USA > Kansas > Kansas; a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence, Voilume I > Part 12
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The reorganized school opened on Sept. 1, 1902, with Gen. J. Frank- lin Bell as commandant, and Col. A. L. Wagner, who had been con- nected with the old school, as assistant. By General Orders No. 115, series of 1904, three separate schools were established: Ist, The infan- . try and cavalry school; 2nd, The signal school; 3d, The staff college. Other changes followed, and by General Orders No. 211, of 1907, the in- fantry and cavalry school was designated "The Army School of the Line," and the method of selecting student officers was changed so that none could be admitted of a lower grade than captain, with not less than five years' service.
Circular No. 13, issued by the war department in 1908, set forth the function of the service schools to be the promotion of the best interests of the service, and while it might be desirable to afford equal opportu- nity to all officers, it was impossible to do so and adhere to the purpose for which such schools were established, viz .: to promote the best in- terests of the service by affording the most promising officers the op- portunity for instruction in the highest duties of the soldiers' profession.
The course of study in the infantry and cavalry school embraces military art, engineering, law and languages; that of the signal school includes field signaling, signal engineering, topography and languages; that of the staff college includes military art, engineering, law, lan- guages and the care of troops.
The commandants of the school at Fort Leavenworth since its or- ganization have been Cols. Elwell S. Otis, Thomas H. Ruger, A. D. McCook, E. F. Townsend, H. S. Hawkins, Charles W. Miner, J. Frank- lin Bell, Charles B. Hall, and Brig .- Gen. Frederick Funston, the last named having assumed the duties of the position on Aug. 14, 1908. Al- though the service school at Fort Leavenworth is a national institution, maintained by the general government, it is located on Kansas soil, and is an institution in which the progressive citizens of the state feel a deep interest, and of which they are justly proud.
Arnold, a money order postoffice of Ness county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R., in Ohio township, about 15 miles north- west of Ness City, the county seat. It has an express office and is a shipping and supply point for that part of the county in which it is located. In 1910 it had a population of 75.
Arrington, a village of Atchison county, is situated in the southwest corner on the Leavenworth, Kansas & Western railroad, about 25 miles southwest of Atchison. It is the supply and shipping point for a con- siderable territory, has a money order postoffice, express and telegraph facilities, several general stores, a school, and in 1910 had a population of 210.
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Art Association, State .- When the Topeka public library building was completed in April, 1883, rooms were fitted up in it for the use of an art gallery and school. On Nov. 1, 1883, a letter was sent out by a committee consisting of George W. Glick, A. H. Horton, A. S. John- son. John Martin, G. F. Parmelee, J. R. Mulvane, J. F. Scott. Frank Drummond, Robert Price and Edward Wilder, suggesting Nov. 8, when the Social Science club was to meet, as a suitable occasion to organize an art association. The letter also contained the announcement that a donation of $1,000 had been given by "one interested in art and progress." to further the work.
The proposition met with favor, and on Nov. 9, 1883, the Art As- sociation was incorporated with 72 charter members. The articles of association declared the objects to be: I. The formation of a permanent art collection at the capital, to be open to all visitors; 2. To hold an annual competitive exhibition for Kansas artists. 3. The establishment of an art school. Edward Wilder was elected president, and G. F. Parmelee, secretary. The association was governed by a board of 24 directors. The first art loan exhibition opened in the rooms in the library on March 16, 1885, when a large number of oil paintings, water colors, engravings, drawings in black and white, ceramics, embroidery, curios, etc., were thrown open to the public.
On Sept. 13, 1886, the first session of the art school was opened, under the direction of George E. Hopkins, formerly in charge of the Cincinnati School of Design. At his suggestion the association im- ported a number of casts of famous art statues, historic figures, etc. For a time the school was conducted with comparative success. Then in- terest began to wane, some of the members of the association died or moved away, others neglected to pay their annual membership fees, and the association finally lapsed into a state of inactivity altogether. The collection, or at least the most of it, is still on exhibition in the library building at Topeka.
Artesian Wells .- The flowing or artesian well takes it name from Artois, France, where wells of this character have long been known. Hilgard says: "Artesian wells are most readily obtained where the geological formations possess a moderate inclination or dip, and are composed of strata of materials impervious to water (rock or clay). alternating with such as-like sand or gravel- allow it to pass more or less freely. The rain water falling where such strata approach to or reach the surface will in great part accumulate in the pervious strata, rendering them 'water bearing.' Thus are formed sheets of water be- tween two inclined, impervious walls of rock or clay, above as well as below, and exerting great pressure at their lower portions. Where water so circumstanced finds or forces for itself natural outlets, we shall have springs ; when tapped artifically by means of a bore-hole, we have an artesian well, from whose mouth the water may overflow if its surface level be below that of pressure."
Prior to the settlement of Kansas by white people, and in fact for
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a quarter of a century or more after the state was admitted into the Union, the western half was regarded as practically a desert. In 1891 E. S. Nettleton made an investigation of the artesian and underflow conditions in Nebraska, the Dakotas, Colorado and Kansas. In his re- port he gives special mention of the overflow at Hartland and Dodge City, and quoted the following letter from R. I. Smith, of Winona, Logan county : "I have a 6-inch bored well in my door yard, 135 feet deep, with 8 feet of water. Over a year ago I noticed that at times a strong current of air came out of the openings around the pump- stock, and by observation find it to be an excellent barometer, as it blows from 6 to 20 hours preceding a storm. I have placed a brass whistle in the space, which at times can be heard a quarter of a mile. The harder and longer it blows the more intense the coming storm will be. A peculiarity of it is the fact that, after the storm it takes back the wind."
Robert Hay, chief geologist in the office of irrigation inquiry of the United States department of agriculture, made a report the same year on the overflow conditions in the Smoky Hill and Republican valleys, but he developed nothing of importance.
In 1892 J. W. Gregory, special agent of the artesian and overflow in- vestigation on the Great Plains, described in his report the underflow in Kearny, Trego, Pratt, Seward, Morton, Logan, Scott, Wichita, Grant, Thomas, Decatur, Meade, Gray, Rooks and Russell counties in Kansas. Describing a well in the northern part of Meade county, he says: "The first water was found in white quartz gravel at 75 feet and rose 4 feet. At 113 feet a flow of water was found in white quartz gravel, which came up freely through the pipe, carrying quantities of the gravel. The water rose to a height of over 81 feet, or within 32 feet of the top of the ground, where it remains."
Mr. Gregory reported a number of wells in which the water rose well toward the surface. One of these was sunk by J. J. Rosson on the top of a mound in the valley of the north fork of the Cimarron river in Grant county. After digging 65 feet without obtaining water, a hole was bored in the bottom of the well 20 feet deeper, when the water quickly rose in the well to within 20 feet of the surface.
The reports of these investigations, conducted by direction of the na- tional government, have done much to strengthen the belief that under a large part of western Kansas there is a body of water that can be made to flow to the surface, and numerous experiments have been made in boring wells in the hope of striking this underflow. In some in- stances these experiments have been successful. In the Crooked creek valley, in Meade county, there are about 100 flowing wells, though the flow is not sufficiently strong to render them of much utility in irriga- tion. There is a similar artesian area about "Wagonbed Springs," Stevens county. The wells in these districts range from 40 to 140 feet deep. At the time Mr. Gregory made his report there were 2 flowing wells in Morton county and 5 in Hamilton, demonstrating that western
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Kansas, or at least that portion of it, is situated over a subterranean body of water possessing all the qualifications mentioned by Hilgard for producing artesian wells.
With the knowledge that flowing wells could be obtained in west- ern Kansas came a request for state aid in developing the field, and on Jan. 30, 1908, Gov. Hoch approved an act passed by the special session of the legislature, authorizing the county commissioners of Stevens, Morton, Grant and Stanton counties to appropriate from the general revenue funds of said counties not exceeding $5,000 in each county for the purpose of prospecting for and developing artesian wells. How- ever, no money was to be so appropriated and expended until 160 acres of land had been donated to the county, and upon this 160 acres one or more wells might be sunk, such wells to be under the control of the county commissioners. No reports of wells sunk under the provisions of this act are obtainable.
Recent developments tend to show that the early experiments in artesian wells in Kansas were only comparatively successful or alto- gether failures because the drillers did not go deep enough. Most of the wells have gone no further than the first pervious stratum. Some- where there is a source of pressure sufficiently strong to furnish an abundant supply of water if the stratum connected with it can be reached. In 1910 Ernest C. Wilson, formerly editor of the Richfield Monitor, in Morton county, developed an 8-inch well, over 500 feet in depth, which flows 2,000 gallons per minute and supplies enough water to irrigate a half section of land. If the same conditions hold good throughout the western part of the state, it is only a question of a few years until that section will be well supplied with moisture, the treeless plains will be sheltered by timber, and the "Great American Desert" will be a thing of the past.
Arvoni, a little hamlet of Osage county, is in the township of same name, on the Marais des Cygnes river and about 12 miles southwest of Lyndon, the county seat. The people of Arvonia receive their mail by rural free delivery from Reading, which is the most convenient rail- road station.
Ashcroft, a hamlet of Jefferson county, is near the northern boundary on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., about 4 miles from Valley Falls, and 12 miles from Oskaloosa, the county seat. It is supplied with mail by rural route from Nortonville.
Asherville, one of the thriving little towns of Mitchell county, is lo- cated on the Solomon river and on the Union Pacific R. R. in Asherville township, 10 miles southeast of Beloit. It has a money order post- office with one rural route, telegraph and express offices. The popula- tion in 1910 was 125. Asherville was the first postoffice in the county and also had the first store, established in 1867, by Hon. John Rees.
Ashland, the county seat of Clark county and one of the growing towns of southwest Kansas, is located a little southeast of the geo- graphical center of the county, on Beaver creek and the line of the
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Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. that runs from Wichita to Engle- wood. Ashland's population almost doubled during the decade from 1900 to 1910. In the former year it was 493 and in the latter 910. The volume of business and shipping increased in even greater proportions than the population. The city has two banks, grain elevators, a weekly newspaper-the Clark County Clipper-several general stores, hard- ware, drug and jewelry stores, confectioneries, etc., a good public school system, and the Catholics, Methodists, Christians and Presbyterians all have neat church edifices. The Ashland postoffice is authorized to is- sue international money orders, express, telegraph and telephone fa- cilities are ample, and taken altogether, Ashland can be described as a wide-awake, progressive little city.
Ashland Colony .- Within a few months after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill steps were taken at Newport, Ky., to organize a colony for the purpose of founding a settlement in Kansas. Several local meetings were held, but nothing definite was accomplished until about the close of the year 1854. Early in 1855 some 60 persons, most of them from Covington, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio, embarked on the steamboat Express for the new territory. The boat arrived at Kansas City, Mo., in March, 1855. A site had been previously selected on the south side of the Kansas river, near the mouth of McDowell's creek. The original intention was to make the entire trip by water, the colo- nists believing the Kansas river to be navigable, but upon arriving at Kansas City they found that their boat would be unable to proceed farther. Emigrant wagons and teams were procured for the remainder of the journey, and on April 22 they reached their destination. Many of these colonists were admirers of Henry Clay and the town they laid out was named Ashland, after the great commoner's residence in Kentucky. The name was also given to the township subsequently or- ganized, including the settlement founded by this colony.
The officers of the Ashland colony were: Franklin G. Adams, presi- dent; Rev. N. B. White, vice-president; Henry J. Adams, treasurer. Among the members were Matthew Weightman, W. H. Mackey, Sr., and wife, John E. Ross, C. L. Sanford, C. N. Barclay, William Stone and J. S. Williams. A few of the colonists became discouraged and returned to their old homes in Ohio and Kentucky, but the majority of them were prepared to encounter the hardships of pioneer life on the frontier and went bravely forward with the erection of log cabins, etc. Late in December a postoffice was established at Ashland with William Mackey as postmaster, and in March, 1857, the town was made the county seat of Davis (now Geary) county. Several terms of the territorial court were held there by Judge Elmore before the seat of justice was removed to Junction City in Nov., 1860. With the removal of the county seat Ashland began to wane. Some of the leading mem- bers of the colony found better opportunities for the exercise of their talents and energies elsewhere, and in time the town of Ashland be- came only a memory. In 1873 the legislature transferred Ashland township to Riley county.
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Ashley, William H., fur trader and Congressman, was born in Pow- hatan county, Va., about 1778. In 1808 he went to Upper Louisiana (now Missouri) and was there made a brigadier-general of militia. In 1822 he organized the Rocky Mountain Fur company and went to the Rocky mountains, where he formed friendly relations with the Indians. with whom he traded for many years and accumulated a comfortable fortune. In some of his excursions from the States to his trading posts he crossed Kansas, though his route was generally up the Platte valley. In 1820 he was elected lieutenant-governor of Illinois, and later removed to Missouri. From 1831 to 1837 he represented a Missouri district in Congress. He died at Boonville, Mo., March 26, 1838.
Ashton, a village of Walton township, Sumner county, is a station on the Kansas Southwestern R. R., about 16 miles southeast of Welling- ton, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice with one rural free delivery route, express and telegraph offices, several general stores, and in 1910 reported a population of 125.
Ash Valley, a rural hamlet of Pawnee county, is in the township of the same name, in Ash creek valley, about 12 miles northwest of Larned, the county seat, with which it is connected by stage, and from which it receives mail.
Assaria, one of the active incorporated towns of Saline county, is located in Smoky View township, on the Union Pacific R. R., 12 miles south of Saline, the county seat. It has a number of business estab- lishments, a bank, telegraph and express offices and an international money order postoffice, with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 246. The town was laid out in 1879 by a town company, of which Highland Fairchild was president.
Atchison, the seat of justice of Atchison county, located in the east- ern part on the Missouri river, was founded in 1854 and named in honor of David R. Atchison, United States senator from Missouri, who, when Kansas was opened for settlement, interested some of his friends in the scheme of forming a city in the new territory. However, it seems that all were not agreed upon the location he had selected, and on July 20, 1854. Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, Ira Norris, Leonidas Oldham, James B. Martin and Neal Owens left Platte City, Mo .. to decide definitely upon a site. They crossed the Missouri river near Fort Leavenworth and continued to travel up stream along the western bank until they reached the place where Atchison now stands, where they found a site that was the natural outlet of a remarkably rich agricultural region just open to settlement. They also found that two men named George M. Million and Samuel Dickson had staked claims near the river. Million's claim lay south of what is now known as Atchison street and consisted of a quarter section. Dickson had built a small cabin on his claim, and this cabin was the first structure erected on the site of the present city. Million had a ferry, on which he crossed to the Missouri side to his home, but on the day the prospectors ar- rived he was on the Kansas side. From a map in his possession, the
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prospectors found that they were at the location decided upon before leaving Missouri.
As all the men in the party, except Dr. Stringfellow, had already taken claims in the valley of Walnut creek, he was the only member of the party who could select a claim. He therefore took a tract north of Million's. The proposition of forming a town company for the fu- ture city was laid before the first settlers. Dickson was willing, but Million did not care to cut up his claim. He offered to sell his claim for $1,000-an exorbitant price for the land-but the men from Platte City had determined to found a city on that particular spot, and the purchase was made. A town company was formed and a week later a meeting was held under a tree on the bank of the river, about a half block south of where Atchison street now runs. There were eighteen persons present when the town company was formally organized by electing Peter T. Abell, president ; James Burns, treasurer ; Dr. J. H. Stringfellow. secretary.
The site was divided into 100 shares by the company, of which each member retained five shares, the remainder being reserved for common benefit of all. By Sept. 20, 1854, Henry Kuhn had surveyed the 480 acres and made a plat, and the next day was fixed for the sale of lots, an event of great importance as it had become understood that Senator Atchison would make a speech upon the political question of the day, hence the sale would be of political as well as business significance. At this meeting on the 21st, two public institutions of vital interest to a new community were planned for-a hotel and a newspaper. Each share of stock in the town company was assessed $25, the proceeds to be used to build the National hotel, which was completed in the spring of 1855 on the corner of Second and Atchison streets, and $400 was do- nated to Dr. J. H. Stringfellow and R. S. Kelley to erect a printing office. In Feb., 1855, the Squatter Sovereign was issued. (See News- papers.)
For years there had been considerable trade up and down the Mis- souri river, which had naturally centered at Leavenworth, but in June, 1855, several overland freighters were induced to select Atchison as their outfitting point. The most important firms were Livingston, Kin- kead & Co. and Hooper & Williams. The outfitting business done in Atchison was one of the greatest factors in establishing her commercial career. Some of the first merchants to open stores in the new town were George Challis, Burns Bros., Stephen Johnston and Samuel Dick- son.
On Aug. 30, 1855, Atchison was incorporated. The corporation was granted the privilege of holding land "not to exceed 640 acres" and the stock of the company was to be regarded as personal property. The town company had required every settler to build a house at least 16 feet square upon his lot. but when the survey was made it was discov- ered that some of these buildings were upon school lands. The title to the school lands remained in question for some time. but in 1857 all
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lands embraced within the corporate limits of the town were acquired by the town company from the general government, and in turn con- veyed the lots to the individual purchasers, the titles being finally con- firmed by the court.
Dr. Stringfellow had North Atchison surveyed and platted in the fall of 1857. This started a fever of additions. In Feb., 1858, West Atchi- son was laid out by John Roberts, and in May Samuel Dickson had his property surveyed as South Atchison. Still another addition was made by John Challis.
On Feb. 12, 1858, the legislature issued a charter to the city of At- chison, which was approved by the people on March 2 at a special elec- tion. The first city officers were elected at a second special election on March 13, 1858, and were as follows : Mayor, Samuel C. Pomeroy ; treas- trer, E. B. Grimes ; register, John F. Stein ; marshal, Milton R. Benton ; attorney, A. E. Mayhew ; engineer, W. O. Gould ; assessor, H. L. Davis; physician, J. W. Hereford ; board of appraisers, Messrs. Peterfish, Ros- well and Gaylord; councilmen, William P. Chiles, O. F. Short, Luther C. Challis, Cornelius A. Logan, S. T. Walter, James A. Headley and Charles Holbert.
At the outbreak of the Civil war there were three militia companies organized in Atchison, whose members enlisted in the Kansas regiments. They were known as Companies A, C and "At All Hazards." Early in Sept., 1861, a home guard was organized in the town to protect it in case of invasion from Missouri, and on the 15th of the month another company was raised, which was subsequently mustered into a state regi- ment. In 1863 the city of Atchison raised $4,000 to assist the soldiers from the county and after the sack of Lawrence a like sum was sub- scribed to assist the stricken people of that city. Citizens of the town also joined the vigilance committees that so materially aided the civil authorities in suppressing raiding and the lawless bands of thieves that infested the border counties.
Atchison was one of the first cities in Kansas to be connected by telegraph with the east. In 1859 the St. Louis & Missouri Valley Tele- graph company extended its line from Leavenworth to Atchison. In 19II, the following railroads all ran into the city: Burlington & Mis- souri River, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Chicago, Rock Island & Pa- cific, Hannibal & St. Joseph, Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs, and the Missouri Pacific.
ยท The first postoffice in Atchison was established April Io, 1855, with Robert S. Kelley as postmaster. It was opened in a small building in the block later occupied by the Otis house. In July, 1883, the free-de- livery system was inaugurated and today Atchison has one of the best equipped, modern postal services in the state. The first schools in the town were private. One of the first was opened in 1857 by Lizzie Bay. The first school district was established in Oct., 1858, and a month later the Atchison free high school was opened at the corner of Atchison and Commercial streets. Since that time progress in the establishment and
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maintenance of schools in the city has been uniform and today Atchi- son has a well regulated system of public schools. Besides the public schools there are a number of private educational institutions.
The first religious services in Atchison were held by James Shaw, a Methodist minister, who visited the city in May, 1857, and delivered the first sermon at S. C. Pomeroy's office. (See history of churches under denominational name.)
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