COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND COUNTY-SEAT TROUBLES.
In 1855, the Territorial Legislature, the same that enacted the laws which
have passed into history as the "Bogus Statutes," divided that portion of what
is now known as the State of Kansas, commencing at the north line of the State
at the northwest corner of Marshall County, and running south to the northwest
corner of Davis County, thence west to the northwest corner of Saline County,
thence south to what was then the north line of the Osage Reservation, which
was fifty-four miles north of the south line of the State, and all east of
said north and south line, into counties. The territory thus described
embraced what is now known as Wabaunsee County. As originally established,
"Richardson" was the name given to the county, in honor of Governor Richardson
of Illinois; but subsequently, in 1859, the name was changed to Wabaunsee.
The county was made one municipal township and was attached to Shawnee County
for judicial and revenue purposes. In 1859, there being the necessary
population requisite to organize a county, a petition was signed by the
inhabitants and presented to the Governor of the Territory, praying that the
county be organized into a separate and distinct corporation for all purposes
corporate, revenue and judicial. The prayer was granted, and to perfect the
organization an election was held on the ___ day of March, 1859, for the
election of county officers. There were two voting precincts in the
county -- one at Alma, and one at the village of Wabaunsee. The whole number of
votes polled was 111, which resulted in the election of the following named
officers: County Commissioners -- Henry Harvey, J. M. Hubbard, G. Zwanziger;
Probate Judge -- J. M. Hubbard; Clerk of the Court -- J. M. Harvey; Sheriff --
John Hodgson; Registrar of Deeds -- Moses C. Welch; County Attorney -- R. G.
Terry; Coroner -- Auguste Brasche; Treasurer -- Henry Harvey; Surveyor -- G.
Zwanziger; Auditor -- S. F. Rose; Superintendent of Public Instruction -- J. E.
Platt.
After the organization of the county was completed, the commissioners divided
it into four townships, named respectively, Alma, Wabaunsee, Mission Creek and
Wilmington. Alma embraced the territory now comprised in the townships of
Alma, Washington, Farmer and Mill Creek. Wabaunsee embraced the present
township of that name, and what was afterwards Zerandale township, but which
was subsequently, by act of the Territorial Legislature, set off and annexed
to Riley County. Mission Creek Township embraced its present territory, and
Wilmington was composed of what is now Wilmington and Rock Creek Townships.
The territory that now constitutes the townships of Kaw, Newbury, and Maple
Hill then formed a portion of the Pottawatomie reserve lands, and was not open
to white settlement. In 1869, the Pottawatomie reserve lands were opened to
settlement, and in 1870, all the territory embraced therein which was located
in Wabaunsee County was made into a township, to which was given the name of
Newbury. In September, 1872, a new township was created and named Maple Hill,
the eastern portion of Newbury Township being set off for this purpose.
Again, in July, 1875, Newbury underwent another division, by which what is now
known as Kaw Township was taken from its northern territory, thereby bringing
Newbury Township to its present limits. In September, 1873, the townships of
Washington and Farmer were created from territory originally included in Alma
Township; and still earlier by one year, in October, 1872, Alma was reduced in
size by taking from it the territory necessary to create Mill Creek Township.
In October, 1872, Rock Creek Township was formed, the territory necessary
therefor having been taken from the west half of Wilmington Township. By these
geographical divisions that took place from time to time as the population
increased, the county has been divided into eleven townships, which, though not
altogether equal in extent of area, are very fairly proportioned.
Following is the list of the present county officers: Commissioners -- F. L.
Raymond, B. H. Younker, George Mogge; Probate Judge -- John T. Keagy; County
Attorney -- G. G. Cornell; Clerk of District Court -- H. G. Licht; County
Clerk -- D. M. Gardner; Treasurer -- Charles Ross; Register of Deeds -- S. H.
Fairfield; Sheriff -- H. J. Pippert; Superintendent of Public
Instruction -- Matt Thomson; Coroner -- E. W. Eldridge; Surveyor -- W. T. Mahan.
As in many other counties, the county-seat question has been a bone of
contention in Wabaunsee County. In 1859, when the county was first organized,
the seat of justice was established at Wabaunsee, this being the only place in
the county at that time bearing any resemblance to a village, and for the
further reason that Wabaunsee Township was then by far the most thickly
populated township in the county. Its location, however, was far from being
central, Wabaunsee being situated in the northwest corner of the county.
Owing to this fact, and from the belief that, when the county became more
thickly settled, efforts would be made to change it to a more central
location, no permanent county buildings were provided for the occasion.
Subsequent events were to prove that the belief as to change of location was
well founded, for a few years after the question of changing the county seat
began to be agitated, and in 1866 the matter was submitted to the people by
the commissioners. The contest was between Wabaunsee and Alma, and the
election took place on the 22nd day of November, 1866. The fight was hotly
contested on both sides, but when the ballots were counted, Alma came off the
victor by 28 votes out of a total of 258. This was a hard blow to Wabaunsee,
but the fiat of the people had gone forth, and towards the latter end of
December, of the same year, all the records of the county, with the county
officers, were loaded on two wagons and conveyed to Alma, where a small frame
building, about fourteen feet square, had been built to receive them. At that
time not as much as a single dwelling house had been erected on the town site
of Alma. The following spring, the frame building now occupied by Fred Crafts
as a drug store was erected for county purposes, which, when completed, was
taken possession of by the county officers, and into which the records were
moved. Alma now had the county seat, but still she was not happy. The fear
of losing it, which had so haunted the people of Wabaunsee, soon began to take
possession of the Almaites, and the questions that bothered them were: How
long will it remain? Can we hold it? The uncertainty that hung about the
permanent location of the county-seat, which was rendered more uncertain by
the fact that up to this time there was no railroad in the county, and no
prospect of one in the near future, retarded greatly the growth of Alma. In
1870, the question of another change was agitated, and again the matter was
submitted to the people, the contesting points being Alma, Newbury and
Eskridge. The election was held on the 7th of February, 1871, at which 842
votes were cast, of which Alma received 369, Newbury 217, and Eskridge, 256.
There being no choice, another election was ordered to be held on the 21st of
February, 1871. Now was the trying time for Alma, because at the preceding
election an understanding was had between Newbury and Eskridge that, in case
there should be no choice, whichever of these two places received the smallest
vote should drop out of the contest and join forces with the other.
Excitement ran high, and people were appealed to by all manner of argument.
Speeches were made and committees were sent out to visit every voter in the
county, and sound him upon the question, and if found doubtful, "fix" him if
possible. Placards and handbills setting forth in glowing colors the
advantages of one place over the other were posted up on every school-house
and at every crossroads. Circulars were scattered broadcast over the county
setting forth that one place was destined to become a great manufacturing, and
the sic a great commercial, emporium. All that could be said or done,
either for or against the other respective localities, was faithfully
performed. In one of these circulars this sentence appeared: "Alma is
pledged to give the county a safe, well-built and handsome stone building,
worth from six to ten thousand dollars," and compares this with the offer of
Eskridge "to give the county the use, for a stated time, of a wooden building."
WAR RECORD.
At the breaking out of the war for the Union, the population of Wabaunsee
County, all told, was about 1,050, the voting population numbering about 250.
The settlers being nearly all from the Eastern States, and, chiefly, from New
England, renders it almost unnecessary to write anything on the position of
Wabaunsee in the struggle for freedom. The historian, however, in gathering
material for history, much write for the future as well as for the present,
and must not omit to write of things, merely because the subject matter upon
which he writes is well known to people who are contemporaneous with himself.
The manner in which Wabaunsee County responded to the call of the nation for
men, to put down the Rebellion, constitutes one of the brightest pages in its
history, and deserves to be recorded in indelible letters, so that if the
occasion ever arises, when like services may be required, the noble example of
her sons may be followed by those who come after them. There were probably
not over two hundred men in the county, subject to military duty, at the
commencement of the War of the Rebellion. Of this number, the following enlisted
in the Union Army and went into active service in the infantry regiments:
Second Infantry. Company B. -- E. C. D. Lines, A. M. Reed, A. Hankimmer,
H. L. Isbell, M. C. Welch, I. C. Isbell.
Eighth Infantry. Company E. -- Capt. John Greelish, Wm. Richardson, R. M.
Kendall, Wm. Blankenslip, Ephraim Smith, J. P. Kendall, J. B. Bancks, G. W.
Barnes, L. P. Cawkins, Charles Cooney, J. H. Dunmire, Henry Harvey, T. O.
Hill, T. Ingersoll, L. D. Johnson, Henry Naegilli, Josiah Richards, Daniel
Spear, John Wells, S. Bickford, Charles Burns, J. H. Cummings, Henry Grimm, A.
W. Harris, Z. Johnson, J. W. Johnston, Henry Lutz, Amos Reese, A. J. Smith, S.
J. Spear, John Saylor, F. M. Weaver.
The following enlisted in the cavalry service: Second Cavalry. Company A. --
W. C. Studibaker; Company B -- James Dickson; Company F -- Charles Ross, W.
B. Doty, G. W. Eddy, G. F. Hartwell, A. S. Waters, S. B. Easter, Eli Watson;
Company K -- C. E. Bisby, Columbus Foster, A. H. Kelsey. Fifth Cavalry.
Company A -- Hamilton David; Company L -- B. C. Benedict. Sixth Cavalry.
Company F -- Joseph Weisse, E. W. Wetzold. Eight Cavalry. Company E.
Haynie Thompson. Eleventh Cavalry. Company E -- Benj. Cripps, Ira Hodgson,
A. D. McCoy, Geo. Hodgson, I. H. Isbell, G. H. Hill, A. H. Brown, J. N.
Smith, George Ross, Riley Frizzie, Albert Kees, Wm. Mahan, W. F. Isbell, W. H.
Lapham, L. J. Mossman, Samuel Sage, C. G. Town, Samuel Woods; Company G -- J.
F. Chapman, T. S. St John, J. V. B. Thomson; Company K -- Capt. J. M. Allen,
Lieut. J. M. Hubbard, J. H. Pinkerton, J. B. Allen, Moritz Krauz, D.
Schwanke, P. C. Pinkerton, W. A. Limbocker, Henry Grimm, S. H. Fairfield,
Albert Dieball, G. D. Ensign, Isaac Fenn, Edward Hoffman, Jacob Isler, Hiram
Keyes, A. T. McCormick, John McNair, Sebast. Nehring, G. Siegrist, R. M.
Widney, Wm. Wiley, R. P. Blain, R. J. Earl; Company L -- Lieut. J. Van
Antwerp, J. T. Green, G. B. Cotton, E. A. Kelsey, Wm. Smith, John Smith;
Company M -- John N. Doty.
For 112 men to enlist and voluntarily go to the war out of a total of 200
subject to military duty is an example of patriotism, fully equal to the
Spartan age, and which places Wabaunsee County high up on the roll of honor in
the terrible four years' conflict for liberty.
STATISTICS OF GROWTH.
The growth of the county in population has not been rapid, nor is this to be
wondered at, when it is borne in mind that less than one half of the county
is adapted to farming purposes, and not even this much, except in unusually
rainy seasons, and that it is only a little more than a decade since one-fourth
of the county has been open to settlement. Added to these is the other fact
that, until the latter part of 1881, the county was without any railroad
facilities whatever, and the one that traverses it now, being only a branch of
the A. T. & S. Fe, running north and south from manhattan on the north, to
Burlingame on the south, a distance of fifty-five miles, offers none of those
advantages that tend to encourage immigration. Considering these circumstances,
its growth has increased about as rapidly as could reasonably be expected. The
following table will show its increase during the last twenty year:(sic)
Year Population Increase
1860 1,023 ----
1870 3,362 2,339
1875 4,649 1,287
1878 5,386 737
1880 8,757 3,371
-----
-------
Total increase in twenty years 7,734
The material growth of the county has more than kept pace with the growth in
population, as will be seen from the following figures:
The acreage of field crops in 1872 was...........32,401
" " " " " " 1881 " ...........83,973
________
Increase in nine years...........51,572
Value of field products in 1877....$391,562.92
" " " " " 1878.... 390,522.65
" " " " " 1881.... 717,130.25
It will be observed by these figures that the value of the crop for 1881 is
almost as much as that of 1877-78 combined, while if we compare the acreage,
we find that in 1877 it was 46,147.25, and in 1878 it was 52,430.00, making a
total for the two years of 98,577.25, or 14,604.25 more than the acreage for
1881, while the value of the product of the latter is nearly equal to that of
the other two years, the difference in value representing only about $4.40 per
acre of the aggregated acreage of the two years over that of 1881. This is a
accounted for by the fact that 1877 was a tolerably good year for crops, while
the crop of 1878 was exceedingly short; but on the other hand the crop of 1881
was considered very far from an average. If we look at a cause for this great
difference, we will find it in the market price for these products for the
various years, so that the material growth of the county cannot be measured by
the value of its property, but by the improvements made upon realty and the
increased accumulations of stock and other personal property. When we come to
compare the increase in farm animals, then we begin to see evidences of
material prosperity. In 1874, the value of farm animals was $20,019.00,
whereas in 1881 it was $149,880.00, an increase in seven years of $89,861.00
(sic) In 1874 the products of livestock were valued at $142,108.47, in
1881 at $283,405.10, an increase of $141,296.73 (sic) In 1874, the
value of horticultural products was $5,416.18, in 1881 it was $17,611.36, an
increase of $12,148.18. The total valuation of products of 1881 in Wabaunsee
County was $1,171,064.71, being an increase from 1874 of $759,361.48. The
total assessed value of property, March 1, 1881, was $2,109,705.86, and the
real valuation was $3,516,176.45, and the total value of all property was
$4,687,241,16. The value per capita of products of was $149.89, and that of
all assessed property was $438.04, while the per capita value of products and
assessed property combined was $583.93. During the year ending March 1, 1881,
there were erected in the county 104 farm dwellings, which were valued at
$29,391. The number of acres sowed to wheat in 1881 was 14,862; rye, 861;
spring wheat, 1,077; corn, 40,851; oats, 2,082; buckwheat, 50; Irish potatoes,
951; sweet potatoes, 58; sorghum, 202; castor beans, 18; flax, 785; hemp, 2;
tobacco, 10; broom corn, 26; rice corn, 309; pearl millet, 62; millet and
hungarian, 2,951; timothy, 59; prairie pasture, 7,895; clover, 90; prairie
meadow grass, 10,681; making a grand total of 83,973 acres cultivated in 1881,
irrespective of gardens. in 1881 there were in the county 335,784 rods of
fence, or 1,083 miles. Of this 13,859 roods sic were of boards; 48,663
rods were rail; 72,317 rods were stone; 53,122 rods were hedge; 147,824 rods
were wire, and the aggregate value of the whole was $346,618.55. As to
quantity, stone occupies the second place, from which may be inferred the
stony character of the soil, and it is no unusual thing to see stretches of
stone fence extending for miles in length. If the position of Wabaunsee County
is taken as to the rank it occupies, when compared with other counties of the
State, relative to acreage of wheat, corn, and cultivated area in 1881, and
also as to the number of farm animals, a better understanding may be had, not
only of its material growth, but also as to the nature and character of the
land, and those industries to which the county is best adapted. The rank of
the county in the acreage of wheat was 48; in corn, 54; in cultivated area,
56; in horses, 33; in mules and asses, 56; in milch cows, 7; in other cattle,
18; in sheep, 41; and in swine, 50. These figures show at a glance, that the
peculiar characteristics of the county are its extensive pastures and
nutritious grasses. By the return of the assessors of the various townships
furnished to the County Clerk, but not yet published, and which furnish the
latest statistics as to the condition of the county, bringing them up to March
1, 1882, we find the number of acres to be enclosed in farms to be 200,855,
and the number of acres under cultivation to be 89,000, which is an increase
of 5,027 acres over the previous year. We also find that the number of acres
sown to wheat was 13,841; to rye, 1,685; to corn, 38,361; to oats, 4,656;
to Irish potatoes, 735; to sweet potatoes, 23; to sorghum, 225; to flax,
674; to millet and Hungarian, 3,060; to timothy, 49; to clover, 70; and the
prairie grass under fence, 25,547. The tons of tame hay cut during the same
year were 1,585; prairie hay, 44,542. The value of garden products marketed
was $3,646; the value of poultry and eggs sold during the year was $9,769; the
pounds of cheese manufactured in the factories and families was 236,458. The
number of horses in the county, according to the same returns, was 5,535;
mules and asses, 361; milch cows, 8,808; other cattle, 18,009; sheep, 5,937;
and swine, 9,078. The value of animals slaughtered and sold for slaughter was
$248,018, and the amount of wool clipped was 17,516 pounds. The number of
apple trees in bearing was 22,981, and the number not in bearing, 60,825;
number of pear trees in bearing, 848, and not in bearing 1,551; peach trees
in bearing, 50,747; not in bearing, 32,282; plum trees in bearing, 853, not
in bearing 958; cherry trees in bearing, 7,607, and not in bearing, 8,519.
When all the circumstances connected with the history of the county are
considered, it cannot but be admitted that the material prosperity of the county
has been all, and more than all, than could have been reasonably expected.
Wabaunsee will never be a very populous county, for the reason that fully
seventy-five percent of the soil is much better adapted to stock-raising
purposes than to agriculture. The higher uplands of the county being unfit
for farming, settlers will not locate thereon, consequently, settlement will
be limited to the bottom lands along the streams, the lower level lands, and
the towns. On some slopes, good wheat can be raised in ordinary seasons, but
unless there is an abundance of rain, corn cannot be planted and cultivated
with any hope of securing a crop, and this will have a tendency to limit
settlers to the localities above mentioned. Manufacturing can never be
carried on to any extent in the county, if at all, because its water
privileges are not of a character to warrant their establishment, and the
scarcity of timber and absence of coal would render steam power too expensive,
and in addition to these there is no natural material to manufacture. The
natural adaptability of the county is for stock-raising; agriculture,
horticulture, and arboriculture might be pursued advantageously and
profitably. Trees of all kinds grow very rapidly, and, if properly cared for,
Wabaunsee County might be made a forest. For the purposes to which nature has
adapted it, agriculture and stock-raising, but few, if any surpass it, cattle
ranges, embracing miles in extent, and covered with rich, nutritious grasses,
abound in the county, capable of supporting as many herds as can conveniently
find room to roam over them. Besides this there is an abundance of pure,
clean water, so that stock-raising can be carried on with very little trouble,
and at comparatively small expense. It presents a grand field for dairying
and cheese-making, and with better facilities for reaching the leading
markets, there is no reason why these industries should not be extensively
pursued. The future may, and doubtless will, open up various branches of
industry, of an agricultural nature, which present circumstances will not
admit of, but though the people of the county may be rich in flocks and herds,
and their granaries be filled to repletion with the choicest products of the
soil, and though that contentment which is the offspring of smiling plenty may
surround every hearthstone, yet nature has so formed Wabaunsee that it will
never become a thickly populated county.
Up to 1880, there was not a foot of railway within the borders of the county.
Completely hemmed in by railroads, but yet without the benefit of any, was the
condition of Wabaunsee County until 1880. During this year the A. T. & S. Fe
Railway company built a branch road from manhattan on the K. P. R. R., to a
point on its main line named Burlingame, a distance of fifty-five miles. This
branch runs through the county from the northwest to the southeast, and for
this poor privilege the people of the county voted the company $140,000.
Indications, however, point to the early completion of an east and west line
running westward from Leavenworth, through Topeka, and along the Mill Creek
Valley, through Wabaunsee County. The line has been surveyed, the contract
for its construction let, and the road is already almost completed to the east
line of the county. This line once running, through the county, Wabaunsee
will be supplied with ample railway facilities, which will be the opening to
the people of a new era of progress and prosperity.
SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES OF THE COUNTY.
SCHOOLS.
The educational interests of the county receive great and close attention, and
the people pay cheerfully, all the taxes imposed upon them for their support.
The growth in schools has advanced more rapidly than any other interest in the
county. Prior to 1859, the year in which the county was organized, there were
but four schoolhouses in the county, all of which were built by private
subscription. In considering the growth of the schools, it must be borne in
mind that up to 1868, one fourth of the county was without white settlement,
except by a few men who had intermarried with the Indians. There are now
(1882) sixty-three schoolhouses in the county, located among the different
townships as follows: Kaw Township, four schoolhouses, all frame; Wabaunsee,
six, of which five are of stone, and one frame; Maple Hill, five, of which
four are frame and one stone; Newbury, eight, of which one is log, six frame,
and one stone; Alma, one stone; Washington, five, four stone and one frame;
Farmer, four, three stone and one frame; Mill Creek, four, three stone and
one frame; Mission Creek, seven, four frame and three stone; Wilmington,
thirteen, seven stone and six frame; Rock Creek, six, four frame and two
stone. The total number of school children enrolled in the county in 1881,
was 2,306, of whom 1,238 were males, and 1,098 were females. The average
daily attendance during the same year was: males, 591, females, 529; making a
total of 1,120. This is not a fair criterion, however, of the number of
pupils that attended school during the year, as in the winter season, the
attendance was about three times as large as during the summer months. The
number of children in the county between the ages of five and twenty-one
years, in 1881, was 3,3211, of which number, the males were 1,707, and the
females 1,504. The average wages paid teachers for the same year was: males,
$33.20 per month, and females, $27.34. If these rates of wages are compared
with those in 1860, it will be found that they have nearly doubled. The
average wages paid in 1860 was $16 per month, whereas in 1881, the average
paid male teachers was $33.20, and females, $27.34, which shows, certainly, a
very liberal advance. The schools are well supplied with desks, blackboards,
maps, charts, globes, and other apparatus, and the grounds of many of them are
beautifully ornamented with shade and other varieties of trees. The present
superintendent of schools is Mr. Matt Thomson.
CHURCHES.
Congregational. -- Organizations, 3; membership, 290; church edifices,
3; one at Alma, one at Wabaunsee and one at Maple Hill. Pastors -- Alma, Rev.
John Scott; Wabaunsee, Rev. H. Gear; Maple Hill, Rev. William S, Crouch.
Baptist. -- Organizations, 2; membership, 140. No resident pastor, and
no church building.
Lutheran (German). -- Organizations, 2; membership, 220; church
edifices, 2; one at Alma, and one at Wells Creek. Pastors -- Alma, Rev. H. C.
Senne; Wells Creek, Rev. William Lang.
Evangelical (German). -- Organizations, 2; membership, 125; church
edifices, 2; one Alma and one at Wells Creek. Pastor for both churches, Rev.
Mr. Welky.
Christian. -- Organizations, 3; membership, 175.
Methodist
Episcopal. -- Organizations, 11; membership, 340; church edifices, 3; one
at Alma, one at Eskridge, and one in Newbury Township. Pastors -- Alma, Rev.
Josephus Collins; Eskridge, Rev. W. E. Glenndenning.
Presbyterian. -- Organizations, 1; membership, 22.
Society of
Friends. -- Organizations, 1; membership, nearly 100; church edifices, one
in Wilmington Township.
Roman Catholic. -- Organizations, 2; membership, 450; which includes the
entire catholic population; church edifices, 2; one at Alma and one at
Newbury. Rev. Father Hundhausen, who resides at Alma, officiates as pastor
for both churches.
Nearly every church organization in the county conducts a Sabbath-school in
connection therewith, and to these and to church matters generally the people
give a good deal of attention. The first Church built in the county was the
Congregational at Wabaunsee, by the members of the "Beecher Rifle Company" in
1856, by money furnished by parties in Connecticut; and the first minister
who held services within its walls, was Rev. Harvey Jones, who remained its
pastor for several years. It was a frame building, but in 1862 the frame was
moved away and a very fine stone edifice was erected where it stood. The
first preacher that occupied the pulpit of the Congregational Church in Alma
was Rev. Harvey Jones, although before the building was erected, services had
occasionally been held by Rev. Darius Scott, who was the first minister that
ever preached in the city of Alma.
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