USA > Kansas > Smith County > History of Smith County, Kansas to 1960 > Part 15
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Geographical Center of the United States
Smith County had a unique claim to fame as the official geographical center of the United States - ths real "Heart of the U.S.A." Soon after the site was developed with a motel, park, monument and oiled road, two new states, Hawaii and Alaska were added to the Union. However, it is etill the geographical
1 lira, Hattie Baker Collection; Kansas City Times, June 4, 1951.
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center of the forty-eight states, or of the contiguous states. Many people apparently wanted the thrill of being able to stand and look in any direction and know there was just as much of the United States "in front of you ae in back," as Wally Boren, eastern columnist, once wrote. In 1959, 29,000 visitors came to the "center", including visitors from 24 foreign countries.2 The nowe that it was the geographical center was first announced under a 1913 dateline from Washington, D. C .: "A point ten miles north of Smith Center, Kansas is the geographical center of the United States. This fact has been established by experte of the geological survey. The official location was given as latitude 39 degrees, longitude 98 degrees, 35 minutes west. A number of other spots had vigorously claimed the honor through the years, including Ft. Riley. The geographical center in 1922 belonged to A. C. Roberts who had farmed the site for a generation and his father before him had also farmed it. The exact eite was about eighty rods north of the Rock Island Railroad tracks.4 People often confuse it with the geodetic center of North america, located on Meade's ranch eighteen milse southeast of Oeborne or about sixty miles south of the geographical center. It was located in 1901 by the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and is important to map makare and surveyors for surveys of one sixth of the world's surface. One of the shortest highways in Kansas, one mile long, runs from US 281 west to the monument, located one mile north and one mile west of Lebanon.5 Most of the development ae a tourist attraction has been as the
2 Smith County Pioneer, December 24, 1959.
3 Kaneas City Star, May 11, 1923.
4 Council Crove Guard, September 22, 1922.
5 Topeka Daily Capital, April 21, 1955; J. Nelson Chandler wrote a story called "Three 'Strikee' in Kansas" in which he featured the Dutch Will, Higley's Cabin, and the Ceographic Center at Lebanon. It was illustrated with sketches by Nettie Smith Chubb, Smith County artist, and published in the May 1955 issue of Ford Times.
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result of the Hub Club of Lebanon.
Smith County Historical Society
Smith County citizens organized their Historical Society November 22, 1958, and the membership grew to more than 400. The first officers were Emmet Womer, president; W. E. Lee, vice-president; Mrs. Margaret Nelson, secretary; Mrs. Claude Diehl, treasurer; and directors Ray Myers and Lou Felton, Lebanon; I. A. Nichols, Harlan; Walter Hofer, Cedar; and Oscar Rice, Kensington. Annual memberships ware set at one dollar with anyone 79 years or older given an honorary life membership. The main purpose of the or- ganization was to write the history of Sith County, and at the first annual meeting, January 23, 1960, a report was given that the project was well under way with over 600 pages written. Lincoln Township wss the banner township with ninety-nine per cent membership. All of the officers were re-elected for another year and it was voted to have the meetings near to Memorial Day so many from a distance would be in the county and could attend. Talks on aspects of the history of Smith County and the value of the historical society were given by Ray Myers, veteran reporter and writer from Lebanon; Mrs. Vera (Crosby) Pletcher, Kansas State University, Department of History; and A. L. (Bert) Headley, retired newspaper editor on the Smith County Pioneer for over forty years. It was reported in March, 1960, that twenty per cent of the honorary members of the Historical Society had died during 1959.6 This means there are one-fifth loss of the older people available to pass on the history directly because an honorary member in 1959 had to be at least seven years old
6 Topeka Daily Capital, March 27, 1960.
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at the time Smith County was organized. This fact well illustrates the most often expressed thought about the organization of the Historical Society. Elmer Stump, member from Lebanon, wrote in his manuscript for the Society, "The only objectionable feature is -- if only it would have been started thirty or more years ago." A letter to tite Pioneer from George Morgan, seventy-five year old resident, now of Manhattan, expressed the same thought.
It is of no little interest that I read in last week's issue of your old home paper of the plans of some of our civic minded people to write up some Smith County history. If I were asked, I would very promptly answer that this little matter is away past due and that there are many items of real interest to practically everyone of us that have already escaped and will escape forever our records, and consequently most of us will never know about then .?
The Kensington Band
The Kensington Band was "headline news" in 1918-1919, both in Kansas and in Smith County. This once famous band should not become a forgotten fact in the realms of time, and a written record of its accomplishments is of utmost importance to the historical record of Smith County.
Official interest in the organization of military bands originated in an order by General John Pershing in May 1918, to Walter Damrosch to organize and train banda "as a part of military efficiency." General Pershing said, "I would like our army band to play so well that people will say when we march up Fifth Avenue after peace has come, "Here is another proof of the justice of military
7 George (Brad) Morgan, Personal letter to Smith County Pioneer and sent to the author by Emmet Homer, President of the Historical Society. George Morgan also stated hie father, Frank L. Morgan, was among the early settlers of Smith County and hauled lumber from Hastings, Nebraska to Smith Center. After the railroad went through the south side of the county, he hauled from Gaylord. He homesteaded on the half section of land about two miles southwest of Smith Center and it was there George was born. Other information, Smith County Pioneer, February 4, 1960, January 21, 1960.
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training.'" This led to the withdrawal of bandamen from the ranks of stretcher bearers where they had been serving, a decided campaign for the enlistment of bandamen and to a definite training program being organized in sach branch of the service for military bands.
Clarence W. Osborn came to Kensington from Pennsylvania about 1915 to be musical instructor in the Kensington High School. It soon became apparent that he was an outstanding musician. He began to take an active part in local activities outside of the school, becoming band leader for the local Commercial Club. Perhaps part of this interest was due to the fact that he had met and married a local girl, Miss Goldie Martin. 9 The Commercial Band showed such exceptional results that Osborn was appointed director of the Twelfth Bat- talion State Guards Band made up of musicians from Kensington, Gaylord, Athol, and Cedar.
In June 1918, several members of the Keneington Band along with other musicians from Smith Center and Lebanon decided to go to Kansas City and enlist as a unit. 10 Ordinarily this would not have been news except for notices of enlistmente in the local paper, but an enlistment mistake put them on the front pages of the Kansas City papers. They enlieted in both the navy and marines !
The 35 piecs Kensington, Kansas band loet after application at the navy station in Kansas City and frantically searched for all Saturday afternoon turned up yesterday at the office of the marine corps and enlisted as a unit. A mistake on the part of the band leader in confusing the marinee with the navy led to the applications being made at the wrong station. On discovering
8 "New Status of Military Banda, " Literary Digest, Sept. 28, 1918, p. 30-31.
9 H. V. Dilsaver, Kensington, Kansas, in letter to author.
10 c. W. Osborn, Band Director, Kensington, Kansas, in a letter to the author, April, 1960.
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the mistaks the leader applied to Lieut. H. G. Hornabostel of the marine corps. Lieut. Hornsbostel wired to Washington for permission to enlist the band. As ths application was granted, the men will become the official band of the Fourteenth Regiment and will receivs their training at Paris Island Marine Camp. In accordance with word from Washington, Ur. Harry Prentiss, sxamining officer for the marinss, will go to Kensington to examine the men in the band.1l
But the band was not in the marine service to stay. Four days later the Kansas City papers' patrons were again trying to find Kensington on ths maps. "Who's Band Is This Now?" was the headlins on July 13.
To bs marines or not to be. Ths navy recruiting station says not, in speaking yesterday afternoon of the Kensington, Kansas band which has been the cause of much local notics because of its inability, up to date, to decide whether to join the navy or the marines. First the band voted in favor of the navy, but last Saturday when an inspec- tor came to look the band boys over, ths unit had temporarily dia- appeared. On Monday they were identified at the marine recruiting station, where they had just received permission from Washington to join the marine corps as a unit. Then ths band went homs.
Ths marine corps sent two doctors out to Kensington to inspect the members of the band and immediately began to round up some thirty more musicians to send along with the Kensington unit to make a full rsgimental band of fifty piecss. Meanwhile two navy inspectors tried a little follow-up game, supposedly to get the facts in the mix-up straightened out. Yesterday the following telsgram came to ths Navy recruiting office in Kansas City: "Prospects look bright for navy getting the band."
Ths navy has a hunch it will sign the boys up bsfors tonight as prospective members of the 1,700 man band at the Great Lakes training station, particularly sincs the band's strong point, so far discovered, is an ability to change its mind quickly.12
Apparently ths men sent out by the navy intended to do more than a mere "follow-up" as the Kansas City paper intimated. The local papers reported that "a musician representing the John Philip Sousa band of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station," a physician, and Prof. C. W. Osborn were in the various towns on July 11 checking on band members.13 It would seem that in 1918 the
11 Kansas City Journal, July 9, 1918.
12 Ibid.
13 Kensington Mirror, July 11, 1918; Smith County Pioneer, July 11, 1918.
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navy "landed" before the marines in this instance. The Kansas City Ster had the headline on July 13 that the "Navy gets the 'Loet Band'."
The Kensington, Kansas band -- the "lost band" which hae been the subject of attack and counter-attack between the navy and marine corps recruiting stations in their efforts to obtain the band -- has landed finally in the navy. Thirty members, the entire strength, were enlisted today and granted two-weeks furlough after which they will go to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. In celebration of the enlistment the band paraded the downtown etreete of Kansas City/ today with a large banner inscribed, "Kensington Band, on the Way to the Navy." The band aerenaded the Star.14
The Navy also sent a Navy bandman, a Mr. Brown, to Kensington for ten days and he and Osborn spent that time enlisting fifty more men from Kansas and Missouri. "On July 2, 1918, these musicians assembled in Kansas City, and were sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Illinois. 15
The band's arrival was noted at Great Lakes. "A complete band of sixty-ono pieces all organized under Drill Master Osborn arrived at Great Lakes Tuesday from Kansas and paraded the main drill field .... The aggregation which is called tho Kensington Band has been organized for some time and decided to join the navy
in a body. 16 Nothing much was written concerning the band for the next five months. Some of the men came home on leave occasionally, including Clarence Osborn, which was noted in the county papere. It was probable the thirty men- bers of the band from Smith County were "lost" again among the 1,700 bandamen at the Naval Training Station but such was not the case. Clarence Oeborn men- tions that the band was kept together as a unit and was known as the Kensing- ton Band. lie was also kept in the position of leader. Mr. Osborn modestly de- scribed the honor paid to the band when he said, "We were at Great Lakes five
14 Kansas City Star, July 13, 1918.
15 c. W. Osborn, op. cit.
16 Great Lakes Bulletin, July 31, 1918.
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months when the Band was chosen ae the Band to go on the U.S.S. George Wash- ington with President Wilson to France. lie made both trips with President Wilson. I was the director of this band. #17 The Kansas City and Topeka papere greeted the announcement with headlines. The Kansas City Timee re- ported:
A Kansae Band for Wilson. The Kensington Musicians Selected to Make the Trip Overseas. The Kensington, Kaneas Band of twenty- two piecee which was lost by the marines and found by the navy in a heated recruiting duel last July in Kansas City, was today paid the first compliment yet bestowed upon a navy band from the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.
Headed by Bandmaeter C. W. Osborn of Kensington, the band "shoved off" this morning for New York to board the U. S. S. George Washington. It will be the honor band which will accompany President Nilson to Europe next week. The Band cams to Great Lakes composed of "rookis musiciane." Today they wers chosen from among .twenty-three other bands as the best product of finished musicians ever introduced at the etation by Captain William A. Moffett, commandant. Before de- parting, Capt. Moffett told the musicians from Kensington that he ex- pected them to "livs up to the excellent reputation they had mads while in training," and that sach man was individually responsible for the great honor that had been bestowed upon them.18
Nowhere was there a complete list of ths namse of the personnel of the band. However, it has been possible to tracs some of them. Russell Frazier of Athol was a member of the original band. Mr. Oaborn mentions there were five members from Kensington, including Ed Rutter, Ernet Wilson, Raymond Heyes, Edwin Hilbrink and himself. From Smith Center ware Alvin Luse, Jerry (Dooley) Underwood, Russell Clark, and Jack Werts. There were two members from Lebanon -- John Amos and Larry Cherry. Cherry, a barber and member of the local band, died of Spanish influenza in the service and may not have made the trip. Georgs C. Houdek of Cuba was another member. The bass horn player at Kensington, Ed Rutter, a son of a Civil War Veteran, was over ages for
17 c. W. Osborn, op. cit.
18 Kansas City Times, Nov. 30, 1918.
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enlistment but Osborn took him along anyway and he wae accepted.
The U. S. S. George Washington wae the second largest ship afloat at the time it was used for President Wilson's trip to Francs. It wae a former Ger- man liner and had been taken over by the United States ae a troop carrier. It could carry 7,000 troops a trip, was 722 feet long, weighed 37,000 tons, was ten decke high, and carried a crew of 1,300 men. A picture of the band of twenty-ons pisces taken on board ehip had names and instrumente played. 19 Clarinets wers Kendig, Solo; Whitecamp, first; Hunter, director; Aurdder, third; Theie, third; Foster, picolo. Cornets ware St. Peter, Solo; Underwood, first; Anderson, third; Hobbs, Houdek, and Anderson, alto. Trombons wae played by Buzzard and Clark, tuba by Walker and Rutter, drums by Wilson and Hilbrink.
After the war, Clarence Osborn re-sesembled the members of the band and toured the country playing concerte and State Fairs. They were known ae "President Wilson'e Official Peace Band from Kensington, Kansas." The Osborns went to Pennsylvania to live, but returned to Kensington in the ninetsen fifties to make their home. There are only two other living members of the eleven bands- men that Mr. Osborn could tracs, Huseell Clark and Jack Werts.
The Old Dutch Mill
In the spring of 1873 a young man named Charlas G. Schwarz from Grauenhagen, Michelenburg, Germany came to the United States, then in 1876 had enough money to return for hie family, Mre. Schwarz and their son, Conrad. Charlee was trained ae a flour miller, and expected to have a job waiting in Ashland, Ne- braska, but the mill was closed down. The family decided they wanted a homestead
19 Mrs. Edwin Hilbrink now livse at Phillipsburg, Kaneas. She furnished the pictures of the band (sse picturee, page 234) taken on board the chip.
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and came to the Reamsville vicinity in Smith County in 1877 and built a sod house twelve by sixteen feet. He began planning the mill about 1878 and began . cutting a pair of burre out of native stone from across the line in Franklin County, Nebraska. Most of the timber was cut during the winter of 1881-1882 by Charles and his brother and hewn by hand for the upright poste. The tim- bers were hauled to a location about a mile north of the present site of Reams- ville. "Sod Town", as it was then called, consisted of a frame store, and three residences, a blacksmith shop, and schoolhouse, all of sod. A scarcity of water in Sod Town led to the decision to move to the present site of Reams- ville and farmers for miles around donated their help in hauling the timbers to the site. The town soon followed and the name changed in 1882 to Reamsville.
Charles and his brother Alfred made spikes 32 inches to 8 inches long and bolts up to 24 inches long in Alfred's blacksmith shop, mostly from worn out wagon wheel tires, to fasten the mill together. In 1881, Mrs. Schwarz's brother and family, William Markman, came from Germany. He was a miller and millwright and hie aid wae valuable in helping finish the mill. On May 1, 1882, Schwarz got his final citizenship papers, made final proof on his home- stead, and immediately put a loan on it to build the mill. Alfred did the same.
The raising of the mill frame was a major undertaking. The eight posts were 12 inches by 12 inches and about forty feet long. The mill was octagon in shape, forty feet in diameter at the bottom, tapering to eighteen feet at the top. The height to the turntable was forty-two feet and to the top of the roof was fifty-four feet from the foundation stone. For harnessing the wind huge fan was built with a spread of sixty feet. A sail cloth could be spread or taken up as ths wind velocity got higher or lower. The tailwheel was ten feet in diameter. The building was five storiee high and shingled from top to
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bottom. Mrs. Alda Bennett, a daughter of Charles Schwarz, describes the in- terior thus:
On the first floor was father's office and work room and some of the machinery used in operating the burrs; on the second floor were the burrs and other machinery; third and fourth floors were mostly grain bins and the top or fifth floor was more machin- ery. This is where wae found the large wheel with wooden cogs, all made by my father. When the mill was first built, grain was elevated from the first floor by hand.
In the spring of '83 the mill was started. It had been pre- dicted that the project would be a failure, that sufficient power and speed could not be secured to pull those burrs and grind corn meal but when the mill was finally ready and did start to grind meal and feed successfully, it was the wonder of the country and grain came from considerable diatances. Corn meal and graham flour was ground on shares, and the corn meal was said to be of such excellent quality that it was sold in all adjoining towns in Kansas, also in Riverton and Franklin, Nebraska, and was shipped to other states.20
A July 26, 1885 item in the Reamsville Dispatch stated that Alfred traded his interest in the Star Mill to Jack Thornton for 200 acree of land in Illinois. A later item says the grist mill, Holland type, has just been fin- ished at the cost of $3,500. Then in the fall of 1885 Thornton sold out to Charles. The sail cloth had not been taken in, January 12, 1887 when a bliz- zard and wind struck suddenly. The main shaft, a white elm log squared to twenty-four inches, broke where it was rounded for the bearing and all four fane came down. During the summer of 1887 Schwartz rebuilt thie from pine timber ordered special and hauled from the railroad at Gaylord, twenty-five miles away. Conrad Schwarz, son of Charles, reported that the homestead and mill were then traded to a man named Josiah Platt in 1888 for the Eagle Mill near Riverton, Nebraska, and the family moved there.2- It took about a year
20 Mrs. Alda Bennett, Franklin, Nebr. Sentinel, September 1, 1932. 21 Interviewed by author in Topeka, Kansas, February, 1960.
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to build a dam and rebuild the mill at Riverton. Then December, 1890, the Fiverton mill was burned, apparently to cover a theft of flour. The insurance was contested in court for three years. This left the family practically des- titute and Charles and Conrad cut and sold firewood that winter to pay for groceries and flour. Schwarz made a trip back to Reamsville and was so dis- gusted with the way Platt had let the old mill deteriorate that he went back and traded a team of horses and something else (Conrad could not remember what) for the old mill, repaired it and ran it again. In 1913 he quit running the mill by wind and installed a kerosene engine. It was closed in 1920 be- cause of Mr. Schwarz's failing health. Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz moved to Topeka to live with their son, Conrad. 22 Mr. Schwarz, who was born December 1840, died November 1929, at the age of almost 89 years. Mrs. Schwarz Lived until March 1936, age 89. They had five children, Henry, Conrad, and Herman, Matilda (Tillie), Mrs. Alda Bennett, and Emma, Mrs. H. C. Hohner.
In 1937 tho surviving relatives of the Schwarz family offered the mill to anyone who would restore and preserve it as there were only five such mills ever built on tho Kansas plains. The city of Smith Center took the offer and in January, 1938, it was moved to a small park in Smith Center by Les Neal and Bernard Glenn, then repaired, refinished and the fans rebuilt. All the expenses of lumber, and material were paid for by the city and much of the labor was done by the NYA boys under the supervision of Logan Leonard. Then March 16, 1955 the old mill caught fire in some way and the "amoke rising high brought consternation to everyone." The siding was destroyed and the up- right timbers badly charred. The Topeka Capital reported that "only a
22 Conrad Schwarz had started working out after the fire, then attended Topeka Business College after a summer in the harvest fields. He became founder and president of the Schwarz Basket and Box Company in Topeka.
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skeleton remains and it is beyond repair. The only similar one left now is at Wamego. " But they did not know the determination of Smith County resi- dents. It was estimated that restoration would cost batween two and three thousand dollare, depending on volunteer labor. Donations were soon coming in. Two of the grandchildren of Charles Schwarz, Arnold Hohner and Elmo Bennett, electriciana by trads, donated the wiring and labor aa part of the repair. By June 1, 1955, the Old Dutch Mill had been restored and was open to the public again. 23
"Home on the Range"
In 1872 on the bank of Beaver Creak in Smith County a crude one-roomed cabin of loga and limastone was erected by Dr. Breweter Higlay. It must have bsen built better than average because it stood ths taat of tima. It was not until 1941 that anyona took any note of the cabin used by the tenanta on the farm for a chicken house, but twenty years later, it is not unusual to pick up a magazine or paper and find a picture of it on the cover, and it is recognized without a caption all over the United Statse. Ths story of this cabin and its inhabitante reads like a work of fiction but the best part wae that soma of the participants ware etill living whan the concluding chapter was written.
23 J. Nelson Chandler'e story, "Three 'Striksa' in Kansas", featured the Mill along with the geographic center and liglay's cabin in tha Nay 1955 issue of Ford Times. Othar aourcas were Mrs. Alda J. Bennett, "Wind Driven Griet Mill Built & Half Century Ago Still Stande," which ie an article written by the daughter of the builder for the Sentinel, Franklin, Nebraska, Sept. 1, 1932; seven-page manuscript in the Mre. Hattie Baker Collaction; Topeka Daily Capital, March 28, 1955, April 21, 1955, March 20, 1955; Smith County Pioneer, September 23, 1954; interview by the author with C. H. A. Schwarz, a son, now 86 years old and living at 719 Taylor Street, Topeka, February 18, 1960.
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Brewster Higley was born in Meigs County, Ohio in November, 1823. While staying with an old doctor and attending Rutland, he developed an interest in medicine. He attended the University of Columbue and State Medical College of Indiana, graduating in 1848. Hle was Demonstrator of Anatomy in the State Medical School for two terms, and one year at Ann Arbor, Michigan. He then moved his family to La Porte, Indiana and began private practice in that area in partnership with hie uncle, a Dr. Everts. Ile practiced there for about twenty-six years. October 1849, he married Maria Winchell, who bore one eon, September 1851. Ile died within a few days. Mrs. Higley died in 1852. In August 1853, Higley married ileanor Page. They were parents of one son, Brewster Itigley VII. 24 Itis second wife died in late 1854 or early 1855, and in 1858 he married Catherine Livingston, and to this marriage me born Estelle "Stella" in 1859 and Arthur llerman in 1861, the two children he sent for when in Smith County. Hie wife was injured and died June 3, 1864. In February 1866, Dr. Higley married Mercy Ann McPherson, a widow. The family lived at Union Mille and Indian Point, both small towns near La Porta. When the doc- tor acquired the addiction to drink that is thought to have been a contrib- uting factor to his coming to Kansas ie not known. That the losses of his wives and the problem of small motherless children could have been some in- stigation is realized. Witnesses also have stated that he and his fourth wife were very incompatible, and at Indian Point he panned even hie medical instruments to buy drink. He finally sent hie children to relativee in Illinois and left for an unannounced destination, apparently Kanse. Nina years after their marriage, Mrs. Mercy Higley got a divorce by default, ef- fective February 1875. That he drank to exceee at timee, becoming moody and
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