KANSAS COLLECTION BOOKS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ W.A. Johnson's "The History of Anderson County, Kansas, From its First Settlement to the Fourth of July, 1876", chapter 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE HISTORY OF ANDERSON COUNTY, KANSAS, FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1876, by William G. Cutler, published 1877. This work in progress is being transcribed and edited by Teresa Lindquist for KanColl (The Kansas Collection), in the Early Kansas Imprint Scanners (EKIS) workshop. A fully indexed, HTML version will be available at the KanColl website (http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/kancoll/books/) when it is finished. For more information about KanColl, please visit: http://history.cc.ukans.edu/carrie/kancoll/. For more information about EKIS, please visit: http://history.cc.ukans.edu/carrie/ekis/. For any other questions, please contact Teresa Lindquist (merope@radix.net). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XVIII. "The Garnett Plaindealer," the First Paper in the County--"Garnett Courant," Established in 1868--"Garnett Journal," Established I 1873-- Organization of Anderson County Fair Associa- tion--Organization of the Paola & Fall River Railway Company--Charitable Societies--Post- offices and Postmasters The "Garnett Plaindealer" was established by I.E. Olney in January, 1865. It was a seven-column weekly paper, and the first newspaper published in the county. It was edited and published by Mr. Olney until his death, in the fall of 1866, after which it was conducted by Mrs. Olney, and edited at short intervals by William Duncan, Geo. --------------------------- ANDERSON COUNTY. 189 W. Cooper and Adrian Reynolds, until the spring of 1870, when it was purchased by L.J. Perry, who sold the old press and material, and put in a new Washington hand press and a Liberty job press, with new type, etc. Mr. Perry subsequently sold out to John S. Wilson, who published it for about two years, and sold it to W.R. Spooner, who added new material, enlarged the paper to eight columns, and conducted it in an able manner until the latter part of September, 1874, when he sold to Kauffman & Iler, who have since owned the paper. The "Plaindealer," since 1869, has been Republican in politics, and has continually labored for the improvement of the county and to promote the best interests of its citizens. The "Garnett Courant" was established by W.H. Johnson in 1868. It was a seven-column weekly paper, and was published only a short time, when its proprietor removed to Council Grove, in Morris county, Kansas. "The Garnett Journal" was established in January, 1873, by G.W. Cooper. It is a weekly, seven-column paper, an advocate of no political principles. The Anderson County Fair Association was organized on the 15th day of November, 1873, as a joint stock company, with a capital stock of five thousand dollars. The following are the names of the charter members: Thomas Gowdy, J.E. --------------------------- 190 HISTORY OF White, John Moler, W.W. Kirkpatrick, J.S. Kirkpatrick and H.C. Reppert. The following named gentlemen constituted the first board of directors: J.Q. Bowdell, J.M. Jones, John Moler, G.W. Flint, R.T. Stokes, J.E. White, A.E. Rogers, C.S. Elder, R.H. Cunningham, W.A. Johnson, D. D. Judy, J.S. Kirkpatrick and M.E. Osborn. The association purchased forty acres of land one mile southwest of Garnett, and have commenced improving the grounds and erecting permanent buildings for the exhibition of all kinds of products, stock, &c. The association has held two fairs on the new fair grounds. The present officers of the association are J.E. White, president; W.W. Kirkpatrick, secretary; John R. Foster, treasurer; Thomas Gowdy, A.T. Cook, Edward Rayn, W.H. Conover, A.C. Messenger, Robert Mundell, G.W. Iler and I.P. Sutton, directors. The first fair held in the county was in 1863. On the 15th day of March, 1870, a meeting was held in Garnett, at which the Paola & Fall River railway company was organized, with the following gentlemen as directors: Wm. Crowell, H.S. Campbell, H.H. Williams and S.R. Smith, of Miami county; James Hanway, of Franklin county; W.H. McClure, William Spriggs, G.W. Iler, E.S. Niccolls and E.S. Hunt, of Anderson county; and N.S. Goss, of Woodson county. A certificate of incorporation was prepared and filed with the Secretary of State, incorporating the company. --------------------------- ANDERSON COUNTY. 191 This charter was signed by H.H. Williams, S.R. Smith, William Spriggs, E.S. Niccolls and G.W. Iler. The board of directors, on the 21st of March, 1870, qualified, and organized by electing William Spriggs, president; H.H. Williams, vice president; E.S. Niccolls, secretary, and G.W. Iler, treasurer. The directors opened a book immediately for the subscription of stock, and soon procured the necessary amount of stock to be subscribed to proceed with the business of the corporation. On the 14th day of September, 1871, a proposition was submitted to the voters of Anderson county, to aid in the construction of the road by issuing one hundred and sixty thousand dollars of county bonds. Six hundred and fifty-five votes were cast in favor of, and two hundred and eighty-three against, the proposition. The city of Garnett also voted fifteen thousand dollars of the bonds of the city to aid in construction of the road. Osawatomie township, in Miami county, voted twenty thousand dollars bonds, and Pottowatomie township, Franklin county, voted twenty thousand dollars to the enterprise. The company had the line of road surveyed and located from Paola too Garnett in the fall of 1870. On the 25th day of August, 1873, the executive committee of the company met at Garnett and entered into a contract with M.S. Hall, an old railroad contractor, to complete the road along its entire line. Hall commenced the grading and --------------------------- 192 HISTORY OF masonry work at Paola in the latter part of 1873, and had the principal part of the grading and masonry work done to Garnett by the first of December of that year; but failing to raise the necessary money to pay his hands, he had to suspend operations, after creating a debt of about fifty thousand dollars. The company then sought other contractors and in March, 1874, entered into a contract with C.H. Dillingham & Co., of N.Y., to complete the road. Dillingham & Co. put men on the work of construction, but about the first of June of that year failed financially, and suspended work. In October, 1874, the company contracted with Cutler & Davis to complete the grading and masonry from Garnett to Le Roy, which they completed on the 18th day of December, following, which finished the grading and masonry on the line from Paola to Le Roy, a distance of sixty miles. The road still remains in this unfinished condition. The company has labored earnestly for the completion of the road, but the panic in money matters in 1873, and the active opposition of some leading men along the line, who are believed to be in the interest of other and rival roads and towns, have prevented its success. SECRET ORDERS. Delphian Lodge, No. 44, A.F. & A.M., of Garnett, was instituted in 1864, under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of the State of Kansas, to --------------------------- ANDERSON COUNTY. 193 W.C. McDow, J.T. Lanter, C.T. Chapin, M.A.Page, J.W. Stewart, I.E. Halloway, E.W. Robertson and Benjamin Lawellin. The first officers of the lodge were: W.C. McDow, W.M.; M.A. Page, S.W.; E.W. Robertson, J.W. Zion Chapter, R.A.M., No. 24, was chartered in 1872, with the following members: W.H. Makeaney, J.T. Lanter, B. Pritchard, W.A. Gilham, J.T.B. Routh, E.L. Hawk, E.S. Niccolls, J. Falls, E.S. Doll. Officers: W.H. Makeaney, H.P.; J.T. Lanter, K.; B. Pritchard, S. Faith Chapter, No. 55, Eastern Star, was instituted May 25, 1876, with forty-three members. Officers: Mrs. Ally Osborn, W.M.; Benjamin Pritchard, W.P.; Mrs. Della Hubbard, Associate M.; E.S. Hunt, treasurer; G.A. Cook, secretary. Garnett Lodge, No. 16, I.O.O.F., was instituted December 27, 1865, with the following charter members: I.E. Olney, D.D. Judy, J.W. Steward, A.M. Mullin, P.T. Mathews and G.W. Iler. First officers: I.E. Olney, N.G.; C.P. Alvey, V.G.; G.W. Arrell, secretary; G.W. Cooper, treasurer. Wildey Encampment, No. 11, was organized in 1869, with a membership of 19, with the following officers: J.L. Kercheval, C.P.; G.W. Iler, H.P.; M.B. Taylor, S.W.; Jacob Schull, J.W.; E.S. Niccolls, Scribe; F.G. Bruns, treasurer. Rebekah Degree Lodge, No. 11, was instituted July 11, 1874, with sixteen charter members. Officers: M.A. Page, N.G.; Mrs. M.J. Kauffman, --------------------------- 194 HISTORY OF V.G.; C.E. Dewey, secretary; Mrs. E.G. McDonald, treasurer. POSTOFFICES AND POSTMASTERS. Greeley, D.W. Smith; Garnett, J.W. Rice; Central City, J.M. Aldridge; Ozark, Mrs. J. Hall; Mineral Point, T.L. Harford; Emerald, Terrance McGrath; Rich, B.F. Reibe; Colony, J.M. Ford; Welda, J.M. Kauble; Sugar Valley, J.T. Weeden; Cherry Mound, J.M. Hill; Elizabethtown, J.B. Rhodes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PREVIOUS CONTENTS INDEX NEXT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Image] [Image]