The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1869-05-28
SITUATION.

interesting description OF the Town Of
Emporia, taken from ii. z. Norton's
Real Estate Bulletin:
SITUATION.
| EmpOria, the county seat of Lyon
county, Kansas, is situated between the
! NeOshO and Cottonwood rivers. 1t is
built upon a beautiful swell of land,
rising boldly in abrupt bluffs from the
Neosho bottoms on the north, and gen.
tly slOping from its northern line to-
ward the Cottonwood. This Situations
gives the town every advantage of site;
gently undulating, having a southern
exposure, sheltered from the winds, its
drainage perfect, its atmosphere emf
nently healthy, it would be hard to find
IA more perfect town site in the State.
Emporia is the center of the finest
! agricultural district in the West. To
the west, southeast and north, open the
broad valleys of the NeoshO and Cot
tonwOod, the bottoms being from two
to four miles in width, with a black,
rich, alluvial soil of from five to forty
feet in depth. There are also numer-
Gus smaller streams, whose valleys con-
verge to the same point. 1t will be seen
that this soil Is almost unprecedented
Ill depth and quality, and it is unsur-
passed in its adaptation to the growth
of grass and grain.
The NeoShO and Cottonwood valleys
give the largest wheat crops i'm Kansas,
which is the best wheat growing State
In America. The surrounding count V
is also particularly fitted to produce
grapes, peaches, apples and other fine
fruits. of which large crops are already
being raised. EmpOria is also fortu-
nate in being situated near abundance
of timber. The rivers and creeks ncn-
toned above are everywhere skirted
with timber, and lumber and fuel are
abundant and cheap.
STREETS AND BUILDINGS.
Emporia is one mile square, laid out
in streets of so to 100 feet in width,
crossing each other at right angles.
Commercial street, the principal bust
ness thOrOughiare, is in the center of
the town, extending from north to
south, and lined with substantial bust
ness houses, many of them stone and
brick buildings, of two and three sto-
ries in hight. On a beautiful elevation
at the north end of the street stands the
State Normal School, with its grounds
tastefully fenced and planted with trees.
The building cost some $4,000, and the
school is admitted to be one of the best
of its class. The attendance for 1868
was l55 pupils; that for 1869 will foot
up much larger.
From the Normal School, broad plank
sidewalks extend to near the south end
of the street. where stands the court
house, a massive building of stone, cost
ing about $4,000. The banking house
of j. X. Swallow & Co. is unsurpassed
for elegance and solidity by any other
i'll Kansas. The same NAV be said of
Bates u Perley's drug store, whose
stock of goods is immense, including
probably the finest collection of paint
ings, chromos and statuary to be found
west of st. Louis. The National Ho-
Tel is stone building about thirty by
fifty feet, having two stories and base
ment, costing about $4,000. Numer-
Gus other costly buildings are going up
this year. The aggregate valve of
buildings erected during 1868 was
about 100000. That for 1869 will
ent population of the town is about
1900, and is rapidly increasing.
RAILROADS.
The south branch of the Union Pa
| cific, commonly known as the Neosho
| Valley road, is under contract from
Junction City, OIL the line of the Kan
| sas river, to Humboldt, a hundred miles
to the southeast, at which point it will
intersect the Galveston road, and the
Sedalia branch of the Mis- Apuri Pacific
The iron is purchased for the first section,
|
survey has been completed to this point,
and the road will be positively finished
this season. EmpOria is also point on
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fee road,
under contract from Topeka to Burlin-
game, 30 miles to the northeast, to
which point the cars will be running
this year. 1t will probably be COM
pletcd to Emporia in 1870. Both the
above roads are endowed with immense
land grants, and will when completed
give direct communication with ST.
Louis, New Orleans, Galveston, Leay-
enworth, Santa Fe and Denver. En-
pOria is also un the line of the Kansas
City 4 Santa Fe road, under contract
to Ottawa, so miles northeast, and the
line will probably connect with Empo-
ria in 70 or Il.
WATER POWER AND MANUFACTURES.
The NeoshO and Cottonwood, each
flowing some three quarters of mile
from the town, furnish an immense
amount of water power, which is be-
ing rapidly utilized. SOden's mill,
three quarters of a mile from town, car
ries three run of mill stones, and is the
best in Southern Kansas. Hunts mill,
two miles above, is both saw mill and
grist mill. Two new Touring mills.
one on each of the rivers. will be put
in operation this season. There is also
large steam saw mill and Touring
, mill near the NeOsho, about one mile
from town, and four portable steam
saw mills in the timber adjacent. a
large wooden factory is to be erected or
the Cottonwood, adjacent to Soden''
mill, this season.
TRADE.
Emporia- has three hardware stores
whose aggregate sales were fully sew
enty-five thousand dollars in 1868