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, Volume II > Part 110
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Prior to 1885 there were only seven dwellings in the county and these belonged to cattlemen. One of the largest cattle owners was George Edwards, who was the first white settler in the county. He was shot by Ed. Rhoades in April, 1887. The settlement was so rapid during 1885 and 1886 that in July of the latter year the governor appointed W. D. Brainard to take the census. At that time Leoti was the chief trading point, with a larger population than any other town, and was likely to be the county seat. A company of professional speculators, some of them the same persons that had operated in other counties, bringing on bitter county seat wars, located at Coronado, a few miles to the east, built some fine business blocks and began trying to make their town the county seat. In order to do this they had to have time in which to work, and in some unknown way they managed to delay Mr. Brainard in making the returns. On two different occasions he left Wichita county to report to the governor, but each time he dis- appeared. The census and petitions did not reach Gov. Martin till in December, and when they did come to hand they were in such a con- dition that the governor was unable to ascertain which town was the choice of the people. He appointed a commissioner to go out and hold an election to find out. The books were opened in a sod shanty near Leoti. Each side insisted on a thorough canvass, and the voting took three weeks. Feeling ran high and from the first every man was armed. At times as many as 200 armed men surrounded the polls and it was with great difficulty and only by dint of considerable tact that an open outbreak and general slaughter were avoided. The commis- sioner proved equal to the occasion, but was heartily glad when the ordeal was over and he was safe on the train.
The governor issued his proclamation on Dec. 24, and Leoti, hav- ing received a large majority of the votes, was made the temporary county seat. Lilburn Moore was appointed county clerk; R. E. Jen- ness, S. W. McCall and W. D. Brainard, county commissioners. The census showed a population of 2,607, all acquired in two years, 1,095 of whom were householders. The assessed valuation of property was
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$510,572, of which $193,776 was real estate. An election was ordered for Feb. 8, 1887, but on Feb. 4 the governor approved a bill passed by the legislature postponing all impending elections till March 10, in order that all voters might be registered. On the advice of the attorney- general the commissioners proceeded with the election, but not more than half the voters came out and another election was called for March 10, pursuant to the act above mentioned.
In the meantime a tragedy occurred which showed the extent to which the rivalry between the towns of Leoti and Coronado had been carried. On an urgent invitation from supposed friends to Coronado a number of Leoti boys drove over to that town to drink beer. They met their friends in a drug store, regaled themselves, visited awhile and had gotten into their carriage to go home when someone called to them. Two of the Leoti young men got out of the vehicle and some words were passed with a couple of Coronado young men who were on the sidewalk. Finally a shot was fired, then a whole volley from persons hidden in the second story of one of the buildings. William Rains and Charles Coulter of Leoti dropped dead. George T. Watkins was fatally shot, and Frank Jenness, A. R. Robinson, A. N. Boorey and Emmett Denning were seriously wounded. The wounded men got into their conveyance and went back to Leoti. Friends came after the bodies of the dead men and found them still lying in the street. Those under suspicion resisted arrest and the governor was appealed to for help, as well as for the militia to keep down trouble. during the coming election. It was not found necessary to send the militia, but the governor appointed a commission to investigate the shooting. Eighteen men were arrested.' It was found that more than 100 shots had taken effect upon the wagon, the horses and in the bodies of the Leoti men. At the elec- tion, held March 10, Leoti won by a large majority.
At that time there was a settler on every quarter section. Three years later the boom subsided and hard times began in earnest. In 1894 the farmers were in hard straits. Most of them had enough wheat for bread but none for seed. The population in 1890 was 1,827, a falling off of nearly 800 in three years. By 1900 there had been a still further decrease of more than 600. The revival began in 1902, and in 1910 the population was 2,006.
The county is divided into 3 townships, Edwards, Leoti and White Woman. The postoffices are Carwood, Leoti, Lydia, Marienthal, St. Theresa, Selkirk and Sunnyside. The Missouri Pacific R. R. crosses the center of the county from east to west through Leoti, a distance of 30 miles.
The general surface is undulating prairie with bluffs along Ladder creek. Bottom lands average a half mile in width and comprise 3 per cent. of the total area. Except for a few cottonwood trees that fringe the streams there is no timber. Ladder creek enters in the .northwest and flows southeast and east into Scott county. Two branches of White Woman creek cross the southern portion. Small quantities of chalk, gypsum and building stone are found.
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Barley was the leading field crop in 1910 and brought $70,000. Wheat was worth $42.801 ; sorghum, $40,000; and corn, $36,000. The total value of farm products that year was $327,193. There were 13,280 head of live stock, worth $521,685; the assessed valuation of property was $3,615.407, two-thirds of which was in farm lands.
Wichita University, located at Wichita, was established in 1886 by the Reformed church, under the general care of the Synod of the Interior of that denomination. The school, however, was not in any sense sec- tarian. The college grounds were selected east of the city on rising ground known as College Hill. A three-story building was erected at a cost of $25,000 and the site was valued at $30,000. This. with the permanent endowment, gave the school property valued at $70.000.
In the collegiate department five courses were offered : classical, Eng- lish, scientific, Latin scientific and Greek scientific. A three-year pre- paratory department fitted students for entrance to the college and a model department was conducted in connection with the normal train- ing course. In addition there were special music and business courses The university was maintained by the tuition of students and an endow- ment fund. In 1892 it had a faculty of fifteen, but went out of exist- ence the next year.
Widerange, a rural hamlet of Ottawa county, is located in the north- east part of the county about 15 miles northeast of Minneapolis, the county seat, and about 7 miles from Wells, the nearest railroad station. It receives mail from Wells by rural route.
Wiggam, a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. in Lyon county, is located 5 miles east of Emporia, the county seat, whence it receives mail by rural route.
Wilburn, a country postoffice in Ford county, is located in the town- ship of the same name 25 miles south of Dodge City, the county seat, and 10 miles from Fowler, its shipping point. It has a general store and daily stage to Minneola. The population in 1910 was 26.
Wild Hog, a Cheyenne chief, was a member of the Dull Knife band of northern Cheyennes, about 200 of whom made a raid from the Indian Territory across western Kansas in the fall of 1878, committing a num- ber of murders and destroying much property. They were pursued, Wild Hog and his companions were captured and confined in Fort Robinson, Neb., for some time, but chafing under their close confine- ment. they made a dash for liberty on the morning of Jan. 21, 1879. using firearms which their squaws had smuggled in to them, and killing some of their guards. The Indians escaped, but not until a number had been wounded. The bloody trail was immediately fol- lowed by Capt. Wessells at the head of a body of troops, and the next day a desperate battle took place in which a number of troops were killed and the band of fleeing Indians almost exterminated, but 7 war- riors-Wild Hog and 6 others-and 16 women and children being left out of the total number who left the territory.
Wild Hog and his 6 companions were taken to Fort Leavenworth
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and later to Dodge City, where they were held for trial at the June term of the district court of Ford county upon the charge of murder. At the opening of the trial the counsel for the defense asked for a change of venue, which was granted, and the case went to the district court of Douglas county at the October term following. At that time the prosecution asked for a continuance on account of the absence of witnesses from the state. This was not granted and the case was dis- missed, the Indians being turned over to Indian Agent Miles. At the time of the battle Wild Hog was painfully injured in the fleshy part of the thigh. He was then about fifty years old, and is described as having good features and a well shaped head. He was 6 feet 4 inches tall and magnificently proportioned. He married a Sioux woman and had several children, his eldest daughter being one of the few survivors found in the trenches after battle in which she was wounded.
Wilder, a village in the extreme northern part of Johnson county, is situated on the south bank of the Kansas river and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 15 miles southwest of Kansas City. It has stores, a money order postoffice, telegraph and express facilities and in 1910 had a population of 84.
Wilder, Abel Carter, member of Congress, was born at Mendon (now Blackstone), Worcester county, Mass., March 18, 1828, a lineal descend- ant of Thomas Wilder, who was buried in Lancaster, Mass., in 1651. His educational advantages were few, but he was a bright boy and at the age of eighteen engaged in trade in his native town. Later he went to Woonsocket, R. I., and in 1849 to Rochester, N. Y., where two of his brothers were living. In that city he began to take an active part in political affairs, acting with the Whig and Free-Soilers until the organization of the Republican party. Early in 1857 Mr. Wilder came to Kansas and settled in Leavenworth, where he engaged in the real estate business. Two years later, when the Republican party was organized at Osawatomie, he was made secretary of the state central committee, and at each of the two subsequent state conventions he was made chairman of the committee. In 1860 he was chairman of the Kansas delegation in the Republican national convention at Chicago and voted for William H. Seward for president. At the Republican convention held on May 22, 1861, Mr. Wilder was again made chair- man of the Republican state committee. On Aug. 7 he was made a brigade commissary, one of the first military appointments made by President Lincoln in Kansas, and was stationed at Fort Scott. On Sept. 11, 1862, he was nominated for Congress by the Republican con- vention at Topeka and was elected on Nov. 4 by a majority of 5,000 votes. In 1864 he published a letter declining renomination. At the state convention at Topeka on April 21. 1864, he was elected a delegate to the Republican national convention at Baltimore, and acted in the same capacity in 1868 and 1872 from New York, having returned to Rochester, and thus served in four successive national conventions. In the fall of 1865, after returning to Rochester, he became publisher of
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the Evening Express. In 1872 he was elected mayor of Rochester, but his health became impaired and he resigned in 1873 to make a trip to Europe, his second trip abroad, and remained nearly a year. His health was poor until his death which occurred in San Francisco, Cal., Dec. 22, 1875.
Wilder, Charlotte Frances, author, was born at Templeton, Wor- cestor county, Mass., a daughter of Col. Elijah and Hannah (Lawrence) Felt, and a granddaughter of Samuel Felt, a minute man of Lexington, Mass. She was educated in the common and high schools; was mar- ried on Nov. 21, 1861, to George Carter Wilder; began writing for the press in 1871; has been a Bible teacher since the age of sixteen; has taught thousands of young men, particularly college students; was president of the Topeka branch of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal church from 1895 to 1902; and a regent of Kansas for the Methodist Missionary Society. Among her numerous writings are: "Land of the Rising Sun" (1877), "Sister Rid- nour's Sacrifice" (1883), "Polly Button's New Year"-in the Worth While series (1892), "Christmas Cheer in All Lands" (1905), "Easter Gladness" (1906), "Mission Ships" (1907). She is a contributor of stories to and editorial work on Methodist papers, magazines and other publications, and is prominent in Methodist church work at her home in Manhattan, Kan.
Wilder, Daniel Webster, journalist and author, was born in Black- stone, Mass., July 15, 1832, a son of Dr. Abel Wilder. He entered the public Latin school of Boston in 1848, graduating in 1852; received the A. B. degree in 1856, from Harvard; studied law in that institution and at Rochester, N. Y .; came to Kansas in 1857 and located at Elwood the next year; edited the Free Press and practiced law; was one of the founders of the Republican party in Kansas in 1859; became editor and one of the publishers of the Free Democrat at St. Joseph, Mo., in Aug., 1860, and in the December following Mr. Wilder and the whole office force was indicted for violating the laws of a slave state and advocat- ing emancipation. He then returned to Kansas and became editor of the Leavenworth Conservative, an anti-slavery paper, published daily, tri-weekly and weekly. In 1863 he was appointed surveyor-general of Kansas and Nebraska by President Lincoln; in 1864 he married Miss Mary E. Irwin in Atchison county ; in 1865 became editor of the Even- ing Express at Rochester, N. Y .; returned to Leavenworth in 1868 and was editor of the Leavenworth Times and Conservative; was elected president of the Missouri Valley Associated Press in September of that year; was reëlected in 1870, during which year he became editor of the Fort Scott Monitor. Mr. Wilder was one of the incorporators of the Kansas Magazine in 1871, to which he was a frequent contributor ; was one of the founders of the Kansas Historical Society in 1875, of which he was later the president and for many years one of the direc- tors. His political career covers one term as state auditor, one term as executive clerk under Gov. Martin, and two terms as superintendent of
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insurance (1887 to 1891). On his retirement from office he went to Kansas City and published the Insurance Magazine. He then went to Hiawatha in 1892 and established the Hiawatha World. His home was at Hiawatha until the time of his death on July 15, 19II. He was the author of the "Annals of Kansas" (1875 and 1886), "Life of Shake- speare" (1893), and he was one of the compilers of all editions of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.
Willard, a village in Shawnee county, is located in Dover township on the Kansas river and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 16 miles west of Topeka, the county seat. It has a hotel, a general store, · express and telegraph offices and a money order postoffice. The popu- lation in 1910 was 100.
Williamsburg, the third largest town in Franklin county, is located in the southwest part on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 15 miles from Ottawa, the county seat. The land for the town site originally formed a part of a 30,000 acre tract purchased from the Sac and Fox Indians by W. B. McKenna and in turn sold by him to the Kansas Pacific Railroad company. A number of men were attracted to the locality by the prospect of coal and purchased land there in 1867, one of the first being M. V. Swift. A number of permanent settle- ments were made in 1868. Among the men who came that year were A. C. Henderson, Roger Hickok, William H. Schofield and Albert Supernau. James F. Dane and William Schofield owned the town site which they named Williamsburg, from Mr. Schofield's first name. In June, 1868, the town company built the first house, a wooden structure. The second building was of stone, erected in the spring of 1869 by C. Holman for a store. Drug, grocery and general stores were all opened in 1870.
The first school district was organized in 1868, a school house was built in 1870, and Helen M. Beardsley was engaged as the first teacher. The Williamsburg bank was established in 1881 and a private bank the following year. Stauffer's hotel, the first in the town, was opened in 1881. Williamsburg has a newspaper, good hotels, several general stores, hardware and implement houses, drug and grocery stores, black- smith and wagon shops, lumber yards, physicians and lawyers, a money order postoffice, telegraph and express facilities, and other commercial enterprises. In 1910 the population was 600.
Williamstown (formerly Rural), a little village of Jefferson county, is located in Rural township on the Union Pacific R. R., II miles south of Oskaloosa, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, and the population in 1910 was 103. The first store was opened in 1865 by Samuel Mitchell. The town was laid out by Mapes, Williams & Moore, who owned 900 acres of land in the vicinity which they purchased from the railroad company. The same men built a mill. A postoffice was established with Charles Williams postmaster. The proximity of Perry, a little over 3 miles distant, which was founded by the railroad company, inter- fered with Williamstown becoming a town.
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Willis, an incorporated city of the third class in Brown county, is located in Mission township on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 10 miles south of Hiawatha, the county seat. It has a bank, a number of general stores, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 188.
Williston, Samuel Wendell, educator and paleontologist, was born in Boston, Mass .. July 10, 1852, the son of Samuel and Jane A. (Turner) Williston. He was educated in the public schools of Manhattan, Kan., graduated at the State Agricultural College there in 1872, and later received the degree of A. M. from that institution. In 1880 he entered Yale University, where he spent several years as post-graduate student and member of the faculty. He returned to Kansas in 1890 to become professor of geology and anatomy and dean of the medical department of the state university, where he remained for twelve years, during which time he served as a member of the state board of health and the board of medical examiners. Since leaving Kansas in 1902, he has occupied the chair of paleontology at the University of Chicago. Prof. Williston is foreign correspondent of the London Geological and Zoological societies; is a fellow of the Geological Society of America; and at one time was president of the Kansas Academy of Science. From 1901 to 1905 he was president of the Sigma Xi fraternity, and in 1903 was president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. He is the author of several books and numerous papers on scientific subjects.
Willowdale, a township in Kingman county, is located in Peters township, 15 miles from Kingman, the county seat, and 6 north of Zenda. on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., which is the nearest shipping point. It has a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 50.
Willow Springs, a hamlet of Douglas county, is located in the south- ern portion about 7 miles northwest of Baldwin, the nearest railroad station, with which it has rural free delivery.
Wills .- (See Descent and Distribution of Property.)
Wilmington, a hamlet in Wabaunsee county, is located 25 miles south- east of Alma, the county seat, and 6 miles west of Burlingame, Osage county, the postoffice from which it receives mail. The population in 1910 was 69. This is an old station on the Santa Fe trail and is one of the historic spots in Wabaunsee county.
Wilmore, a village in Comanche county, is located in Powell town- ship on Mule creek and on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 8 miles northeast of Coldwater, the county seat. It has a mill and grain. elevator. general stores, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 100.
Wilmot, a village in Cowley county, is located in Richland township on Dutch creek and on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. 15 miles northeast of Winfield, the county seat. It has general stores, an express office, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The popula- tion in 1910 was 75.
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Wilsey, a town in Morris county, is located in Elm Creek township on the Missouri Pacific R. R. 12 miles west of Council Grove, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper ( the Warbler ), a flour mill, a grain elevator, a hotel, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population in 1910 was 350. It is the shipping and receiving point for a large agricultural area, and large quantities of grain, live stock and produce are handled every year.
Wilson, an incorporated city of the third class in Ellsworth county, is located on the Union Pacific R. R. 15 miles northwest of Ellsworth, the county seat. It has an opera house, 2 banks, hotels, 2 weekly news- papers (the Echo and the Kanaske Rozheldy), a large number of retail establishments, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with three rural routes. The population in 1910 was 981. The town was founded in 1871 and was at first known as Bos- land, as it was the idea of the promoters that it would be in the midst of a great cattle country. But the railroad company had built a station in 1868 which they named Wilson, and the town soon began to be called by the name of the station. A store was opened, a lumber yard started, and a number of houses were erected in the fall of 1871. In 1872 a stone school house was built. Very little growth was attained until 1878, but during that year as many buildings were erected as in all the pre- vious years put together. The Wilson Echo was established in 1879 by S. A. Coover. A flour mill was erected in the same year. In 1883 the town was incorporated as a city of the third' class. In 1890 the popula- tion was 778, in 1900 it was 939, showing a slow but steady growth.
Wilson County, the fifteenth on the list of the original 33 counties formed by the first territorial legislature, is located in the third tier of counties west from Missouri, and in the second tier north from Okla- homa. It is bounded on the north by Woodson county ; on the east by Neosho; on the south by Montgomery, and on the west by Elk and Greenwood. The original boundaries as fixed by the legislature included all that is now Montgomery county, and extended west 24 miles, mak- ing it 24 miles square. The free-state legislature altered these bound- aries, making them include an area 50 miles north and south by 24 wide. In the adjustment, which took place in 1867, the county assumed its present form.
This county was named in honor of Col. Hiero T. Wilson, a man of prominence in territorial days, who settled at Fort Scott in 1843. The territory was included in the reservation of the Osage Indians, and was not subject to white occupation until 1865 by the treaty of Canville. However, settlement was begun as early as 1857 by the more adven- turous who were anxious to secure homes in the rich valleys. llenry H. Opdyke, G. J. and William Caven located in that year at a point near Coyville, and David Johnson and David Pointer on Buffalo creek. The next year a settlement was made in Webster township on Sandy creek, John Circle settled on the forks of east and west Buffalo creeks
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in the spring, and was followed by Peter Welsh and sons, George Gould, Philip Hedrick and L. F. Woodruff. Lewis F. Davis located on the Verdigris, and was joined by his brother, Moses, the next year. The colony near Coyville was increased during the summer and fall of 1857 by N. S. Pigg, Gaston Reeves and his son Max, John Ross, Jacob Miller, W. W. Wolverton, Frank Sellers and P. B. Sweet. The next year John Foreman, James and William Ross, Thomas Sylvester, M. H. Sprague and Anderson Jones took claims in the same vicinity. By 1860 the census showed the population to be 27, but it is probable that the num- ber of white settlers at that time exceeded 100. During the war very little was done in the way of settlement or of making improvements.
Wilson county was in an exposed position on the breaking out of the Civil war. To the south lay the Indian Territory, with red marauders ready to take advantage of the turmoil; not far beyond lay Texas, full of the southern enemy; to the west hostile tribes were awaiting an opportunity to wipe out the settlements, and a few miles to the east were the border ruffians of Missouri. And, worst of all, the settlers of the county were merely intruders on the holdings of the Osages and were merely tolerated by rightful owners. During the first year of the war the rebels twice sacked Humboldt and the settlers about Coyville, thinking it would be best to be ready, raised a company of 80 mounted men under the command of Capt. John R. Row. That fall fortifica- tions were built 3 miles south of town on land owned by John Shaffer, and named Fort Row. One side was protected by the insurmountable bank of the river, and the other 3 sides by blockhouses, each 16 by 24 feet, constructed of heavy logs. Embankments were thrown up on all sides and the company went into winter quarters. The next spring the company disbanded and most of them joined the Ninth Kansas volunteers. The wholesale appropriation of property, especially live stock, during the war led to thousands of head of stolen cattle, which had been driven from Texas, being quartered in Wilson county.
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