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 97
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Upon the death of Mr. Judge in 1896, Katherine Tingley became the leader in America and of the affiliated societies of Europe. In 1898 she organized the Universal Brotherhood and within a short time the Theo- sophical Society in America. Subsequently these two organizations be- came merged under the title of Universal Brotherhood and Theosoph- ical Society, but again some of the dissenting members retained the old name and organization, so that today there are three societies in Amer- ica-the Theosophical Society, American Section, the Theosophical So- ciety in America, and the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical So-
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ciety. All the societies unite in having for their principal object the uni- versal brotherhood of humanity, and require sympathy with this object the condition of membership.
Theosophical bodies have no churches or edifices, but hold their ser- vices in halls or private houses, and there is no regular ministry con- nected with any of the bodies. The three organizations, taken together, have 84 organizations in the United States with a total membership of 2,336. The Theosophical Society, American Section, has one organiza- iton in Kansas, established in the 'gos, with a membership of 14.
Thomas, a hamlet of Marshall county, is located in the extreme south- west part of the county, 18 miles from Marysville, the county seat. It receives its mail by rural route from Waterville. The population in 1910 was 40.
Thomas County, in the northwestern corner of the state, is located in the second tier south of Nebraska and the second east from Colorado. It is bounded on the north by Rawlins county ; on the east by Sheridan ; on the south by Gove and Logan, and on the west by Sherman. It was created in 1873 and named in honor of George H. Thomas, a major-gen- eral of the Civil war. The boundaries were defined as follows: "Com- mencing at the point where the east line of range 31 west crosses the Ist standard parallel; thence south with said line to the 2nd standard parallel ; thence west with said standard parallel to the east line of range 37 west; thence north with said range line to the Ist standard parallel; thence east with said standard parallel to the place of beginning."
In 1881 before the county was organized a man by the name of T. D. Hamilton, who was hunting with a small party within the boundaries of the county, discovered a cave full of human skeletons. The men were fol- lowing a wounded wolf which took refuge in the cave. On exploring it they found the cave to be a sepulcher of a prehistoric race. The interior consisted of two chambers with perpendicular walls hewn out of the rock. Weapons and other relics were found with the bones of the dead. The bodies were in various positions, some standing, some sitting and some lying. A passage way had been chiseled out and far in the interior was a stream of water. At one point in the cave a single sound would produce a score of echoes.
Among the first settlers were, J. R. Colby, J. W. Irwin, who became the first postmaster at Colby, H. W. Miller, James Auld, Dr. D. M. Dunn and E. P. Worchester. In Jan., 1885, there were but 161 inhabitants in the county. On March 12 the Thomas County Cat (sometimes called the Thomas Cat) was established by Worchester and Dunn and printed at the sod house of H. W. Miller at Colby. It was the first paper published in the county, though the next week another paper was started by Brown & Son and printed at the residence of J. R. Colby, the man in whose honor the town was named. Settlers came in by the hundreds during that year and by the end of the summer the residents petitioned for a separate county organization. W. G. Porter was appointed census taker. The returns were made early in October and showed a population of 1,900 of
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whom 777 were householders. Gov. Martin issued the proclamation organizing the county on Oct. 8. Colby was named as the temporary county seat and the following officers were appointed: county clerk, Samuel Stewardson; commissioners, B. F. Heaston, W. H. Kingery and E. A. Crouse. The election to complete the organization was held on Nov. 17. Colby was chosen county seat with only 13 opposing votes, and the following officers were elected: County clerk, James N. Fike; treas- urer, N. D. Bean ; sheriff, W. H. Kingery; clerk of the district court, Ed- ward J. Paine; register of deeds, J. W. Irwin; attorney, William G. Por- ter ; probate judge, M. L. Lacey; superintendent of public instruction, W. W. Walker ; surveyor, T. P. Chambers ; coroner, M. McGreevy; com- missioners, Frank Pingree, M. W. Witham and R. T. Hemming. W. H. Copeland was the first representative.
In Sept., 1887, the first railroad reached Colby, and by Jan., 1888, the three lines which now run to the town had been built. A branch of the Union Pacific from Salina enters in the east and crosses west to Colby where it terminates. Another branch of the same road, diverging from the main line at Oakley in Logan county, enters in the south and crosses northwest to Colby. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific enters in the northeast and crosses southwest to Colby, thence west into Sherman county. There are 76 miles of railroad.
The county is divided into 10 townships, viz: Barrett, Hale, Kingery, Lacey, Menlo, Morgan, Randall, Revohl, Smith, Summers and Wendell. The postoffices are Brewster, Colby, Gem, Halford, Kingery, Levant, Menlo, Mingo and Rexford. The population in Dec., 1885, was reported as 2,500. In 1890 it was 5,538. In the next 10 years there was a decrease to 4,112, but during the next decade there was a substantial increase, the population in 1910 being 5,455. The assessed valuation of property in that year was $12,957,739. The average wealth per capita is $2,374, which is more than $700 in excess of the average wealth per capita for the state.
The general surface is undulating prairie with bluffs and rough lands along the streams. The native timber is limited to clumps of cottonwood trees. Bottom lands are not extensive. Sandstone is found in several localities. The Saline river has its source in the southwest and flows east across the southern tier of townships. The south fork of the Sol- omon flows east across the county, somewhat south of the center, and the north fork of the same river has its source in the west and flows northeast into Sheridan county. The north and south forks of Sappa creek and Prairie Dog creek enter in the west and flow northeast, the two former into Rawlins and the latter into Sheridan county.
The number of acres under cultivation in 1888 was 90,000. In that year 81,895 pounds of butter and 1,225 pounds of cheese were marketed. In 1910 dairy products were worth $53,000; animals sold for slaughter, $63,289 ; poultry and eggs, $32,000; wheat, the principal crop, $475,627; barley, nearly $150,000; corn, $84,233; sorghum, $81,000; hay, $45,063. The total value of farm products was $1,089,541. The number of head of
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live stock was 19,677, worth $1,282,822. The number of acres of land under cultivation was 335,017, less than half the total area.
Thompsonville, a hamlet of Jefferson county, is located on the Dela- ware river about 11 miles southwest of Oskaloosa, the county seat, and 3 miles northwest of Perry, from which place daily mail is supplied. Thompsonville was established in 1865 by C. L. Thompson, who erected a mill on the site of the old Mormon settlement of 1851. A postoffice was established in 1878 with C. T. Tolles as postmaster.
Thornburg, an inland hamlet of Smith county, is located 10 miles north of Smith Center, the county seat and most convenient railroad station, and the postoffice from which it receives mail. There is one general store. The population in 1910 was 15.
Thrall, an inland hamlet in Greenwood county, is about 20 miles north of Eureka, the county seat, and 7 west of Hamilton, the nearest railroad station and shipping point, whence it receives mail by rural route.
Throop, a country hamlet in Washington county, is located in Cole- man township, 10 miles southwest of Washington, the county seat, and 7 miles south of Morrowville, the nearest railroad station and the post- office from which it receives mail. The population in 1910 was 28.
Thurber, a little inland hamlet in the northern part of Reno county, is located 24 miles northwest of Hutchinson, the county seat. Sterling, on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroads, in . Lyons county, 8 miles to the northeast, is the nearest railroad station and shipping point, and it is from this postoffice that the Thurber mail is distributed by rural delivery.
Thurman, an inland hamlet in Chase county, is located in Matfield Green township, 20 miles south of Cottonwood Falls, the county seat, and 12 miles south of Bazaar, the nearest railroad station and shipping point. Its mail is distributed from Matfield Green and it is connected with that village by daily stage. The population according to the census of 1910 was 30.
Timber .- (See Forestry.)
Timken, a hamlet in Rush county, is located in the township of the same name, on Walnut creek and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., 10 miles southeast of LaCrosse, the county seat. It has a mill, a grain elevator, several retail establishments, express office, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 50.
Tint, a country postoffice in Butler county, is located in Syracuse town- ship, 25 miles northeast of Eldorado, the county seat, and 16 miles south of Bazaar, Chase county, the nearest shipping point. The population in 1910 was 20.
Tipton, a thriving little town of Mitchell county, is located in Pitts- burg township, 21 miles southwest of Beloit, the county seat, and 14 miles south of Cawker City, the nearest shipping point. All the general lines of business are represented, including banking. It has a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population in 1910 was 200. The town was founded in 1872 by Fred Sackoff, W. A. Pitt and J. F. Stein-
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berg, and was at first called Pittsburg. Many of the early buildings, some of which are still standing, were of stone. In the early 'Sos the name was changed from Pittsburg to Tipton, on account of the Pittsburg in Crawford county.
Tisdale, a hamlet in Cowley county, is located in the township of the same name on the Missouri Pacific R. R., 8 miles east of Winfield, the county seat. There is a general store, an express office, and a money order postoffice. The population in 1910 was 42.
Titus, Henry T., was a native of Kentucky. He was a member of the Lopez expedition against the island of Cuba with the rank of adjutant. He arrived in Kansas about April 1, 1856, in company with Col. Buford and about 1,000 men recruited in the South, and his earliest endeavors in this section were put forth in the interests of the pro-slavery cause. He was present at the sacking of Lawrence on May 21, 1856, and about Aug. I of that year he forcibly took possession of a claim about two miles east of Lecompton, belonging to a free-state man named Smith, one of the earliest settlers in the territory. Smith's cabin was torn down during his absence by Titus, who erected thereon a blockhouse for him- self. Smith returned later and rebuilt his cabin when Titus at the head of a pro-slavery force burned the building. From the time of his arrival in the territory he seems to have taken an aggressive part against the free-state people and many of early acts smacked strongly of plain horse stealing. After the brutal murder of David S. Hoyt by pro-slavery men near Fort Saunders-their stronghold on Washington creek, about 12 miles east of Lawrence-the free-state men retaliated by surrounding and making an assault upon "Fort Titus" on Aug. 16. Their fire was returned by the besieged garrison and one free-state man killed. Finding that rifles made no apparent impression on the log fort the free-state men brought out a cannon they had recently captured at Franklin and trained it on the blockhouse. Six shots were fired when Col. Titus sig- nalled that he wished to surrender. He was wounded and one or two of his companions were killed. The prisoners were all taken to Lawrence and some time later were released. His sword, surrendered at the time of the battle, is now preserved in the museum of the Kansas State Historical Society at Topeka. On Oct. 11, 1856, Gov. John W. Geary appointed him special aide-de-camp, his commission dating from Sept. 15. Some time after the battle of Fort Titus he issued a call for his regiment of militia, signing himself "Colonel of the Second Regiment of the First Brigade of the Southern Division of the Kansas Militia." His military career in Kansas begun and ended in 1856. Early in 1857 he became asso- ciated with Gen. William Walker in his Nicaraguan expedition, and in February of that year arrived at San Juan del Norte at the head of about 180 men, many of whom had been associated with him in Kansas. His military capabilities as displayed in this expedition proved his incapac- ity as a commander. He has been ascribed by those who knew him as a swaggering braggart. It was commonly rumored that he lost his life in the Nicaraguan expedition, but this is a mistake, his death occurring in the state of Florida on Aug. 8, 1881.
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Tobacco .- While Kansas has never been considered a tobacco-grow- ing state it has been demonstrated that the crop can be sucessfully grown here. The plant has probably had a limited cultivation ever since the settlement of the territory, but no record of production prior to 1870 is to be found. In 1870 there were 29,047 pounds raised ; 201,- 040 in 1872 and 393,352 in 1873. The first figures of acreage are those of 1877, at which time 717 acres were devoted to the cultivation of tobacco. The following year the acreage was only 553, with a gradual decline in area until in 1910, when it was but 201 acres. This crop, however, was valued at $25,260, or a little over $125 an acre. Col. Sharp, a merchant of Coffeyville and a former resident of Kentucky, has been encouraging the culture of tobacco in Montgomery county. In 1909 he sent to Kentucky and obtained a quantity of White Burley seed, this being the variety that made the Blue Grass state famous, and gave it to about 100 farmers living about Coffeyville, offering a prize of $10 for the best sample grown that year. A number of them promised to plant and experiment with a crop. On seven farms visited by the colonel in 1910 he found tobacco doing well on six of them. He expressed his belief that the article can be grown in this state as suc- cessfully as in Kentucky. The White Burley crop in parts of Ken- tucky averages $275 to the acre.
Togo, a hamlet in Happy township, Graham county, is located 12 miles south of Hill City, the county seat, and II miles north of Wakeeney, Trego county, which is the usual shipping point. Togo has a general store, a postoffice, and the population in 1910 was 20.
Toledo, a discontinued postoffice in Chase county, is located near the east line of the county II miles northeast of Cottonwood Falls, the county seat, and 2 miles from Saffordville on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R., the nearest railroad station and shipping point, and the postoffice from which the Toledo mail is distributed.
Toluca, a country postoffice in Haskell county, is located in Dudley township 9 miles south of Santa Fe, the county seat. It has a grocery store and tri-weekly mail.
Tonganoxie, an incorporated town of Leavenworth county, is situ- ated 21 miles southwest of Leavenworth on the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads. It was named in honor of an Indian chief, whose cabin was the stopping place on the road to Lawrence in early days. The village was laid out in 1866 by Mrs. Magdalena Barry, though Wilson Fox had built a cabin there in 1862. James English also came to live in the same neighborhood and he sold the land to Mrs. Barry. A store was opened in 1866 and a postoffice was established about the same time. 'Late in the 'zos Tonganoxie was incorporated as a city of the third class. It has had a steady growth and the excel- lent railroad facilities with which it is provided have made it a supply and shipping point for a rich district. There are several churches, an excellent public school system, a weekly newspaper (the Mirror), 2 banks, general stores, shoe stores, groceries, millinery shops, drug
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stores, implement and hardware houses, lumber yard, etc. Tonganoxie has an international money order postoffice with five rural routes, express and telegraph facilities, and it is known as a town of beautiful homes. Its population in 1910 was 1,018.
Tonovoy, a post-hamlet in Greenwood county, is located on the Mis- souri Pacific R. R. and is located in Bachelor township, 8 miles east of Eureka, the county seat. It has an express office and is a trading point for the neighborhood. The population in 1910 was 25.
Topeka, the capital city of the State of Kansas, is a station in the east- ern part of Shawnee county, of which it is the judicial seat. It lies on both sides of the Kansas river, which is spanned at this point by three railroad bridges and an arch street-car, wagon and foot bridge. The Shunganunga creek flows through the southeastern portion and is spanned by a bridge on Sixth street. Two lines each of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Union Pacific, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and the Missouri Pacific railroads connect here, furnishing 65 passenger trains daily. Topeka is an ideal residence city, having clean, wide and well shaded streets, 9 public parks, on which about $25,000 annually is expended, 65 miles of paved streets, 350 miles of cement and brick walks, city waterworks with 65 miles of mains, 110 miles of sewer pipes, natural gas for lighting and heating purposes, electric lights, 47 miles of electric street railway and 7 miles of suburban, 6 hospitals, 72 churches, 26 public school buildings with 219 teachers, one of the best high schools in the state with a manual training department, Wash- burn College, one of the leading educational institutions in the Middle West, Bethany College, 6 business colleges, a large number of depart- ment stores and other retail establishments, and no saloons.
Among the public buildings located here are the state capitol, which cost over $3,000,000; the government postoffice, in the upper part of which is located the pension bureau; the county buildings, the city hall, in which is located an auditorium with a seating capacity of 4,500, and one of the three largest pipe organs in the country; the city library on the state house grounds, and the memorial building, now in process of construction, which will cost $250,000. There are three state insti- tutions, the industrial school for boys, an insane asylum and the print- ing plant; three daily newspapers (the Capital, the Journal and the Legal News) ; five weeklies (the Capital, the Mail and Breeze, the Kan- sas Farmer, the Washburn Review and the Topeka Plaindealer) ; two semi-monthlies (the High School World and the Western Odd Fel- low), and a large number of monthly publications, among which are the Western School Journal, the Merchants' Trade Journal, the Mis- souri Valley Farmer, the Household, the Nebraska Farm Journal, and the Commercial Club Bulletin.
There are 376 manufacturing plants, a few of the larger ones being 6 flour mills with a combined capacity of 3,600 barrels daily, 2 woolen mills, a vinegar and preserving works, 2 creameries, the larger making 8,000,000 pounds of butter annually, factories for the production of dairy
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machinery, automobiles, brooms, mattresses, boxes and barrels, tents, food products, patent medicines, foundries, machine shops, vitrified brick works, and meat packing establishments. There are 29 whole- sale and jobbing houses. One of the largest railroad machine shops in the country is that of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe company located here, employing 3,500 men. The general offices of the same company employ about 1,500 persons, and the general offices of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific employ about 150. The United States district court is located here, and also one of the government land offices. The residents of Topeka own more than 700 automobiles, and the 9 banks have a combined capital and surplus of $1,300,000, There are about 10,000 homes, 90 per cent. of which have telephones. The Elks' lodge has a fine home on Seventh and Jackson streets, the Masons are about to build one of the best buildings owned by the order in the country, the Topeka club maintains a beautiful home for the use of its members, there are 3 Y. M. C. A. buildings, one of which cost nearly $100,000 and a Y. W. C. A. building which cost $85,000. According to the government census the population of Topeka in 1910 was 43,684.
Topeka was founded in 1854 by Col. Cyrus K. Holliday, F. W. Giles, Daniel H. Horne, George Davis, Enoch Chase, J. B. Chase, M. C. Dickey, C. Robinson and L. G. Cleveland. The site was selected by Holliday and Robinson as representatives of the New England Emi- grant society in October. In November a party including the other gentlemen arrived on the scene. The town company was organized on Dec. 5 with Mr. Holliday as president. The site was laid out with a view to building a city which should be the capital of Kansas, although there were two or three other towns already bidding for that honor. According to the suggestion of Mr. Webb of the New England Emi- grant Aid society the town was named Topeka from the Indian word Topeka-okie, meaning "a good place to dig potatoes."
At the close of the year there were about 25 people living on the new town site. The next spring a great many eastern people located here and the work of building the town went on rapidly. A sawmill was set up, a number of stores and a hotel were opened, a blacksmith shop, a tinware factory, a brick-yard and a number of other institu- tions established. The postoffice, Fry W. Giles postmaster, was kept in a log cabin which was also used as a blacksmith shop. Among the buildings erected that year was Constitution Hall and the Topeka House. A military company called the "Topeka Guards" was organ- ized by Daniel H. Horne early in the spring, and in November Capt. Horne led the guards, 100 in number, to the defense of Lawrence, leav- ing but one able-bodied man in Topeka. It was feared that an attack might be made during their absence, but the women thought them -. selves capable of making a defense in case such a thing should occur.
From the first Topeka was a temperance town. On the evening of July 4. 1855, after a temperance demonstration the mass meeting resolved itself into a committee of the whole and destroyed all the liquor
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in the vicinity. On that date the first number of the Kansas Free- man appeared. The second newspaper was the Kansas Tribune, which was brought from Lawrence in November. The first child born in the new town was named Topeka Zimmerman and received from his godfather, Dr. F. L. Crane, a lot 75 by 150 feet. The first literary society was organized late in the fall of 1855 and called the Kansas Philo- mathic Institute. A state constitutional convention to take preliminary steps for the admission of Kansas into the Union was held in Con- stitution Hall, beginning on Sept. 19. The winter of 1855-56 was very severe and, the homes being nothing but shells, there was much suffering.
Topeka having been designated the temporary capital by the consti- tutional convention the first free-state legislature was opened on March 4, 1856, in Constitution Hall. A new hotel had been built for the accommodation of the legislators. This body was dispersed by Col. Sumner on July 4, following. During the troubles which followed, a fort was erected on Quincy street in the fifth block south of the river. The basement of Constitution Hall was fitted up as a storehouse for the reprisals taken from the enemy during the war with the border ยท ruffians.
Topeka was incorporated as a city by act of the territorial legisla- ture on Feb. 14, 1857. At that time its limits were confined within the original plat of 320 acres. It was the third largest town in the state, with a population of 600. By the election of Oct., 1858, which was con- firmed by an act of the legislature the next January, it was made the county seat of Shawnee county, and by the Wyandotte constitution drawn up in 1859 it was named as the temporary capital of the state. By a vote of the people in 1861 Topeka was chosen as the permanent capital. The sessions of the legislature were held in private buildings until 1863, when a temporary capitol was erected on the west side of Kansas avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets. In 1865 the Topeka association, through its president, C. K. Holliday, donated 20 acres of ground for the site of the future capitol building, which was begun in 1866. (See Capitol.)
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