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 65
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In Feb., 1859, the city of St. Joseph celebrated the completion of the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad, which was the first line to reach the Kansas border. Just a year later ground was broken at Wyandotte for the Kansas Central. Mention has already been made of the first track laid in Kansas, which was on the Elwood & Marysville road on March 20, 1860. Within a month several miles of track were laid and on April 23 the old locomotive "Albany" arrived. This engine had been used in the construction of railroads all the way from the Atlantic seaboard to the Missouri river as the "Star of Empire" pursued its westward course. On the 24th a number of invited guests assembled to celebrate the open- ing of the first section of the great Pacific railway. Charles S .: Gleed, in one of the Kansas Historical Collections, says: "The cars which fol- lowed the 'Albany' that day were all flat cars, well calculated to carry the festive party, composed about equally of men and barrels. The cars were decorated with green boughs to cover their native ugliness, and seats were constructed of planks set crosswise of the cars. The engine was gaudy with the colors of the rainbow and some that the rainbow never yet developed. The engineer was conscious of the importance of his task, and did his best to prove his engine as fast as the load she was pulling. The track was rough, of course, and crooked, but it held to- gether, and the trip was duly accomplished."
M. Jeff Thompson, afterward an officer in the Confederate army, was president of the company that thus opened the first railroad in the State of Kansas. During the war railroad building was practically at a stand still all over the country, but immediately after the restoration of peace it was taken up with renewed vigor. In July, 1866, Congress passed several acts granting large tracts of land, in alternate sections on either
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side of the line for a distance of 10 miles, to railroad companies. In his message to the legislature of 1867 Gov. Crawford announced that there were then 300 miles of railroad in operation in the state, and that work on the eastern division of the Union Pacific was being prosecuted with energy and success. "The road," said he, "was completed from Wyan- dotte to 'Lawrence in 1864, a distance of 40 miles; from Lawrence to Topeka in 1865, a distance of 27 miles; and during the year 1866, from Topeka westward nearly 100 miles, and grading mostly completed for 50 or 60 miles further ; also the branch road from Leavenworth to Law- rence, a distance of 33 miles, making for the year 1866 about 133 miles of road, or one-half mile for each working day."
He also stated that work was being pushed on the Central Branch from Atchison westward; that 15 miles of the St. Joseph & Denver had been completed ; that the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston directors had transferred the franchise of that company to a new corporation that promised to complete the road to the southern boundary of the state within two years, and that the Union Pacific company expected to com- plete 200 miles of the eastern division during the ensuing year. This expectation was evidently realized, as in his message to the legislature of 1869 the governor announced that the road was completed to within 35 miles of the western boundary of the state. In the same year the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston was completed to Ottawa, the Missouri River railroad was put in operation between Wyandotte and Leavenworth, and 90 miles of the Central Branch were finished.
By the treaty of April 19, 1862, the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western Railroad company was given the refusal of buying a certain portion of the Pottawatomie lands. When the Eastern Division of the Union Pacific was organized in 1863, the new company purchased the rights of the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western, with power to build a road through Kansas to a point 50 miles west of Denver. On May 31, 1868, the name of the Eastern Division was changed to the Kansas Pacific, and on Jan. 24, 1880, the Union Pacific, Kansas Pacific and Denver Pacific were consolidated into the present Union Pacific. According to the report of the Kansas railroad commission for 1910, the Union Pacific company was reorganized on July 1, 1897, under an act of the Utah legislature of the preceding January, and operates 1,165 miles of road in Kansas.
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad had its beginning in the charter granted to the Atchison & Topeka Railroad company by the territorial legislature in 1859. The Atchison & Topeka company was organized on Feb. II of that year, and on Nov. 24, 1863, the name was changed to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. In 1864 Congress made a large grant of land for the benefit of the road, and counties through which it was to run voted bonds to aid in its construction. Work was commenced at Topeka in the fall of 1868 and the following year was finished to Burlingame, a distance of 27 miles. When the track was completed to Wakarusa, 13 miles from Topeka, an excursion was run
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KANSAS HISTORY
to that place from Topeka to celebrate the event. Cyrus K. Holliday, the projector of the enterprise and first president of the company, in a speech on that excursion, predicted that one day the western terminus of the road would be at some point on the Pacific coast. It is said that when the prophecy was uttered, one incredulous individual, unable to control his mirth at the thought of that little crooked road becoming a
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SANTA FE LOCOMOTIVES. 1869 AND 1911.
great trans-continental thoroughfare, threw himself on the grass and exclaimed, "Oh, the old fool !" Yet the prediction has been verified. In 1869 was erected the first general office building of the company in To- peka. This building also served as passenger station and freight depot. In Jan., 1872, the division between Atchison and Topeka was graded, but the track was not laid until later, and in 1873 the main line of the road was completed to the western boundary of the state. The Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fe system now comprises nearly 10,000 miles of road, of which, according to the railroad commissioner's report already alluded to, 2,659 miles are in Kansas, and the company has expended over $3,000,000 in shops and office buildings in the city of Topeka.
The Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad, first known as the southern branch of the Union Pacific, was organized at Emporia in 1867. Work was commenced on the road at Junction City in the summer of 1869, and in November the line was completed to Council Grove, a distance of 37 miles ; in December it was finished to Emporia, 24 miles farther ; in Feb., 1870, it was completed to Burlington, 30 miles farther down the Neosho valley ; in April another 30 miles took the road to Humboldt, and on June 6 the line entered the Indian Territory, thus securing the sole right of way, with land grant, through that territory. A writer in one of the Kansas Historical Collections says: "The race for the Indian Territory, between the competing lines, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and the Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf roads, will ever be a memor- able event in the history of railway construction."
The Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf started from Kansas City and ran to the southern boundary of the state, a distance of 161 miles. It received a grant of 125,000 acres of land from the state; some 1,500 acres from individuals and town companies, and subsidies amounting to $750,000 in county and city bonds. This road and the Leavenworth,
(II-35)
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Lawrence & Galveston were known as the "Joy roads," for the reason that James F. Joy purchased the Cherokee Neutral Lands, of which about 3,000,000 acres were sold at an average price of $6.50 an acre for the benefit of the road.
In 1870 there were in Kansas 1,283 miles of railroad, the greater por- tion of which had been constructed during the three years immediately preceding. Ten years later the mileage reached 3,104, the year 1879 being the greatest railroad year in the history of the state. The Kansas Monthly for November of that year gives the following lines, either finished or almost finished, that were built during the year: Kansas Pacific branches from Salina to Lindsborg, Junction City to Concordia, and from Minneapolis to Beloit; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe branches from Emporia to Eureka, Florence to McPherson, and Wichita to Ar- kansas City ; the Union Pacific extended the main line to Kirwin, Phillips county ; and built branches to Osborne City and Jewell Center, and a line from Concordia to Scandia; the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf extended its line from Baxter Springs to Joplin, Mo., via Empire City ; the Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern constructed its line from Inde- pendence to Winfield; the St. Louis & San Francisco extended its line from Wichita via Cherryvale and Fredonia ; the road from Holden, Mo., to Paola was extended beyond Garnett; and a line was built from Osa- watomie to Ottawa; the Lawrence & Southwestern was engaged in run- ning a line from Lawrence to Carbondale; a narrow gauge road was built from Parsons to Weir City, and surveys were under way for other roads. Altogether, 498 miles of track were laid in Kansas during the year, giving the state the first place in railroad construction, Minne- sota standing second with 349 miles. Another piece of railroad, not included in the magazine article quoted, was the completion of the Cen- tral Branch to Cawker City.
Of the Missouri Pacific railroad system, which next to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe operates the greatest number of miles in Kansas, the railroad commisisoners' report for 1910 says: "The Missouri Pacific Railway company was organized by articles of agreement and consolida- tion dated May 29, 1909, filed in the office of the secretaries of the states of Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, Aug. 9, 1909. It was organized under the general railroad laws of the states of Missouri, Kansas and Ne- braska." The report then goes on to give a list of the constituent com- panies forming the consolidation, some twenty-five in number. This company operates in Kansas 2,379 miles of road.
The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific system, which operates 1,166 miles in Kansas, had its origin in the old Mississippi & Missouri rail- road, which was incorporated under the laws of Iowa on Jan. 1, 1853. The present Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific company was organized on June 2, 1880, under the laws of Illinois and Iowa. Its lines extend over the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma.
The Interstate Commerce Commission, in its statistical report for the
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KANSAS HISTORY
fiscal year ending on June 30, 1909, gives the railroad mileage for Kan- sas as 8,947.09 miles. Since that report was issued a few miles have been constructed and placed in operation. The state railroad commis- sion in its biennial report for 1909-10 reported 11,272 miles, which included both main lines and side tracks. Of the mileage reported by the Interstate Commerce Commission the four great systems-the Atchi- son, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Union Pacific, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and the Missouri Pacific-operate 7,370 miles, leaving less than 2,000 miles of main line to be operated by the smaller railway com- panies. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy system has 260 miles within the state ; the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, 441 miles; the St. Louis & San Francisco, 370 miles; the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis, 259 miles; the St. Joseph & Grand Island, 145 miles; and the remaining mileage is under the control of a few independent and terminal com- panies.
Concerning government aid extended to Kansas railroads, Poor's Manual of Railroads for 1873 gives the following acreage of the land grants made to seven of the leading companies: Kansas Pacific, 6,000,- 000; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, 3,000,000; Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf, 2,350,000 ; St. Joseph & Denver, 1,700,000; Missouri, Kan- sans & Texas, 1,520,000; Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston, 800,- 000; Union Pacific (Southern Branch), 500,000; Union Pacific (Central Branch), 245,166, making a total of 16,115,166 acres. The Kansas legis- lature in 1866 gave to certain railroad companies 500,000 acres of land granted to the state under the act of Sept. 4, 1841. These companies were the Northern Kansas (Elwood to Marysville), Kansas & Neosho Valley, Southern Branch of the Union Pacific, and the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Fort Gibson.
In addition to these grants, large tracts of land were purchased by railroad companies at low prices. In Oct., 1867, the Cherokee Neutral Lands were sold to James F. Joy for $1.00 an acre. When the Atchison & Pike's Peak railroad reached Waterville in Jan., 1868, the company received a grant of 187,608 acres of land and bonds amounting to $16,000 a mile, and the same company purchased 24,000 acres of the Kickapoo lands at $1.25 an acre. In May, 1868, the Osage Indians sold 8,000,000 acres of their lands to the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston com- pany at 20 cents an acre, and in August of the same year the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe bought 338,766 acres of the Pottawatomie lands. Wilder's Annals of Kansas (p. 937) says the railroad land grants in Kansas equaled 8,223,380 acres. This does not agree with Poor's figures, and it may be possible that the latter included in his estimate some of the low-priced purchases above mentioned.
The Kansas Pacific received in bonds from the national government the sum of $6,303,000, and the Central Branch received $1,600,000. Im- mediately after the war, when railroad building was making rapid strides in the West, the Federal government guaranteed bonds for railroad com- panies amounting to $27,806,000, a large part of which was for the benefit
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of Kansas lines. In addition to this national assistance, counties, cities, townships and towns voted bonds in large amounts to aid in the con- struction of the roads.
Many of the railroad companies did not perfect the title to their lands as required by the terms of the grant, and in 1882 a convention at Sa- lina, Kan., demanded of Congress speedy legislation to compel the Kan- sas Pacific to complete its title. On March 6, 1883, the state legislature passed an act authorizing the state agent (ex-Gov. Samuel J. Crawford ) to investigate and secure a proper adjustment of certain railroad land grants. Two days later Col. Crawford filed a brief and petition for the restoration to the state of lands wrongfully withheld. In April, John A. Anderson, then a representative in Congress from Kansas, made a report from the committee on public lands, in which he estimated the number of acres of Kansas lands granted to railroad companies at 9.407,066, of which only 5,412,411 acres had been patented on June 30, 1883. Mr. Anderson introduced a bill to compel the railroad companies to perfect their title to the lands, and many of them hastened to do so, but in his report to the governor in 1890 Col. Crawford announced that he had recovered a large portion of the original land grants, the largest being from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe-833,900 acres from near Kinsley to the west line of the state.
(Works consulted: Poor's Manual of Railroads, Federal Statutes, Territorial and State Laws of Kansas, Reports of Railroad Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission, Kansas Historical Collec- tions, Wilder's Annals of Kansas, Prentis' and Hazelrigg's Histories of Kansas, Newspaper Files, Magazines, etc.)
Ramona, a village of Marion county, is located in Colfax township on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 19 miles northwest of Marion, the county seat. It is the shipping and receiving point for a prosperous agricultural and stock raising district, has a bank, telegraph and express offices, a large local trade, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population, according to the census of 1910, was 175.
Randall, an incorporated town of Jewell county, is located on the Mis- souri Pacific R. R., 15 miles southeast of Mankato, the county seat. It has banking facilities, a weekly newspaper (the News), express and telegraph offices, and a postoffice with three rural routes. The popula- tion in 1910 was 325.
Randolph, an incorporated town in Riley county, is located in Jack- son township on the Union Pacific R. R., and on the Big Blue river, 22 miles northwest of Manhattan. It has 2 banks, a weekly newspaper (the Enterprise), express and telegraph offices, and an international money order postoffice with two rural routes. The population in 1910 was 575.
When the town was first laid out, in 1856, it was called Waterville. J. R. Whitson was the promoter. The first inhabitant. G. L. Ruthstreno, established a store. The postoffice was first kept at the house of Gardi-
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KANSAS HISTORY
ner Randolph, but was moved to the town site, the town taking the name of the postoffice.
Randolph, Asa M. F., jurist, was born in Alleghany county, N. Y., Jan. 19, 1829. He was educated in the common schools, Alfred Acad- emy and Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, graduating at that insti- tution in 1851 and receiving the master's degree in 1856. He was an instructor in the high school at Covington, Ky., during which time he also studied law and was admitted to the bar in Kentucky in 1859. He enlisted in the Union army in the Forty-first Kentucky regiment ; came to Kansas in 1868, locating at Burlington ; was county attorney of Coffey county, and in 1874 was elected attorney-general of Kansas ; was elected to the legislature in 1878; became supreme court reporter in 1879, in which capacity he served for 18 years. In 1893 his "Trial of Sir John Falstaff" was published. He died at Topeka in Sept., 1899.
Ransom, an incorporated city of Ness county, is located in Nevada township on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 12 miles north of Ness City, the county seat. It has a bank, a number of retail stores, a hotel, telegraph and express offices and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 204. It was incorporated as a city of the third class by the act of March 3, 1905.
Ransomville, in the southwestern part of Franklin county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 14 miles from Ottawa, the county seat. It was named after J. H. Ransom, who prospected for coal in this locality and sunk the first shaft in 1880. He subsequently pur- chased 320 acres of land and opened the first store, around which the town grew up. The postoffice was established in 1882 with Mr. Ransom as the first postmaster. Ransomville has a money order postoffice, tele- graph and express facilities, public school, etc., and in 1910 had a popu- lation of 125.
Rantoul, one of the larger towns of Franklin county, is situated on the Missouri Pacific R. R., II miles southeast of Ottawa, the county seat. It has several general stores, a public school, churches, hardware and implement houses, lumber yard, a money order postoffice, telegraph and express facilities, and in 1910 had a population of 275. It is the sup- ply and shipping point for a rich agricultural district.
Ravanna, a country postoffice in Finney county, is located on the Pawnee river, 28 miles northeast of Garden City, the county seat, and 22 miles north of Cimarron, the nearest shipping point. It has a daily stage to Garden City.
Rawlins County, one of the northern tier, is the 2d county east from the Colorado line. It is bounded on the north by the State of Nebraska ; on the east by Decatur county ; on the south by Thomas, and on the west by Cheyenne. This was one of the counties created by the legis -. lature of 1873, and it was named in honor of Gen. John A. Rawlins, the . United States secretary of war. The boundaries were defined as fol- lows: "Commencing where the east line of range 31 west crosses the 40th degree of north latitude; thence south with range line to the Ist
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standard parallel ; thence west with said parallel to the east line of range 37 west; thence north with said range line to the 40th degree of north latitude; thence east to the place of beginning."
Two massacres occurred within the limits of the county before it was organized. The first was the massacre of the Indians by the soldiers, which occurred in April, 1875, about the time the first white settlers came to the county. Early in the year a band of Northern Cheyenne Indians, including 75 men, women and children, were on their way from the Indian Territory to their home in the Black Hills of Dakota, and were in orderly march about 40 miles west of the settlements, when on April 18, Lieut. Austin Henley, of the United States cavalry, received orders to intercept the band and turn it back. The cavalry followed the Indians for several days, during which time the Cheyennes tried to escape by dividing up in small groups. The Indians were overtaken while in camp on the Sappa creek in Rawlins county, and the entire camp, including women and children, were murdered. In burning their tepees after the slaughter an Indian baby was accidently thrown into the fire and perished. One young Indian who had no family escaped. The five Germans who made the first settlement in the county, August C. Blume, August Deitleff, Albert E. Lange, Charles Nast and a man named Stermer, saw the Indians before the massacre. In 1878 the Cheyennes exacted vengeance for the death of their tribesmen by visit- ing the valley of the Sappa and murdering about 40 innocent settlers in Rawlins and Decatur counties. Stermer was killed in his cornfield.
County organization took place in May, 1881. Gov. St. John, in his proclamation, made Atwood the temporary county seat and appointed the following officers: Clerk, William R. Shirley; commissioners, Lorenz Demmer, August C. Blume and Herman Kase. The first elec- tion was held in July. Atwood was made the permanent county seat and the following officers chosen: County clerk, William Reilly ; com- missioners, Albert Hemming, August C. Blume and Herman Kase ; treasurer, Greenup Leaper; register of deeds, John F. Hayes; sheriff, Edward H. Jamies; coroner, Leonard Wiltse; superintendent of public instruction, W. W. Dennis; probate judge, R. W. Fowler; attorney, Patrick Fleming ; clerk of the district court, A. Birdsall. The number of votes cast was 314. At the November election O. L. Palmer was elected representative.
The first newspaper in the county was the Atwood Pioneer, estab- lished in Oct., 1879, by Edwin and A. L. Thorne. In 1882 there were five school houses in the county, with a school population of 510. In 1910 there were 89 organized school districts and 2,069 inhabitants of school age. In 1887 the legislature authorized the county commissioners to levy a tax to build a court-house, such tax not to exceed the sum of $20,000.
The county is divided into 20 townships, viz: Achilles, Arbor, At- wood, Beaver, Burntwood, Celia, Clinton, Driftwood, Elk, Grant, Hern- don, Jefferson, Laing, Logan, Ludell, Mikesell, Mirage, Richiland, Rotate
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KANSAS HISTORY
and Union. The postoffices are, Achilles, Atwood, Beardsley, Beaver- view, Blakeman, Chardon, Herndon, Linda, Ludell, McDonald, Minor and Tully. A branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. from Nebraska enters near the northeast corner and crosses southwest a dis- tance of nearly 40 miles, into Cheyenne county, terminating at St. Francis.
The general surface is an undulating prairie, with a few bluffs. Bot- tom lands average a mile in width. The streams are lined with thin belts of native timber. Two branches of Beaver creek enter the county in the southwest, flow northeast to the center where they join, forming one stream which continues northeast into Decatur county. The north and south forks of Sappa creek flow across the southeastern part ; Tim- ber and Burntwood creeks are in the northwest, and Driftwood in the northeast. Limestone, coal and sandstone are found in limited quanti- ties. Springs are frequent in the valleys.
Irrigation is used to a limited extent in farming. The total value of farm products in 1910 was $1,531,974. Wheat was worth $662,088; corn, $140,756; barley, $158,953; hay, $133,895; sorghum, $59,892; animals sold for slaughter, $153,454; poultry and eggs, $54,312.
The population of the county in 1880 was 1,623, in 1890 it was 6,756. During the next decade it lost in population as did all the western coun- ties and in 1900 it was 5,214. The population in 1910 was 6,380. The assessed valuation of property in 1882 was $49,378, in 1910 it was $8,827,- 603, and the value of live stock was $1,435,505.
Ray, a post-village in Pawnee county, is located in River township on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 8 miles east of Larned, the county seat. It has general stores, 2 grain elevators, telegraph and express offices. The population in 1910 was 60.
Raymond, one of the old towns of Rice county, is located on the Ar- kansas river and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 12 miles southwest of Lyons, the county seat. It is a shipping point for grain, live stock and other farm produce, and also a trading point for a large agricultural area. It has a bank, all lines of retail establishments, tele- graph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population, according to the census of 1910, was 250. The town was named for Emmaus Raymond, an official of the Atchison, To- peka & Santa Fe R. R.
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