A Century of Greenwood County, KS History

A Century of Greenwood County, KS History - Eureka Herald, 1968

1869, July

With this number we commence the second volume of the Herald. We have published as good a paper as we could under the circumstances. During last winter several persons remarked they could scarcely see how we got out a paper at all. Old fort Montgomery certainly was not the best place for an office and it was with difficulty that we kept up our regular issue. Several times our paper when "wet-down", froze. Other discomforts had to be endured which were not less annoying. fortunately we had a good supply of paper when winter set in. but we have a comfortable office now and shall not be interrupted by cold weather.

It is not easy to please everybody - we did not try. But we kept on good terms with ourselves, and consequently with people in general.

As in the past, so in the future, we shall continue to conduct the Herald in the local interests of our county. We shall be ready to aid and assist to the best of our ability in any enterprises no matter in what part of the county it may be located.

Preliminary steps were taken in January 1869 to organize a Masonic Lodge.

Phenis and Nichols offered a 320 acre farm, six miles northwest of Eureka, for $2500. It had 80 acres of good timber, 200 acres of choice first bottom and balance second bottom; two good hewed log houses, a good well, 15 acres fenced and under cultivation, feed lots, stabling, etc. It would make two good farms.

The following was written by John Harden, correspondent for Kansas Tribune: "Eureka contains one large hotel, the Eureka House, one drug store, one hardware store, two dry goods stores, one grocery stone and one newspaper, the Eureka Herald. The paper has a circulation of about 500 and appears to be flourishing. There is a large steam grist and saw mill about completed on the town site, and an excellent water power mill on the stream, 10 miles below. One farmer, H.G. Branson, came here a few years ago with $1000 and now owns a farm of 500 acres adjoining the town, has 140 head of native cattle after selling recently stock to the amount of $1000 and also has 150 head of sheep, and 23 horses and mules."

(February 26, 1869) Snow fell in Fort Montgomery, on Monday, to a depth of an inch. Outside, there was not so much, some flew away which was not the case in here. Of course, we had to stop work entirely. All we could do was to cover up the cases and let it snow, which we did - meanwhile meditating on that mild and genial climate where a man never needs but one blanket. We are glad to say that we have made arrangements for a better building, where the amount of our reading matter will not depend quite so much on the weather. We propose, in a few weeks, to take revenge on the Fort for all the discomforts we have endured in it, by pulling it down.

The Greenwood County Agricultural, Horticultural and Mechanical Society was organized in March, 1869.

There were 10 permanent settlers at Homer Creek. District 19 had been organized with a good log school house 18 feet square with four windows, a good shingle roof and a good stove. There were 18 scholars and the teacher received $35 per month for a six-month term.

MAIL MATTERS - mail routes have been established by Congress which will be of great importance to Kansas people. The following list embraces those in this portion of Kansas: from Pleasant Grove via Coyville and Verdi to the mouth of Fall River; Humboldt via Eureka to El Dorado; Eureka to Elk River; Eureka to El Dorado; Marion Center via Sycamore Springs and Eureka to New Albany. Those routes will give us just what we need - a route through the valley of each river and routes crossing the county in two directions.

(from Sheridan, Kansas 4=18-69) Our postoffice is about being reestablished, the name is changed to Quincy and will be kept at J.W. Carpenter's one half mile south of Sheridan.

(May 7, 1869) We have moved our office into the building recently occupied by A.F. Nichols, and are heartily glad to be out of old Fort Montgomery. We take this occasion to return our thanks to the people in town for their assistance in moving our office, some heavy lifting was done on the occasion. We are behind this week, owing to the late arrival of paper, the teamster who brought it being too heavily laden, left it at the Verdigris crossing, thus causing an additional delay of several days.

A new town, Greenwood City, was started in the eastern part of the county. A mill will soon be in operation and stores will be opened as soon as the necessary buildings can be erected. (May 14, 1869)

May 21 - We have pulled down old Fort Montgomery. A portion of the floor still remains in place, which we propose to take up some day when the rattlesnakes are not home. We hope the other two log houses in town will soon come down.

On Mr. Loveland's farm on the Verdigris are the remains of a house built in 1856 by Samuel McCaag, the first "improvement" in Greenwood County. It was destroyed by fire in 1867.

We had some trouble getting out the paper this week, owing to illness, we had no one to do press work, whereupon we drafted A.D. Miller into service and made a tolerably good pressman out of him in a short time. P.S. We don't want anybody to give our imp any more plums.

Someone down the river wadded his gun with a piece of an old Herald and killed five geese at one shot. Wish we could always make the Herald do as good execution.

(Sept. 10, 1869) We got out only half a sheet this week. Everyone connected with the office has been sick and unable to work.

STILL THEY COME - A steady stream of immigration passes through here on their way westward. Many of these immigrants, in fact most of them, are evidently thrifty people. Their wagons are neat, their teams are good and they have with them a good outfit to commence farming. Many of these are going on to the Osage Lands (the 19 cent lands) which they are glad to get at $1.25 per acre. Within an area three miles square on Otter Creek, nearly 3000 acres have been taken up within two months.

(Dec. 1869) Since we came here a year and a half ago, the population of our town has increased several hundred per cent. About one new house goes up each week. The population of the county is nearly 3500.

Title Page
1870

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