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 95
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
The report of Long's expedition in 1819 and 1820 verified the words of Pike. He considered a great part of the country unfit for cultivation, and uninhabitable by people depending upon agriculture for their sub- sistence. In speaking of the whole section from the Mississippi to the Rocky mountains he says, "From the minute account given in the nar-
785
KANSAS HISTORY
ration of the particular features of this expedition, it will be perceived to be a manifest resemblance to the deserts of Siberia."
Washington Irving, in his Astoria, published in 1836 and founded on a brief tour he made on the prairies and into Missouri and Arkansas, said: "This region which resembles one of the ancient steppes of Asia has not inaptly been termed 'The Great American Desert.' It spreads forth into undulating and treeless plains and desolate sandy wastes, wearisome to the eye from their extent and monotony. It is a land where no man permanently abides, for at certain seasons of the year there is no food for the hunter or his steed."
The reports of Pike, Long and Irving did much to form public opinion in regard to this unknown land. The expeditions of Pike and Long were practically the last exploration work done by the govern- ment for several years. While the government was idle, private enter- prise was working its way westward. (See Fur Traders.) The move- ment of westward travel was accelerated in 1849 when gold was dis- covered in California. Previously the overland travel had been very light, but in 1849 it is roughly estimated that 42,000 persons crossed the plains. The trip was full of every kind of danger. Caravans were attacked by Indians, storms and disease, but many returned to settle in some favored spot. The lands along the streams were the first to be taken by the settlers. Gradually the country has yielded to the influence of law and order. The most dismal spots are being developed into gardens of usefulness and beauty, by the work of irrigation; the gov- ernment is doing much for the protection of forest and range; by feats of engineering a variety of rich mines have been opened ; railroads have crossed seemingly impassable plains; manufactories of all kinds have sprung up; gases from underground have been controlled for light and fuel; educational institutions have opened their doors to millions of children, and churches of all denominations have erected imposing houses of worship. The free library, the telegraph, telephone, rural mail delivery, and all the complexities of modern times have in reality crowded the Great American Desert off the map into the land of fancy from which it came.
Great Bend, the county seat of Barton county, is one of the thriving little cities of central Kansas. It is located at the historic big bend of the Arkansas river, and is on the main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., a branch of which diverges at this point and runs northwest into Rush county. A branch of the Missouri Pacific extends from Hoisington to Great Bend. The town has electricity for light and power. waterworks, fire department, sewer system, a college, public library, 8 churches, an opera house, 3 banks, grain elevators, flour mills, a creamery, an ice plant, a mattress factory, a broom factory, 3 news- papers (the Tribune and Democrat, both daily, and weekly, and the Press, a weekly). A religious monthly is also published. There is a daily stage to Hoisington. There are a number of stores well stocked with merchandise, a good court-house and school house. The town is
(I-50)
786
CYCLOPEDIA OF
supplied with express and telegraph offices and has an international money order postoffice with six rural routes. The population accord- ing to the census of 1910 was 4,622.
Great Bend was located in 1871 by the Great Bend Town company. of which C. R. S. Curtis, M. F. Bassett, J. L. Curtis, J. T. Morton, James Israel and A. R. McIntyre were members. They erected the first building for hotel purposes. Three or four other houses were erected that year. In 1872 the population grew very rapidly. The rail- road came through in July, which encouraged business men to erect buildings and open stores, hotels, and shops of all kinds. Great Bend was made the county seat about the same time. Early in 1873 the town was incorporated and A. A. Hurd was elected mayor. The court- house was built in that year. About this time the cattle trade centered at this point and the town was the headquarters for cattle men until 1876 when through an act of the legislature the cattle trade was moved farther west. In 1878 a disastrous fire occurred which destroyed a number of the best business houses, the loss aggregating $20,000. A small-pox epidemic visited Great Bend in 1882 and the city was under absolute quarantine for a number of weeks. Fifteen people died of the plague.
Great Spirit Spring .- This noted spring is situated about two and a half miles southwest of the town of Cawker City, at Waconda Sta- tion, Mitchell county. Its existence was known to all the plains Indians, and it was held in veneration by them. Probably the first mention of it is to be found in the "History of Baptist Indian Missions," published by Rev. Isaac McCoy in 1840. His description is as follows : "About 100 yards from the bank of the (Solomon) river, in an extensive level prairie, is a mound of stone, formed by a deep ravine which sur- rounds it; it is 170 yards in circumference at its base, and it rises above the bottom of the ravine 30 feet, and is level on the top, with a diameter of 120 feet. The ravine on one side is 40 yards wide, and on the other 10. The summit of the mound is about a foot higher than the adjacent plain. No stone of any kind is seen in the vicinity of the place, except that which composes the mound, which appears to be a secondary, shelly and porous limestone. The sides of the mound being stone, form a striking contrast with the outer bank of the ravine, which is only earth. The salt water forms a stagnant pool in the center of the mound, 55 feet in diameter, and rising to a perfect level with the summit, so that a wind from any quarter causes the water to run over the opposite side of the basin. About half way up one side issues salt water, which runs off in a small rivulet into Solomon river. Along this rivulet, and generally on the sides of the mound, salt is crystallized in such quantities that it might be collected for use. The pool on the top is deep. Solomon river is, by the Kauzaus, called Nepaholla- meaning, water on the hill-and derives its name from this fountain ; but the fountain itself is by them called Ne Woh' kon' daga-that is. "Spirit water.' The Kauzaus, Pawnees, and other tribes, in passing
787
KANSAS HISTORY
by this spring, usually throw into it, as a kind of conjuring charm. some small article of valute. The structure of the mound may be accounted for by supposing that the source of the water at a distance is higher than the plain which immediately surrounds the mound. The quality of the water has produced the rock formation, and the resort of buffalo and other animals, and the descent of rains, have formed the ravine about it."
Many Indian legends attach to the spring, one being that Waconda, daughter of a chief, became infatuated with the son of the chief of an opposing tribe. These hostile tribes met at the spring and the intimacy was opposed by a conflict of arms. Waconda's lover, wounded and weak from loss of blood, fell or was thrown into the spring, whereupon his faithful sweetheart plunged in after him, both being drowned. Ever since the Indians have called this the "Waconda" or "Great Spirit" spring. The Pottawatomies never passed the spring without stopping for a "pow wow," dipping their arrows in the waters. The property has been the cause of much litigation in recent years and comparatively little has been done in the way of improvement. Some of the water has been bottle and shipped, and much taken away in kegs and jugs.
Greek Church .- The eastern Orthodox church, known historically as the Eastern church, the full title of which is Holy Orthodox, Catholic, Apostolic. Oriental church, and in modern times called the Greek Orthodox church, but which is popularily known as the Greek church, are the modern representatives of the Byzantine Empire. When the Roman Empire became separated, a distinction grew up between the Eastern and Western churches, which appeared both in the ritual and the doctrine. This grew more and more apparent until a complete separation was effected in 1054, between the patriarch or bishop of Rome and the four Eastern patriarchs. The Eastern church at that time included four ecclesiastical divisions-the patriarchs of Constanti- nople, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria, coordinate in authority although the precedence was always given to the patriarch of Con- stantinople.
When Constantinople was captured by the Turks in 1453 and the Turkish government assumed the right to approve the election of the patriarchs, a diversity of ecclesiastical organization developed. The patriarchs of Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch preserved their ecclesiastical independence, although nominally they still accorded pre- cedence to the patriarch of Constantinople. When the Russian Empire developed. the Russian church, which had hitherto been subordinate to the Constantinople patriarch, organized as a separate ecclesiastical government. In 1580 the Russian Patriarchate was established. and in 1721 it took form under the authority of the Holy Governing Synod. with headquarters at St. Petersburg. After Greece became independent. the Greek church was established as an independent organization, and in 1883 the Holy synod of Greece was perfected.
The doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox churches is based upon the
788
CYCLOPEDIA OF
Holy Scriptures, the Holy traditions and the Niceo-Constantinopolitan creed in its original wording, without the work Filioque, and holds that the Scriptures should be interpreted strictly in accordance with the teachings of the seven Ecumenical Councils and the Holy Fathers. These churches recognize Christ as the only head of the earthly as well as the heavenly church, and do not accept the dogma of the Pope as the representative of Christ on earth. Their sacraments are baptism, anointing, communion, penance, holy orders, marriage and holy unction. The doctrine of transubstantiation is accepted. The church rejects the doctrine of purgatory, but believes prayer beneficial both for the living and dead. The doctrine of predestination is rejected and the church believes that for justification both faith and works are neces- sary .. The ministry consists of three orders: deacons, priests and bishops. Deacons assist in the work of the parish and in the service of the sacraments. Priests and deacons are of two orders-secular and monastic. Marriage is allowed for candidates for the deaconate and priesthood, but is forbidden after ordination. As a rule the episcopate is confined to members of the monastic order. The parishes are usually in care of the secular priests.
In the United States the Eastern Orthodox churches have 411 organi- zations. In Kansas these churches are represented by the Greek Orthodox and the Servian Orthodox churches, which were not estab- lished until in the 'gos. In 1910 these churches have two organizations, one each with a total membership of 750. This late establishment of the Eastern Orthodox churches in Kansas is largely due to the fact that the state has never had a large population of people from the countries where this religion is established.
Greeley, an incorporated city of Anderson county, is located on the Missouri Pacific R. R. and the Pottawatomie river 10 miles northeast of Garnett, the county seat. It has a bank, 2 hotels, 4 churches, natural gas for lighting and heating, a flour mill, a number of well-stocked retail stores, express and telegraph offices, and a money order post- office with two rural routes. The population in 1910 was 492. Greeley is one of the oldest towns of Anderson county, having been settled in 1854. The site was surveyed in 1857, a town company was formed in November of that year and a number of buildings were erected. The first store was opened in the spring of 1858, by B. F. Smith, and about the same time a postoffice was established, which was named after ' Horace Greeley. The postoffice and whole town was moved to Mount Gilead in 1858, but was later moved back to its original site. There was not much growth until after the war. The town was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1881, and the first officers were: Mayor, Clark Decker; police judge, W. D. Smith; councilmen, J. E. Calvert, J. K. Gardner, A. D. McFadden, A. Kincaid and A. J. Frank.
Greeley County, one of the western tier, is located midway between Oklahoma and Nebraska. It is bounded on the north by Wallace county, on the east by Wichita, on the south by Hamilton, and on the
789
KANSAS HISTORY
west by the State of Colorado. It is crossed by the 5th guide meridian west. Greeley was the last county in the state to be organized. In 1879 it was created and the boundaries fixed as follows: "Commencing at the intersection of the east line of range 39 west, with the 3d standard parallel; thence south along said range line to where it intersects the 4th standard parallel; thence west along said 4th standard parallel to the west boundary line of the State of Kansas; thence north along said west boundary line of the state to where it is intersected by the 3d standard parallel; thence east to the place of beginning."
In 1887 C. O. McDowell was appointed census taker, and his report in June of that year showed that there were 2,638 inhabitants, of whom 475 were householders, and $251,169 worth of taxable property. An injunction suit was filed to prevent the organization of the county on the charges of bribery and fraud in the census. The injunction was not granted and the proclamation of organization was made by Gov. Martin in July, 1888. Tribune was named as the temporary county seat. The other candidate was Horace, about 2 miles west. The following officers were appointed : County clerk, James W. Brown; sheriff, Allen E. Webb; commissioners, A. J. Rymph, A. K. Webb and R. Q. Thomp- son. The election to decide the location of the county seat was held in November and resulted in favor of Tribune.
The settlers were very few up to about 1885. Almost every one who came in at this time started a town, and at one time there were as many alleged towns as there were claim houses. Horace was established in June, 1886, and at the time of the county seat fight it had 300 inhabi- tants, a bank and a newspaper. Tribune had 200 inhabitants and a newspaper, which was established in 1886. Colo was a little town large enough to have a newspaper. Reid was established in Sept., 1887, and inside of three months had 2 stores, one hotel, 2 restaurants and a newspaper. The Missouri Pacific railroad was built in the early days of the settlement of the county and a depot was erected at Tribune in 1887. It crosses almost directly east and west through the center.
.
Greeley county is divided into three townships-Colony, Harrison and Tribune. The surface is prairie and the elevation is from 3,000 to 4,000 feet. The principal stream is White Woman creek. The streams have no water in them the greater part of the year, but that there are under currents is evidenced by the fact that water is found at the depth of a few feet. The postoffices are: Tribune, Horace, Hurt, Sidney, Thelma and Youngville.
The farm products in 1910 were worth $137,346, of which the field crops amounted to over $97,000. The most valuable crop is sorghum, which is raised for forage and grain. Broom-corn, Kafir corn, barley and corn are other important crops. Live stock raising is profitable.
The population in 1910 was 1,335, which was an increase of 842 over that of 1900, or nearly 200 per cent. The school population is about 332, and there are 13 organized school districts. The value of the taxable property in 1910 was $3,531,197. The average wealth pe!
.
793
CYCLOPEDIA OF
capita is $2,720, which is several hundred dollars over the average for the state.
Green, one of the prosperous towns of Clay county, is located in Highland township and is a station on the Union Pacific R. R. 10 miles northeast of Clay Center, the county seat. It has a bank, a money order postoffice with three rural routes, express and telegraph offices, telephone connections, a graded public school, several churches, hotels, some good mercantile establishments, etc. Green was incorporated in 1908 and in 1910 reported a population of 289.
Green, James W., lawyer, dean of the law school in the University of Kansas, was born at Cambridge, Washington county, N. Y., April 4, 1842, a son of Robert and Margaret (Woods) Green. He received an academic education, studied law, and in 1869 was admitted to the bar. The next year he began practice at Olathe, Kan .; was county attorney of Johnson county from 1875 to 1877; of Douglas county from 1878 to 1880, and on Nov. 1, 1878, he was made dean of the law school, which position he still holds. On Dec. 7, 1875, he married Miss May S. Banks of Lawrence, Kan. He was nominated by the Democratic state convention in 1884 for justice of the state supreme court. but was defeated with the rest of the ticket. In 1886 the degree of A. B. was conferred upon him by Williams College. In 1896-97 he was a member of the general council of the American Bar Association, and in 1904 was a delegate to the congress of lawyers and jurists held in St. Louis while the Louisiana Purchase exposition was in progress.
Green, Nehemiah, fourth governor of the State of Kansas, was born at Grassy Point, Hardin county, Ohio, March 8, 1837. In March, 1855, when only eighteen years of age, he came to Kansas with his two brothers, Lewis F. and George S., both of whom afterward served in the Kansas legislature. They located in the town of Palmyra (now Baldwin), Douglas county, but the following year Nehemiah returned to Ohio and entered the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, where he completed his education. In 1860 he was made pastor of a Methodist church and served in that capacity until in 1862, when he enlisted as a lieutenant in Company B, Eighty-ninth Ohio infantry, but before the expiration of his term of enlistment failing health forced him to resign his commission. On May 2, 1864, he reentered the service as a private in Company G, One Hundred and Fifty-third Ohio infantry, but a few days later he was appointed sergeant-major and was mustered out with that rank with his regiment on Sept. 9, 1864. He then returned to Kansas and became pastor of a church at Manhattan. He also pur- chased a fine farm of 320 acres on Mill creek and devoted much of his time to raising fine cattle for the market, in which he was quite suc- cessful. In Nov., 1866, he was nominated by the Republican state con- vention for the office of lieutenant-governor, and at the election the following November was elected. Upon the resignation of Gov. Samuel J. Crawford on Nov. 4, 1868, Mr. Green succeeded to the office of gov- ernor and served for the remainder of the term.
791
KANSAS HISTORY
Gov. Green was twice married. In 1860 he married Miss Ida Lef- fingwell of Williamsburg, Ohio, who died in 1870, and in 1873 he mar- ried Miss Mary Sturdevant of Rushville, N. Y. Upon the expiration of his term as governor in 1869 he returned to the ministry, and in 1870-71 he was presiding elder of the Manhattan district. The illness and death of his first wife then caused him to give up the pulpit for. a time. Consequently he retired to his farm until 1873, when he again took up the work and for about two years was stationed at Holton. In 1875 he had charge of a church at Waterville. In 1880 he yielded to the solicitations of his friends and was elected to the state legislature. This was his last public service. Gov. Green died at Manhattan on Jan. 12, 1890.
Green's Administration .- The history of Gov. Green's administration must necessarily be short, as his service as governor lasted only from Nov. 4, 1868, to Jan. 12, 1865, a period of two months and one week. In that time nothing occurred to call for the exercise of any unusual executive ability on the part of the chief magistrate. On Nov. 30 the state officials filed reports showing the expenditures for the year ending on that date to be $457,169.09, including $182.769.04 as the proceeds resulting from the sale of $200,000 capitol and penitentiary bonds.
On the same date the trustees of the blind and deaf and dumb asylums made their annual reports, showing the institutions to be in good condition. This was the first annual report from the trustees of the blind asylum. The trustees of the insane asylum at Osawatomie made their report on Dec. 15, and announced that the asylum was occupying the new building.
Probably the most important event during the incumbency of Gov. Green, was the surrender of the hostile Indians to Gen. Phil. H. Sher- idan on Dec. 24. This virtually ended the depredations of the savages on the frontier settlements. Hazelrigg says: "From that time, their removal from the state to the Indian Territory was rapid." (See In- dians.)
Josiah B. McAfee, adjustant-general, reported on Dec. 30 that from 80 to 100 persons had been killed by Indians within the limits of the state during the preceding year. His report also showed the claims of Kansas against the United States amounted to $814.990.22.
With the inauguration of Gov. James M. Harvey on Jan. 12. 1869. the administration of Gov. Green came to an end.
Greenbush, a hamlet of Crawford county, is located in the valley of Lightning creek, about 5 miles west of Girard, the county seat, from which place mail is received by rural delivery.
Greene, Roy Farrell, poet and humorist, was born at Three Rivers, Mich., in 1873. He came to Kansas as a child, his parents locating near Hackney, a little village about 6 miles north of Arkansas City. After graduating in the Arkansas City high school, he took up news- paper work, and at the time of his death on Jan. 30, 1909, he was city editor of a daily paper at Arkansas City. In 1909 he published a book
1
792
CYCLOPEDIA OF
of poems, entitled "Cupid is King," and he wrote many interesting stories for newspapers and magazines. His friends called him the "Poet Lariat" and the "Prairie Poet."
Greenleaf, an incorporated city of Washington county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 7 miles southeast of Washington, the county seat. It is also the terminus of a branch of the same system that runs to Washington. Greenleaf was incorporated in 1880 and in 1910 had a population of 781. It has an international money order post- office with four rural routes, 2 banks, a weekly newspaper (the Sen- tinel), hotels, a cigar factory, Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches, telegraph and express offices, telephone connections, a number of well stocked stores, and is a shipping point of considerable importance.
Greensburg, the county seat and principal city of Kiowa county, is located about 4 miles north of the center of the county on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. It was settled in 1885, the year before the county was organized. The first number of the Greensburg Repub- lican was issued on March 22, 1887, by Hollis & Welles, and in an editorial the publishers said : "A little more than two years old, yet we are a substantial, thriving and bustling city, with a population of 2,000 earnest, energetic, educated people," etc. Greensburg was then 28 miles from the nearest railroad. The day before that issue of the Republican was published the people of Center township voted bonds to the amount of $20,000 to aid in the construction of the Kansas Southwestern, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific line was then under construction. By July 1, 1886, the city had two banks in operation, but for various reasons the city did not meet the expectations of some of the pioneer settlers, and many of them moved elsewhere. By 1900 the population had dwindled to 343.
Then began an era of steady, substantial improvement, and in 1910 the population had reached 1,199, an increase of more than 250 per cent. in ten years. Greensburg has 2 banks, 2 weekly newspapers (the Republican and the Signal), an opera house, good hotels, Baptist, Chris- tian and Methodist churches, graded public schools, express and tele- graph offices, a number of well stocked mercantile establishments, and an international money order postoffice with 2 rural routes. Large quantities of grain and live stock are annually shipped from Greens- burg, which is one of the progressive little cities of southwestern Kansas.
Greenwich, a village of Payne township, Sedgwick county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 10 miles northeast of Wichita, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice with one rural route, an express office, general stores, a feed mill, etc., and is a shipping point of some importance. The population in 1910 was 72.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.