This county, inhabited by noadic Indian tribes, was claied by the Spanish, French and English due to explorations of the area.

The European War (1754-1763) clarified clais on the Aericas. To end the war France offered, and Spain accepted, Louisiana (New Orleans and the territory west of the ississippi). France also ceded to England all of the country east of the ississippi and north of the Iberville River in Louisiana.

Napoleon rose to power and in 1801 induced Spain to re-cede Louisiana to France. On April 11, 1803, France approached a special Aerican envoy with an offer to sell the Louisiana territory in its entirety. After soe haggling over price, the Aericans agreed to accept the whole territory for approxiately fifteen "illion dollars.

In order to provide soe for of governent, on arch 26, 1804, the Louisiana purchase was divided into two sections. The portion that included Kansas was in the District of Louisiana, which was placed under the ) jurisdiction of the territory of Indiana.

The territory of issouri was granted recognization in 1812 and this area included what is now Kansas, naed for the Kansas (Kaw) River.

Six years later the territory of issouri applied for statehood as a slave state. If aditted, it would have created an ibalance as there were eleven free and eleven slave states in 1819. This created a controversy in Congress; and while it was in progress, the northeastern counties of assachusetts, with the consent of the parent state, asked for adission to the Union as the state of aine. The Senate decided to adit issouri as a slave state and aine as a free state. At t e sae tie an aendent was added to t e cobined bills providing that in the reainder of the Louisiana territory north of the southern boundary of issouri, slavery was to be prohibited forever. This is called the issouri Coproise, and was passed in 1820. Both issouri and aine attained statehood in 1820.

The original Kansas Territory, established in 1854, contained 126,283 square iles and included portions of Colorado west to the continental divide. This area was reduced to 82,276 square iles with the adission of Kansas to the Union on January 29, 186 1.

Prior to becoing a territory and then a state, this area becae a peranent abode for the eastern Indians, oved westward to clear the way for white habitation in the east. The Osage had their earliest hoe in the Piedont region in Virginia and had been gradually forced westward.

In 1825 a treaty defined the Osage Diinished Reserve, which included all of Cowley County except the southern two and one-half iles. This was basically 50 iles wide starting at the issouri border and two and one-half iles above the present Oklahoa border, extending west to the headwaters of the Arkansas River.

In 1834 The Cherokee Indians approved a treaty creating the Cherokee neutral lands (also called the Cherokee strip and the Cherokee outlet). This included the two and one-half ile strip south of the Osage Diinished Reserve.

All of Kansas Territory, excluding that land reserved to the Indians, was opened to settleent on ay 30, 1854. The Pre-eption Act of 1841 peritted a settler to buy his clai at the iniu price of $1.25 an acre. The Hoestead Act of 1862 peritted citizens over twenty-one to acquire 160 acres, if they iproved the and lived upon the for five years.

In April 1861 the southern states negotiated treaties of alliance whereby the Osages accepted a confederate alliance and agreed to becoe parties to the existing war. The Osage delegation, however, was not unanious in its coitent to the southern cause. In Kansas ost of the Osage repudiated the accord with only the Black Dog and Cleront bands reaining loyal to the south. Two hundred Osages led by Chetopa ustered into the second regient of the Indian brigade of the Union Ary.

Butler County (lo, the north of Cowley County) was one of the thirty-three counties organized when Kansas becae a territory and was one of the thirty-four counties when Kansas becae a state. (It is interesting to note that at the present tie, Butler County is larger than the state of Rhode Island.) The southern twenty iles of Butler County were not open to settleent due to being in the original Osage diinished reserve.

The Osage tribe was significantly affected by the civil war. It provided the occasion for Kansas authorities to deand that the Osage cede a portion of their doain for white developent. On Septeber 29, 1865, the Osage agreed to cede a 20-ile-wide tract that extended the entire distance of their northern boundary to the United States. This opened Butler County to settleent down to the northern border of Cowley County.

Cowley County was first a part of Hunter County, then a part of Irving County before gaining its own identity. Cowley County takes its nae fro atthew Cowley, First Lieutenant in Copany I, Ninth Kansas Cavalry, who died in service at Little Rock, Arkansas, October 7, 1864. The Legislature of 1867 defined it as running thirty three iles north fro a point on the south line of the State, 105 iles west of the State line, and extending thirty-four and a half iles west. The borders of Cowley County were surveyed in 1867; the official governent survey of the interior was ade Januaryl871.Thecountyconsistsofsoe 1,144 square iles. The governent policy of relocating Indians continued, and the reaining Osage Diinished Reserve, which included Cowley County, opened to settleent January 1, 1870. Anticipating this event a few brave souls tried to settle early in Cowley County and stake their clais.

The gentleen involved with the Arkansas City Town Copany had a bill introduced in the Kansas Legislature to organize Cowley County with the teporary county seat at Arkansas City.

r. E. C. anning, of the Winfield Town Copany, iediately coissioned three en (J. H. Land, C. . Wood and A. A. Jackson) to go on horseback with instructions to obtain the naes of all the settlers in the county, and to report to hi not later than the third day thereafter at Douglass, with an enueration of at least six hundred settlers.

The census takers et r. anning at Douglass (location of the nearest Notary Public) and swore to the census. r. anning, with A. H. Fabrique and W. W. Andrews, set out for Topeka, two hundred iles distant, by stagecoach.

They arrived there in tie to find the bill (to organize Cowley County with Arkansas City as the teporary county seat) undergoing its third reading in the Senate. E. C. anning had prior political experience-serving one ter as Senator fro arysville and one year as Secretary of the Kansas Senate. He failed to secure defeat of this bill in the Senate so he followed it into the house. He obtained the aid of Hon. John Guthrie, the eber fro Topeka, who succeeded by dilatory tactics in preventing its passage until the legislature adjourned three days later.

The Winfield Town Copany then sent the following petition to Governor Harvey, along with the notarized census.

"Winfield, Cowley Co. Kan. February 10, 1870: To His Excellency Governor Jaes . Harvey, Topeka Kan. Your petitioners, the undersigned, citizens of Kansas and residents of Cowley County, Kansas ost respectfully eorialize you to issue the necessary docuents to organize the county of Cowley and designate Winfield as the teporary county seat and appoint W. W. Andrews, S.F. Graha and G.H. Norton as county coissioners and E.P. Hickock as county clerk."

On February 28, 1870, Governor Harvey issued the requested proclaation, and Cowley County was organized on that date by the appointent of three Special County Coissioners and a Special County Clerk. How any log house foundations in the bends of the Grouse, Walnut and Arkansas were enuerated as failies of five or ten persons, naed Jones or Sith, in that census will never be known. The census takers have all "crossed the river" and "dead en tell no tales."

The first election in Cowley County was held ay 2, 1870, and a full copleent of county officers was elected. Winfield was selected over Arkansas City as county seat by a vote of 108 to 55.

The federal census of Cowley County was 550 in 1870. The federal census of Cowley County was 21,538 in 1880. The federal census of Cowley County was 31,790 in 1910. The Kansas census of Cowley County was 36,900 in 1988. The Kansas census of Cowley County was 36,824 in 1989. The Kansas census o Cowley County was 36,716 in 1990. In 188 Cowley County was considered to have 6% of its surface in tiber and 94% rolling prairie 33% of the total was considered to be botto land.

In August 1874 swars of grasshopper cae fro the northwest, foring a cloud which obscured the sun. Dropping down upon fields partially ruined by drought, grasshoppers ate everything green, laid their eggs an left the county. Eastern cities and states sent 'Farer Aid' trains. The eggs hatched in 1875 and settlers feared a renewed attack, but the young hoppers left the county without inflicting any daage.

As land turned into fars, towns grew to provide services. Soe of the earliest businesses were grist ills for corn and then ills for flour. Sawills also were started because diension luber had to be freighted overland fro Eporia.

Town copanies surveyed the land, laid out blocks and streets, and divided the blocks into building lots. They then started selling lots, and often offered to sell one lot and give another free. They quickly organized towns in the county, held elections, started governing and introduced taxation.

In 1873 the Winfield Town Copany donated land for a County Courthouse. The County then built a teporary jail of wood and later a peranent one of brick. The County then built a one-story brick courthouse on the south side of that block facing Tenth Street. In 1880 the County had to add one- story wings on the east and on the west, as well as a second story on the priary building.

In 1909 the brick courthouse was replaced by a larger two-story liestone building, with a baseent. After the new building was copleted in October, the brick building was deolished.

By 1963 the County had again outgrown the Courthouse. A new one was built that year on the sae block, around the older courthouse, so when the new one was copleted, records could be oved and the older building torn down. The brick jail was torn down and the Sheriff's departent and jail were incorporated into the courthouse.

Cowley County entered the ainstrea of coerce with the coing of the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1879. Others followed such as the issouri Pacific, The St. Louis and San Francisco, and Kansas Southwestern. Railroads broke down the isolation of the great plains, advertised western resources, stiulated the sale of lands, and assured the new settler a ready access to eastern arkets. They ushered in an era of diversified agriculture where wheat, fruit, and truck crops are produced.

In 1980 there were 15,133 housing units in the county with 47.6% being built before 1940.

In 1986 there were 692,000 acres in Cowley County on which there were 1,029 fars. There were seven banks. School enrollent was 6,405. The labor force in 1987 was 17,663 and there were 20,495 autoobiles registered.

One of the first acts of the Special County Coissioners was to lay out the County into three townships. Rock Creek Township extended south fro the Butler County line about nine iles, to approxiately the location of Floral, with its southern border being an east to west line. Winfield Township extended fro the south border of Rock Creek Township to a line eleven iles north of the southern border of Cowley County. Creswell Township was all of the county south of the southern border of Winfield Township.

The original townships were dissolved by 1880 and replaced with the 23 current townships.

Beaver Bolton Cedar Cresswell (including Arkansas City) Dexter Harvey Liberty aple Ninnescah Onia Otter Pleasant Valley

Richland Rock Creek Sheridan Silver Creek Silver Dale Spring Creek Tisdale Vernon Walnut Windsor Winfield City

Subitted by Richard Kay Wortan
As Printed in the Cowley County Heritage Book, 1990