E. Brighton. is a bright, newsy paper, and has ever stood up loyally for Caney and her best interests.
In 1886 a proposition was submitted to the citizens of Caney town- ship to vote bonds in the sum of $22.000.00 to aid in the construction of the D. M. & A. R. R. The bonds were voted. the road was built, and thus Caney was placed in closer touch with the outside world. The "freighter" who, with his mule teams, hauled goods from Independence and Coffey- ville, went away back and engaged in some other business, while the ar- ticles of merchandise and the products of the farm. from that time on, were carried by his fleeter-footed competitor, the steam engine and its train of cars. The building of a railroad into Caney really marked the beginning of its business carcer
The town continued to grow until on the 5th day of July 1887, it was incorporated as a city of the third class. Its first city election was held, under its charter, on the 18th day of July 1887, in what is now the old school building. The judges of the election were ; Dr. A. M. Taylor. John Todd and P. C. Dosh ; Clerks. J. J. Stone and J. P. Stradley.
The first officers of Caney, elected on the above date were : Mayor, P. S. Hollingsworth; Councilmen. Wm. Rogers, Harry Wiltse, J. J. Hemphill, J. A. Summer and W. B. MeWilliams; Police Judge, F. H. Ilooker. F. I. Dye was appointed and served as the first city clerk.
In the year 1891, Cleveland J. Reynolds, who was then the owner and publisher of the Caney Times, a weekly newspaper which he had founded
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
some time before, conceived and put into execution a plan for connecting all the towns of Montgomery county by telephone. Being a man of in- domitable will and untiring energy, he at once organized The Caney Tele- phone Company, and, within a few months thereafter, the "hello" girl was at her post of duty in every town in the county. The completion of this telephone line marked a new era in the history of Caney, as well as that of the entire county, as it was the first telephone line ever built in the couty.
In 1892, Col. S. M. Porter, of Caney, J. A. Bartles, of Bartlesville, I. T., and others, organized and chartered the Kansas, Oklahoma Central & Southwestern Railway Company for the purpose of building a line of road from Caney, south, through Oklahoma and on southwest into Texas; and a franchise for the building of said road was granted by Congress on December 21st, 1893. The construction of said road was begun in 1898 and in the spring of 1899 the old company sold out to the A T. & S. F. Ry. Co., and the road was completed from Caney to Owassa, I. T., a dis- tance of about sixty miles, thus giving Caney two seperate and competing lines of road. To Col. Porter is due, in a large measure, the credit for the building of the Santa Fe, for he worked without faltering for about eight years on the project before it finally succeeded, making one trip to Europe, and countless trips to Washington, New York and Chicago.
But Caney, like other cities in Montgomery county, owes its greatest prosperity and growth to the finding of natural gas in the earth beneath it. In the year 1900 the Caney Gas Company, composed entirely of Caney men, was organized and began prospecting for gas and oil After putting down several dry holes, they succeeded, in the fall of 1901. in striking a very strong flow of gas about two miles northeast of town, and in a short time thereafter they secured another well which has proved to be the strongest well in the Kansas field, having a rock pressure of 660 pounds and producing 16,000,000 cubic feet of gas every twenty-four hours. They also have a very good oil well in the same field. There are now six differ- ent gas and oil companies operating in the Caney field, and the prospects are very flattering.
In 1902 the members of the Caney Gas Company organized the Caney Brick Company and put in one of the largest and best vitrified brick plants in the country, with a capacity of 100.000 briek per day. They are turning out a first-class briek and have shipped as high as sixty cars of brick in one month, besides supplying the home demand. They carry a pay roll of sixty-five men.
The Cherryvale. Oklahoma & Texas Railway Company was chartered on July 22nd. 1902. with Col. S. M. Porter, of Caney, as president, for the purpose of constructing a line of railroad from Cherryvale, in Montgom- ery county, through Caney, to ElPaso, Texas, a distance of 900 miles. We are assured that this road will be built in the near future and will be of
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
great benefit to Caney and Montgomery county, as it will give us another system and competing line, probably the "Katy" or "Frisco."
Our high pressure and unfailing supply of gas is attracting the at- tention of various manufacturing enterprises.
Caney is a good place to live. Those who are religiously inclined will find four churches, all having good buildings, and resident pastors. They are the Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and Christians.
Our publie schools are first -lass. At present we have two school buildings, and employ nine teachers, but the growing population will soon require larger and better buildings and more teachers.
Caney has six physicians actively engaged in the practice, and many of them rank among the best physicians in the county. It also has a San- itarium, run by Dr. T. A. Stevens, to which patients come for treatment from the Territory and all the surrounding counties
We also have six lawyers who, by hard work, are able to look after the interests of their clients and keep the community quiet a good part of the time.
Capt. J. E. Stone, one of the first settlers, and who assisted in lay- ing out the original town site, was elected sheriff of Montgomery county in 1872, and served his county in that capacity faithfully and with credit to himself, and is now Caney's efficient postmaster, having been appoint- ed by President Mckinley.
E. B. Skinner, one of Caney's enterprising business men, is just serv- ing the last year of two terms as county treasurer, and Dr. J. A. Rader, one of our leading physicians, is serving his third term as coroner.
J. R. Charlton, one of our attorneys, was elected county attorney of Montgomery county in 1890 and served one term, refusing a re-nomi- nation.
J. H. Dana, who resided in Caney until the year 1900 was, in that year, elected county attorney, and moved to Independence.
Others of our prominent citizens have been exposed to the dread dis- ease called "office" but have never caught it.
Caney has grown from the little hamlet of a few years ago to become one of the best towns in Southern Kansas, having a population of but a little less than 2,000, and we confidently expect to see double that num- ber of people here in the next two years. It will make a good town, first : because of its natural advantages in location; second, because it has cit- izens who are publie spirited, enterprising and pushing, who do not only have money, but have faith in the future of the city. and therefore do not hesitate to invest their money in public enterprises.
In concluding this brief sketch let me say that as a resident of Kan- sas for more than twenty-five years, I believe it to be the best state in the Union ; that Montgomery county is the coming banner county of the state,
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
and that caney-well. language fails me, and I can only add that "the half has never been told."
Elk City
Elk City, one of the prettiest little cities in Southeastern Kansas, is situated at the mouth of Duck Creek, where it empties into Elk river, and is about three miles from the west line, and six miles from the north line of Louisburg township, the northwest township of Montgomery county.
The first settlement of Lonisburg township was made during the summer and fall of 1868, and during the following winter and spring sev- eral towns were started near Elk river at the mouth of Duck Creek.
Tipton. about one and one-half miles east of Elk river, was probably the first town started in the township, and was located on the claim owned by James E. Kelley. No living water having been found on this town site, it was soon abandoned, and the buildings moved west about three-quarters of a mile to a new town site called Louisburg, on the claim of either Ben. Pitman or grandfather JJames P. Kelly, but after a number of the little box houses had been located on the new town site, the same difficulty was encountered as at Tipton-no living water could be found -- and the third town was founded on Duck Creek, about one and one-half miles from its month, called Bloomfield, better known as Fish Trap. It was located in the fall of 1869.
In the meantime two brothers, John and Samuel Kopple, who had taken the claims at the mouth of Duck Creek, on Elk River, organized a town company and laid out the town of Elk City, and immediately ap- plied for and obtained a charter for their company, and for more than a year a bitter rivalry existed between the towns of Elk City and Bloom- field. A saw mill had been in operation for several months at Bloomfield or Fish Trap, owned by a man by the name of Seevers. Other enterprising citizens settled in the town, which continued to flourish until the spring of 1871.
In December of 1870, M. D. Wright, who is now one of the oldest and most respected citizens of Elk City, was postmaster for a number of years and has been connected with nearly all of the city's enterprises, drove into the thriving city of Bloomfield. or Fish Trap, in his proverbial prairie schooner, and. he informs the writer, that he found Jack Brock putting the finishing touches on a two-story store building, built exclu- sively of native lumber. Mr. Brock was laying the floor, first nailing thin narrow strips on the joists, then laying the boards so that the cracks in the floor came immediately over the center of the strips, so that when the green Hackberry boards had shrunk to their normal condition, as Jack expressed it. children and dogs would not fall through the cracks. An assortment of braces and wedges were required to bring the warped and crooked boards into a horizontal position. But the struggles of Fish Trap
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
for supremacy were unavailing. She was not to be a child of destiny and control the commerce of Duck Creek.
The natural advantages possessed by Elk City, the building of a saw mill that could mutilate more logs into bad lumber than its rival at Bloomfield, the advent of two blacksmith shops, several general stores, and saloons, especially the saloons, together with several other enter- prises, proved too much for Bloomfield, and they capitulated in the fall of 1871. and their citizens were given lots in Elk City, upon which they moved their houses, including the Jack Brock store building, and the contention between the two towns ended in their uniting and all the people coming where they could get plenty of water, which Elk City had.
In the spring of 1871 Louisburg township wes sectionized, and the supposed lines of many claims, it was found, did not conform to the gov- ermment survey, and thus originated much litigation and many deadly feuds. The rich and extensive farming lands embraced in the broad bot- toms of Elk river, Duck creek and Salt creek, were eagerly sought for and jealously guarded against all comers.
On April 1st, 1871, a village municipal government was organized for the government of Elk City, with J. P. Morgan, who now resides at Bartlesville, I. T., as chairman and U. R. Dannettell, as clerk. The names of the other trustees are not found upon the records
As evidence that there was nothing small about the early Fathers of the City, we find Ordinance No. 5, relating to the duties and obligations of the town treasurer, to read as follows, to-wit: "within ten days of his appointment to office the treasurer shall enter to bond to the State of Kansas, for the use of the town, with two or more sureties to be approved by the clerk, in the sum of Three Thousand Dollars for the faithful per- formance of his duties, etc."
No copy of the bond or the name of the first treasurer or of hisbonds- men appear on the records, but from the financial condition of the citi- zens as judged from the recollection of the oldest inhabitants. it would have required a majority of them to have qualified to that amount at that time.
As an evidence that the deliberations of these ancient Solons were not always harmonious, we note the discussion over the claim of Frank Morgan and Buck Brookins for destroying a dead mule, amount of bill $3.00, which was finally allowed and paid.
William Osborne holds the honor of being the first justice of the peace, and Squire Burdick was his successor The Squire had a penchant for horse trading, but like nearly all the other settlers of Elk City. at that time. his property or his horses did not represent much wealth. so he ran but little risk of losing in a trade It is related of the Squire, that one day he was holding court in a room fronting the. then, open prairie, when ;a woman came into the room and inquired for Squire Burdick. The
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, KANSAS.
Squire, who was seated near a window in the temple of justice, was point- ed out to her. She at once, without regard to the fact that court was in session, assailed the Squire, in a voice pitched upon a very high key, and demanded the return of a horse, which she claimed belonged to her, and which her minor son had traded to the Squire for a horse whose lease of life expired a few hours after reaching her home The Squire listened quietly until her tirade of abuse ended, and then invited her over to the window, pointed out to where the nose and two legs of a dead horse pro- truded above the prairie grass and said : "There is your horse, madam, if you want him go and get him, and take him home with you." The wo- man, hastily vacated the room, with a puzzled expression of countenance, as though she was trying to solve the problem as to which party did the cheating in the trade.
Whig Southard was the first postmaster at Elk City, A. C. Clark was his successor, M. D. Wright succeeded Clark and held the office from 1872 until Cleveland's election in 1884, when he was succeeded in 1885, hy Win. Daugherty, who, in turn, was followed by J. P. Swatzell and Wm. Wortman. the latter being the present incumbent.
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