Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-22
DE SERTED Cite S
Towns Left to Go to Ruin--Havoc Wrought
by Wicked Railways
Why Some Places Have Been Deserted
When They Gave Promise of Be-
coming Flourishing Towns.

towns" said Geologist Robert T. Hill to
a writer for The Star. "The spectacle they
afforded was zone the less dismal because
they had been abandoned only recently.
Through southwest Kansas and eastern
Colorado are scattered hundreds of ten
antless sites of what were prosperous and
busy communities two or three years ago.
For example, 1 might mention Lake
City, Kan. On the latest maps, dated 1893,
It appears as a town of considerable size.
When got there. not many days ago, /
could find only one house; the rest of the
settlement had disappeared. L managed to
discover a squatter, to whom 1 addressed
an inquiry on the subject. Said 1:
what has become of Lake CityT
Moved he replied, simply.
ut was the same story / had heard be-
fore with relation to other settlements.
The town had not gone out of existence
1t had changed its location, that was all.
Its history merely repeated that of many
other communities - hundreds of them
might be named-which were moved liter
ally on wheels into the Cherokee Strip
when that fertile section was thrown open
by the government. At the present TIME
you will find prosperous towns in the strip,
lighted by electricity and furnished with all
modern improvements, which are compos-
ed largely of the very same houses that
made up the deserted villages i speak OF.
The whole phenomenon which L am at
tempting to describe represents tho total
failure Of an attempt at dry farming-a
trial of the possibilities of agriculture with
out water. Tho eastern half of Kansas is
fertile and sufficiently watered; the western
half. roughly speaking. Is arid and COM
paratiyely worthless. Capitalists in the
east of the United States found much profit
In lending money on farms in the fertile
portion OF Kansas. Later settlers. for want
OF better land to take up, secured farms In
the western part OF the state. They found
no difficulty In borrowing money on these
farms, which had no real value. Thus it
came about that the mortgaging of value
less acres In that arid region developed In
TO a business and was conducted on a large
scale by swindlers. In this way mary mill
lions of dollars have been taken out of the
pockets OF the money lenders, with whom
there 10 very little sympathy in the great
and growing west.
Ruined by Railroads.
SO. In the manner 1 have described,
millions Of acres were taken up by settlers,
mortsased, and finally deserted-all within
the space OF hve years. When a part of the
Indian territory was thrown open the
mortgage business was about played out
and there was a general exodus As for
deserted towns, you will find them all over
southwest Arkansas and northeast Texas.
Most OF them have been made what they
are by railways. 1t is usually the interest
or a railroad to avoid a town and pass
some miles away from ii. building up a
new town OF It's own and selling the land
at prohtable prices A notable example is
AFFORDED by Enid, Oklahoma. The Rock
Island road passed through Enid, which
was the lawrully-chosen county seat; but
u would not stop its trains there because
II had established a town of it's own three
miles away, which IL desired to build mn.
Exasperated by this attempt to ruin their
property interests. the people of Enid re-
sorted to desperate measures They COM
PEELED the trains to stop by force Of arms
and even threatened dynamite. Finally the
railway gave in and the town was saved
~ was night purely and simply for sur
"All over the southwest there has been a
continual struggle of this sort between the
old towns, which preceded the RAILWAYS
and the new railway towns. In nearly
every instance the old town has succumbed
i remember well when Comariche TEXAS
was nourishing community. An act of
legislature prescribed that three railways
shoulc pass directly through It, Every
body supposed that the place was going TO
be small metropolis. People Invested a
great deal OF money there But the rail-
ways entertained different IDEAS They de-
sired TO build up towns of their own, and by
a complicated hocus-poous they manaeed
things so that the intersecting roads formed
q triangle, OF which Comanche was the
center. The triangle was so large that CO.
manche was not within less than twenty
miles Of the nearest railroad. So the b,vn
was ruined and ever so many enterprisjno
people. who had given money and energy
70 the building up Of the country, lost ali
they had.
In An Parts of the Country.
"A conspicuous example Of q deserted
town Ia Boston, Tex, at one time the
most prosperous place In its region. 1t
was situated directly on the old Kings
highway. as 1t was called. which was the
main line Of travel by immigrants across
country. At present. as you may see by
a look at the map two railways pass with
In three miles Of Boston. but none goes
nearer. Another case In Texas is that of
the town Of Washington. 1t is noticeable
that the old towns are we'll and solidly
built as a rule, whereas the new ones con-
structed under railway auspices are apt to
be himsy and Of the 'pasteboard' pattern.
In the typical deserted village you are
likely to discover a single building stand
ing-the more or less ancient and always
solidly constructed courthouse.
You need not go to the west, however,
to seek for deserted towns. Such extinct
communities may be found throughout
Virginia. the Carolinas. Georgia and Louis
lana In New England you will come
were built on the hills by the early
settlers for the purpose Of avoiding ma
laria and other disadvantages of the
lOWlduuS Out tH6 railways came along
In later day and chose the more conven-
lent valley routes. building Up commune
ties In fresh locations on the low levels.
In years gone by many forts were erected
along what were then the frontiers Of
civilization. and around them towns grew
up. One by one these forts were abandon
ed for lack Of usefulness. depredations by
Indians having practically ceased. Then
the towns vanished. the people who occu-
pied them migrating to other parts, and
the final chapter In such histories Is the
despoilment of the fort by persons who
tear the property to pieces and carry away
the lumber. As examples in point, / might
mention old Fort Washita In Indian ter
yitory. and Forts Belknap. Davis and Grit
fin In Texas. In Kansas old Fort Dodge Is
five miles distant from the thriving Dodge
CITY of today. Scattered all over the
northwest you will find deserted settle
merits which once were associated with
forts.
TT Is desirable that the fact should be
recognized that all the tillable land in the
United States has been sold and is now
occupied. Only arid desert areas remain.
To administer the land Office for these I'M
productive areas Is losing business for
the government The best thing that can
be done Is to cede them TO the states"
A Useful Python.
From '"Three Years With Lobengula."
eel, tkrn, tcyH tch 20.