People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-01-10
Early Sumner County History.

early SumneT OOuhty iiislVry'
Charley Phillips, the genial assist
ant district clerk, was the first.
county treasurer Of Sumner aud one
Of the organizers of that county.
Charley is an old timer and if he de-
SireS could give many interesting
sketches Of early history.
10 1870, % years ago this month,
Phillips and four companions went
south 10 covered wagon and cam ed
on Slate Greek in Sumner county, or
where Sumner now is. Then there
was no county and mighty few people.
Some one took out a census report
and by counting in whites, Indians,
dogs and wolves discovered that there
were enough people there to organize
county.
James S. Harvey was governor and
an application for a charter was
made. On receipt Of the census re-
Dort he allowed the request. Phillips
and Others then started town they
called Meridian and began to boom IT.
jim Steel and Others from Wichita
brought into existence a place called
Sumner City on the old Chisholm
trail. This was all that they needed
in those days to get up a first class
county seat fight and at it they went,
Meridian was the largest place and
her citizens could out yell Sumner
City sGtbe governor gave them the
preference.
Then the new county needed Off
GERS so the governor turned out a full
set legal commissions and all.
Charley Phillip was made the trea;,
urer, but Charley says he didn't need
a fire proof, bu glar proof safe to take
care of the funds. In fact his COM
mission was about the only thing Of
value he had to handle and that was
not worth much more than the paper
it was written upon.
Some big capitalists wanted a big
slice in the pie and offered to put up
money for a share of the town site.
The organizers of Meridian, thinking
they had the world at their feet refuS-
ed and tce capitalists went on a mile
and proceeded to build Wellington.
Then there was more county seat
fighting, wellington won, and it is a
mighty old timer that even Temem-
hers that there ever was such a city
9s Meridian. Sumner CITY shared a
like fate. fhey are both places of
the dead past and now have not even
a place on the map.-Wichita Beacon.
Mr.. Phillips memory is at fault in
two or three instances. Sumner
county was organized by proclamation
of Governor Harvey on February I,
1871. Meridian was the largest
place" sounds queer to the old timers
who know that there never was even
The pretenSe of a building of any
kind, not eyena dug cut, on the town
site. After the county seat fight had
warmed up till it was white hot, and
the MeridianiteS secured a manda.
mus compelling the county commits
siOners to meet "at the county seat"
Meridian, the county fathers were
compelled to hold their sessions on
the bleak prairieS for the simple rea-
son that there were no buildings nor
shelter of any kind on the Meridian
town site. When Wellington became
the permanent county seat, Sumner
City was moved, bodily. to Yelling
ton; but there was nothing of Meri-
dian to move and never had been. 1t
was purely a "bo0m" county capital;
none of its projectors were ever resid-
entS of this county and not more
than one of the first set of officers
appointed with Mr., Phillips were
ever legal residents of the county and
Mr.. Phillips was not that One.-Mail.