The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-03
BOOMING OAKLEY.
Commercial Club Sends Out In.
teresting Matter.
Shows Growth of the Town
From Days of "Sod House,"
GOOD HOMES GOING UP
The Burnt District of 1904
Being Rebuilt With Brick
Much Wheat Planted and the
Crop Prospect Good.

Oakley, Nov. 3.-The commercial club
OF oakley, composed of rs or more of
ner substantial business men and en-
terprising citizens, have issued a folder
and scattered it broadcast. It is at
tractive On the front page, in bold
letters, are the words: Oakley. Kan
sas. and underneath are pictures of
Home Sweet Home" in Oakley in 1886,
representation of sod house, the
other. Home Sweet Home in 1908, q
beautiful modern home surrounded
with luxuries of life. The last page is
devoted to Oakley and Logan county,
as follows: Thirty years ago Oakley
stood where once the bison stood. In
times past hundreds of bison charged
across the open range without a single
obstacle to block the progress of the
nerd 1t was light between the bison
and the red man for supremacy. Oc-
casionally the swift and unerring aim
or the Indian would drop the leader of
the herd, and the carcass was left to
wither and the bones to whiten on the
prairies." The folder goes on to say
that times have brought about wonder
full changes, and says: THE buffalo
wallow has now grown up in wheat,
and the white man came and is still
here.
Now instead of the bison and In
| dian, are broad and fertile farms, beau
tiful villages and happy homes. The
prairies once owned by the bison and
per acre, go bushels of corn, 40 bushels
| of barley. and all other small grains
are grown. The prairie has grown up
with farm houses, school houses,
churches, villages. orchards and
ranches The folder goes to enumer-
ate that Oakley has two banks, two
railroads, a county high school, two
lumber yards, four churches. three ho-
tells, newspaper, business houses of
all kinds, several miles of cement side
walks and many fine residences. And
among the needs of the town are a
Touring mill, ice plant, electric lights.
and a wholesale grocery house could
almost make a ten strike to locate in
4 Oakley.
The builders and contractors in Oak
ley claim that no less than 16 resi-
dences have been built here this year
at a cost of $500 to $4,000 each, and that
if the present crop outlook for 1909
continues there will be a great building
activity next year. The recent rains
were general in this section, and
brought the wheat up in first class
shape. All indications at this time
point to a most favorable year not only
for Oakley but Logan countysas well.
Oakley and Logan county will be rep
resented at the national corn growers
exposition to be held in Omaha Dec. s
pushing business men of Oakley He
J viii take along samples of what Logan
county raises.
The Golden Belt Teachers associa
ton will hold its annual meeting in
Oakley, Nov. %. Our people expect and
will entertain several hundred teachers
! who are expected to be present.
The people of Oakley support the
. Graphic. 1t is one of the neatest and
best printed journals in northwest
Kansas. ]. r. Young, the editor and
, publisher who writes all the good stun
for the Graphic, never fails in an issue
to keep Oakley and Logan county in
} the foreground. The Graphic succeed
ed in printing $4,000 ballots on time
besides getting out his paper.
| The Oakley commercial club has a
membership close to 100. c. v. Kost Is
president W Jaggar, vice president; G
p Lungren, recording secretary; ]. r
Young. corresponding secretary, and
F. E Churchill. treasurer. In Septem-
Der, 1904, fire burned out most of hel
, business houses. The burned district
has been rebuilt with brick. In the
new deal the we'll known Kaufman no.
tel was rebuilt of brick, three stories
high with sixty rooms. A hotel like
this would be creditable to city OF
several thousand inhabitants. The
commercial club are pulling with al
their might for Oakley. 1t is tbs
largest town in Logan county, with
about 800 population. There has beer
talk in years gone by to take a slice of
Thomas, Sheridan and Cove countie.
and create a new county and make
, Oakley the county seat. When one see:
! this town and the wide country sur.
/ rounding and mostly tributary to Oak
, ley, and with her good railroad ad
vantages the Union Pacific affords and
/. the proposed road from Garden City t.
: the northwest, the visitor inquiries VIII,
! a county seat of as good county a:
Logan should have been fixed at {
l point 16 miles in the interior and ava!
from railroad facilities.