USA > Kansas > Wyandotte County > Kansas City > Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Historical and biographical. Comprising a condensed history of the state, a careful history of Wyandotte County, and a comprehensive history of the growth of the cities, towns and villages > Part 33
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Congregational .- First, 1109 North Fifth Street, Rev. J. D. Dougherty, pastor; Pilgrim, west side Seventh Street, between Cen- tral and Reynolds Avenues, Rev. Horace D. Herr, pastor:
Episcopal .- St. Paul's, Sixth Street, northwest corner Ann Ave- nue, Rev. John Bennett, pastor.
Evangelical German Zion, 645 Orville Avenue, Rev. Louis Klee- man, pastor.
Latter-Day Saints-Reorganized Church, 734 Colorado Avenue, William Newton, president.
Methodist. - African, Ann Avenue, northeast corner of Seventh Street, Rev. John Turner, pastor; Forest Grove, 254 Balke Street, Rev. Frederick Soper, pastor; German, Fifth Street, northeast corner of Ann Avenue, Rev. C. C. Harms, pastor; German, 717 St. Paul Street, Rev. J. J. Steininger, pastor; Gordon Place, 2106 North Eighth Street, Rev. Seymour A. Baker, pastor; Highland Park, Pa- cific Avenue, southwest corner of Seventh Street, Rev. W. T. Elliott, pastor; St. James (colored), 929 Freeman Avenue, Rev. G. W. Pat- ten, pastor; St. Peter's (colored), 409 Oakland Avenue; Seventh Street (South), Seventh Street, northeast corner of State Avenue, Rev. Frank Syler, pastor; Tenth Street, east side St. Paul Street, first east of Osage Avenue, Rev. William A. Crawford, pastor; Washington Avenue, Washington Avenue, northeast corner of Seventh Street, Rev. A. H. Tevis, pastor; Wood Street, 330 North First Street, Rev. John A. Simpson, pastor.
Presbyterian. - Central, 419 South Seventh Street, Rev. C. E. Mc- Cane, pastor; First, Sixth Street, southwest corner of Minnesota Ave- nue, Rev. Franklin P. Berry, pastor; Grandview Park, Reynolds Avenue, southeast corner of Seventeenth Street, Rev. C. W. Backus,
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pastor; Western Highlands, Greeley Avenue, southeast corner of Twelfth Street, Rev. C. W. Backus, pastor.
Roman Catholic .- St. Anthony's (German), 615 North Seventh Street, Rev. Aloysius Kurtz, pastor; St. Bridget's, 67 North First Street, Rev. C. D. Curtin, pastor; St. Joseph (Polish), 805 Vermont Avenue, Rev. F. Luacek, pastor; St. Mary's, Fifth Street, southwest corner of Ann Avenue, Rev. Anthony Kuhls, pastor; St. Thomas, Pyle Street, northwest corner of Shawnee Avenue, Rev. J. F. Lee, pastor. The pride of the Catholics of Armourdale is their Cathedral, which is now being erected at a cost of $40,000. It will be a truly magnificent structure, of cut stone, and, for the capacity, the finest in the State. The building will be 61x135, and, from basement to spire, 225 feet high, with a bell weighing 2,500 pounds, completed inside with hard wood, oil finish. The basement is now finished, and services are being held there. This, in the near future, will be used as a Sunday- school, and the first story, which will have a seating capacity of 1,200, for services.
The beginning of the religious history of the five townships which, with Kansas City, comprise the county at large, was nearly coincident. with their settlement. Christianity took root early, and has prospered greatly in all parts of the county, its statistics at this time being as follows:
Baptist-Number of church organizations, 12; aggregate member- ship, 1,026; number of church edifices, 8; value of church property, $36,050. Christian-Number of church organizations, 6; aggregate membership, 510; number of church edifices, 5; value of church prop- erty, $12,000. Congregational-Number of church organizations, 4; aggregate membership, 302; number of church edifices, 4; value of church property. $12,000. Dunkard-number of church organizations, 1; membership, 22. Episcopal-Number of church organizations, 1; membership, 53; number of church edifices, 1; value of church prop- erty, $28,815. Methodist Episcopal-Number of church organiza- tions, 9; aggregate membership, 756; number of church edifices, 2; value of church property, $47,800. Presbyterian-Number of church organizations, 2; aggregate membership, 325; number of church edi- fices, 2; value of church property, $56,000. Roman Catholic-Aggre- gate membership, 6,554; number of church edifices, 7. Swedish Luth- eran-Number of church organizations, 1; membership, 25; number of church edifices, 1; value of church property, $1,000.
It will be seen that the Baptists have the largest number of organ-
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izations, the Roman Catholics have the largest membership, the Bap- tists and Methodists have most houses of worship, and the Presbyte- rians the largest amount of church property. The value of the church property of the Roman Catholics can not be given, but it may exceed that of any other church. There is also in the county (in Kansas City) one organization of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons. The Catholics have parochial schools, with an average yearly attendance of about 800.
St. Margaret's Hospital is purely a charitable institution, and was founded five years ago by Father Anthony Kuhls, who has been in the past, as he is now, its worthy head. Here it is that the good sisters attend the sick or maimed, and during the five years of faithful service the institution has never refused admission to any one needing care or medical attention when there was room within the establishment for him. The institution cares for the Kansas City patients at the rate of 65 cents per diem, and in all other cases, where persons have no means of their own, they are provided for by the funds of the insti- tution, which are raised each year by subscription.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
QUINDARO A FAMOUS PIONEER TOWN-TOWN COMPANY-RAPID GROWTH-RUSH OF IMMIGRANTS-RIVAL TOWNS-ROAD TO LAW- RENCE-STEAMER LIGHTFOOT-DECLINE AND FALL OF QUINDARO- ROSEDALE-ITS PROGRESS-INCORPORATION-FIRST AND SUCCESSIVE OFFICERS - DEVELOPMENT - ARGENTINE- ITS TOWN COMPANY - INCORPORATION -- OFFICERS - SMELTING WORKS - INDUSTRIES - CHURCHES - SOCIETIES - PRESS - EDWARDSVILLE - INDIAN CHIEF HALF-MOON-EDWARDSVILLE CEMETERY-WHITE CHURCH-BETHEL -POMEROY-CONNOR-TURNER SMELTING WORKS-BONNER (SARA- TOGA) SPRINGS-CIVIL TOWNSHIPS.
"Build yet, the end is not, build on; Build for the ages unafraid. The past is but a base whereon These ashlars, well hewn, may be laid. Lo, I declare I deem him blest Whose foot, bere pausing, findeth rest!"
F QUINDARO, a famous pioneer town of the State of Kansas, and a promising rival of Wyan- dotte, but little is now known except in history. It was founded and fostered by such men as Joel Walker, Abelard Guthrie, Gov. Charles Robinson and Samuel N. Simpson, who con- stituted the original town company-all men of ability and spirited enterprise. In building it up and heralding it far and wide as a great future city, they were assisted by a host of Free-State men. During the reign of terror of 1856, when Kansas City, Leavenworth, Delaware City and Atchison were closed to Free-State men, several fugitives had, at different times, by the assistance of Mr. Guthrie, who owned much of the land in the vicinity, embarked from this point and passed down the river in safety. Probably this fact induced Ex-Gov. Robinson and his friends to select the site of Qnindaro.
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Several localities were examined, but the rocky channel of the river at Quindaro and the warm support given the project by Mr. and Mrs. Guth- rie, finally decided the matter. Principally through the negotiations of Mrs. Guthrie, a Wyandotte lady of royal blood, whose father was chief of the Canadian Wyandottes, land was purchased by the com- pany from several members of the tribe, and in December, 1856, was surveyed by O. A. Bassett. The town was surveyed to cover lands ex- tending from the center of Section 29 to the western boundary of Sec- tion 30, and embraced all of fractional section 19 in Township 10 south, Range 25 east. It was bounded north by the Mis- souri River, and extended far enough back to average about three- fourths of a mile in width. Its southern boundary was 480 rods in length, east and west, and on account of the direction of the river its northern boundary was some longer. The town was named Quindaro in honor of Mrs. Guthrie, whose maiden name was Quindaro Brown. The town officers chosen were: Joel Walker, president; A. Guthrie, vice-president; C. Robinson, treasurer; S. N. Simpson, secretary. On January 1, 1857, ground was first broken on the town site, but lit- tle building was done until spring. Three or four buildings, however, were erected by April 1, among others the Quindaro House, the sec- ond largest hotel in the Territory-four stories, 60x80 feet. It was opened in February, 1857, being the first hotel in the county. In May, a considerable force of men was put to work grading the ground near the wharf, and Kansas Avenue, the main street running south from the river. The Chin-do wan made its appearance on the 13th of that month, and in the first issue showed its happy faculty of adver- tising a new town in the way such business should be done to make an impression. Professional men already were swarming into Quin- daro. Real-estate and land agents were plentiful. There were R. P. Gray, Charles Chadwick, H. J. Bliss, M. B. Newman, R. M. Ains- worth, Blood, Bassett & Brackett, and Charles Robinson (agent for the Boston Land Trust). Lots were sold for exorbitant prices, and all kinds of real estate was exceedingly high. For many months the appearance of the place argued in favor of the fulfillment of the wild- est anticipations of its most sanguine projectors. Dr. George E. Bud- ington advertised as a physician; F. Johnson and George W. Veal, as dealers in general merchandise; William J. McCown and Ed D. Buck, ditto; H. M. Simpson, O. H. Macauley, J. Grover and S. C. Smith, forwarding and commission merchants; Charles B. Ellis, civil engineer and surveyor; Ireland & McCorkle, carpenters and joiners;
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Fred Klaus, who had a quarry a short distance from town, stone cut- ter and mason; A. C. Strock & Co., drugs and medicines, Dr. J. B. Welborn having an office in the same building; William Shepherd and D. D. Henry, hardware. The largest saw-mill in Kansas, subse- quently erected and started by A. J. Rowell, in the fall, was talked of; a large ferry-boat, one of the largest on the Missouri River, and actually put in operation by Capt. Otis Webb in the summer, was building; Messrs. Robinson, Gray, Johnson, Webb and others were rushing around for subscriptions to build the Quandaro, Parkville & Burlington Railroad, to obtain connections with the Hannibal & St. Jo. ; the Methodist Church was built; Hon. Henry Wilson, who arrived May 24, on the steamer New Lucy, was furnished with rooms at the Quindaro House, and made a little speech to the citizens before he continued on to Lawrence; shares of the town company were going clear out of sight of the $100 from which they started, and, all in all, the spectacle was presented of a town wild with hope, and riding, ap- parently, on to success. Everyone was everybody's friend. Gold cir- culated as freely as water, and in the spring and summer of 1857, few thought it necessary to take security of any kind. The significance of the meaning of the word Quindaro Chin-do-wan, as explained by Messrs. Walden & Babb, its proprietors, seemed about to be gloriously realized. Chin-do-wan is a Wyandotte word, meaning leader, and Quindaro appeared to be taking the lead in everything. Quindaro is also a Wyandotte word, and, freely translated, signified "In union there is strength"-and certainly all the citizens in Quindaro were pulling together. Quindaro was a temperance town, the lots having been deeded with the stipulation that they should not be occupied by liquor dealers. Some groggeries had crept in, however, by June, 1857, and the women petitioned and the men acted, and cleaned them out on the 17th of that month and year. By July the ferry-boat, 100 feet long, with a twenty six-foot beam, was running between Quindaro and Parkville; the road to Lawrence was in prime condition, and Messrs. Robinson & Walker were operating a daily line of stages. The next grand triumph was the completion of the saw-mill in October, which cut 15,000 feet of lumber daily. Building continued; there was no end of public confidence in the grand future of Quindaro. She was a rival of Kansas City, Leavenworth, Atchison and Wyandotte.
In the spring and summer of 1857 the people of Quindaro assisted in building a road to Lawrence, and they also built a road in the direc- tion of Shawnee and erected thereon a free ferry across the Kansas
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River, with a view to competing for the wholesale trade of the inte- rior of the Territory. The mail at this time was brought to the Ter- ritory by steamboats. It is said that there were then sixty-five first- class steamers in the Missouri River trade, all of which did a success- ful business. The Quindaro company went to Cincinnati and had the Lightfoot, a light draft steamer, built, and established a steamboat line to Lawrence; Wyandotte followed suit, and Kansas City, Mo., not to be outdone, also embarked in navigating Kansas River.
By June, 1858, Quindaro boasted 100 buildings on her town site, many of them of a substantial, metropolitan appearance. The Chin- do-wan kept up its trumpeting, and was taken possession of by V. J. Lane (who had been an energetic Quindaroan since the spring of 1857), G. W. Veale and Alfred Gray. They also published the Kan- sas Tribune in the fall and winter of 1858-59. The publication was continued for the benefit of the town company until 1861, when it was removed to Olathe. But the glory of Quindaro was already fad- ing, and when the Second Cavalry, under Col. Davis, quartered them- selves there at the commencement of the war, and handled the city so roughly, she gave up the ghost and is no more. The half dozen buildings comprising the station of Quindaro are so desolate that they hardly could be honored with the name of settlement. In 1871-72 the old town site was vacated-first the western and then the eastern portion.
In explanation of the fall of Quindaro it is suggested by some old citizens that her location was uninviting; that the lay of the land was such that a city could not be built near the river without making too expensive grades, or as one has expressed it, "they could not get the city dowu to the river," while at Wyandotte the land rose gradually from the river bank near the water line, thus affording an easy landing and access to it without much grading. Again, Wyandotte and Kan- sas City, both rivals of Quindaro, were located directly at the june- tion of two navigable rivers, instead of on one as was the case with Quindaro, thus making them more attractive to immigrants. How- ever, whatever the cause or causes may or may not have been, the fact exists that Quindaro fell, and her site as a town has been vacated, while Wyandotte has been merged into and forms the greater part of Kansas City, Kas., the metropolis of the State, a city of about 40,000 inhabitants.
The Quindaro Cemetery, including the two acres reserved by the Government in the Wyandotte treaty of January 31, 1855, and known
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as the "Old Wyandotte Burial Ground," situated in the southwest part of Section 31, Township 10 south, Range 25 east, was surveyed and laid out into lots, drives and walks, in January, 1874, by the Quindaro Cemetery Association, of which S. D. Stoors was then presi- dent, and W. W. Dickinson, secretary. The new cemetery, together with the old one, contains seven acres.
Rosedale, situated on Turkey Creek and on the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad, four miles sonthwest of the Union Depot, and occupying portions of Sections 27, 33 and 34, in Township 11 south, Range 25 east, was surveyed and platted as a town in May, 1872, by James G. Brown and A. Grandstaff the original proprietors. The building of the town was commenced in 1875, the rolling mills having been erected in that year. It was not until the year 1877, however, that the town contained the necessary population of 600 to entitle it to a government under the law providing for the existence of cities of the third class. August 3 of that year, Judge Stevens ordered an election to be held on the 28th of the same month for the election of city officers. The officers elected for the ensuing year were: Mayor, D. S. Mathias; councilmen, John Hutchinson, Sr., Henry Juergens, William Bowen, John Haddock, Benjamin Bousman; police judge, Ed- ward Blanford; city clerk, William Dauks. Mayor Mathias held his office several successive terms. His successor in 1882 was D. E. Jones. The mayors since then have been W. C. Boyer, 1883; D. E. Jones, 1884; W. H. Spencer, 1885; D. E. Jones, 1886-88; B. M. Barnett, 1889, and J. M. Kilmer, 1890. The present council is com- posed of S. J. Jones, president; J. E. Fisher, F. A. McDowell, W. C. Copley and C. Schoeller. D. J. Leavengood is clerk.
The churches of Rosedale are the Methodist Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Baptist and Presbyterian. The secret societies are the Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen and Ancient Order of Foresters. The Methodist Episcopal Church edifice was erected in 1881, at a cost'of $2,000. The Roman Catholic is the oldest church organization in the city, having come into existence in 1876. It built a church edifice the following year, which, in Febru- ary, 1881, was consumed by fire. It had, however, previously com- pleted the frame church on Kansas City Avenue. In 1882 the colored Baptists built a church at a cost of $1,000.
The Kansas City Rolling Mills were established in Rosedale in 1875, and did a large amount of business for a few years, when they closed up and the business was discontinued.
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The Kansas City Journal, of January 1, 1890, in reviewing the business of Rosedale for the past year, says: "It has fine schools, plenty of churches, famous mineral waters, evenly blocked streets, perfect sewerage and street car accommodations in all directions. But Rosedale has by no means stood still during the past year, showing unusual activity in business and building. Among other matters that have been done is the building of the Eighth Street Bridge, which will give direct communication with Armourdale and Kansas City, Kas., over which street cars will run every few minutes, opening up the back country here, and causing all Shawneetown to pass through the city on their way to the court-house and other public buildings. Dur- ing the past year the city has equipped and organized a fine hook and ladder company-one of the most necessary things that this city has needed for years. Several miles of sidewalks have been built, and new streets opened in all directions. Street cars run all through to Kansas City, Mo., without changes, and the electric light system and water-works system will be in operation before the year closes. Among the buildings erected during the past year are Bell & Rose's fine brick, which cost $10,000; Dr. Bell's fine stable and improvements, $3,000; Kemp's hall, $2,500; the MeGeorge block, the finest in the city, of solid cut stone, three stories, elegantly finished, costing some $7,000; the post-office building, erected by W. C. Copley, the postmaster, a very neat structure, devoted entirely to post-office matters, and an ornament to the city and convenience to the public; new colored school; neat store of George Rose; the Park Hotel, a very neat build- ing; W. H. Mann's new hardware store, and a number of other smaller dwellings, etc."
The thriving young city of Argentine is situated on the south bank of the Kansas River, three miles from it mouth. The location of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe transfer depot here was rendered neces- sary in order to find room for their side tracks, round-house, coal chute and sheds. This location on the south bank of the river is pleasant, convenient, dry and roomy. A town sprung up here at once, and, as the different business interests have continued to select this as a loca- tion for manufacturing, the town has grown accordingly. The town site proper is a subdivision of Sections 20 and 29, Township 11, Range 25 east. It was platted in November, 1880, and originally contained sixty acres. James M. Coburn was proprietor of the first town site.
The Kansas Town Company, of Wyandotte County, was organized under its charter of date of April 9, 1881, capital, $100,000; incor-
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porators, William B. Strong, George O. Manchester, Joab Mulvane, E. Wilder, J. R. Mulvane, the same being directors for the first year. The officers elected were Joab Mulvane, president and manager, and E. Wilder, secretary and treasurer. There were purchased for this company some 415 acres of land in Sections 20, 21, 28, 29, Township 11, Range 25 east, in Wyandotte County, Kas., and after turning over to the Kan- sas City, Topeka & Western Railroad what was desired for railroad purposes, the remainder, some 360 acres, was platted and put upon the market as Mulvane's Addition to the town of Argentine.
In 1882 Judge Dexter, having become satisfied that this young city had a sufficient number of inhabitants to entitle it to a city gov- ernment, ordered an election to be held on the first Tuesday in August, 1882. The following are the names of the officers then elected: Mayor, G. W. Gully; councilmen, John Steffins, A. Borgstede, W. C. Blue, Patrick O'Brien and George Simmons; police judge, A. J. Dol- ley; marshal, Charles Duvall; city clerk, J. H. Halderman. Since that year the mayors of the city have been as follows: David G. Bliss, 1883; John A. Healy, 1884; G. W. Gulley, 1885; T. J. Enright, 1886- 87; G. W. Gulley, 1888; Steven March, 1889. The city was incor- porated as a city of the second class in October, 1889, and the follow- ing are its present officers: William McGeorge, mayor; C. T. Wortman, police judge; C. E. Bowman, treasurer; John C. Long, city clerk; E. Z. McCulloch, president council; S. March, chief of police.
In October, 1881, District No. 40 was made a separate district, to include the city of Argentine, and the following school board was elected: A. T. Smith, president; John Steffins, treasurer; William Erwin, secretary.
During the winter of 1881-82, a very successful school was taught. The colored children attended a separate school taught by a colored lady. The necessity of a public school building now becom- ing apparent, on August 28, 1882, an election was held to vote bonds to the amount of $7,000, for the purpose of building a school-house. The bonds were carried and the building was erected.
The Consolidated Kansas City Smelting Company, with head- quarters at this city and smelting works at Argentine, El Paso and Leadville, is the largest smelting and refining company in the world. The company's smelting works have a capacity of 23,000 tons of ore per month, or 276,000 tons per annum. The total refining capacity reaches the enormons amount of 50,000 tons of lead and 20,000,000 ounces of silver per year. The output of the works at the present
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time amounts to nearly one-fifth of the total lead and silver products of the United States. The company employs at its Argentine works an average of 400 men the year round. Eighteen acres of land at Argentine are occupied by the company's plant. The Argentine works comprise what is undoubtedly the most complete metallurgical estab- lishment on the continent. The central location at Argentine enables the company to reach all ore markets of the West, both north and south. The supplies are drawn from Idaho, Montana, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, and the mining districts of old Mexico. To reach these markets and supply itself with the ores necessary for the different smelting works, the company employs a large number of agents and ore buyers, who are located at mining camps and ore markets. These agents are men who have, by college education or thorough practical experience, fitted themselves for their important duties. The marketing of the vast product is done at the general office in Kansas City and the three branch offices in St. Louis, Chicago and New York.
The management of the affairs of the company is conducted by an efficient corps of smelting and financial men, who are also public spir- ited gentlemen. At Argentine and the other smelting works, the company has erected a number of cottages, which are rented to mar- ried employes at a very low rate. A free reading room is also main- tained at Argentine, where the current numbers of magazines, mining papers and also a full supply of writing material are kept on hand for the use of employes. Mr. A. R. Meyer, president of the company, is also president of the Provident Association, and is prominently con- nected with the public enterprises of the city. The company was or- ganized nine years ago and is recognized as one of the most successful business enterprises in the United States.
The Santa Fe Railroad has its yards and round-houses, telegraph and freight offices situated here, and employs, it is estimated, some 200 men. The city's radiator works, the only exclusive one in the United States, are situated also at this point. The improvements done in this town within the past year are estimated at some $750,000. Argentine in 1888 had 3,264 inhabitants, in 1889, 4,235, and at the present time some 6,500. It keeps on steadily increasing and shortly will take a leading place among metropolitan cities.
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