The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-07-30
UP and COMING.
Bird City SUrmOUnts Many Diff
ficuIt Obstacles.
It Lost the County Seat in an
Early Day Fight.
HASLEGITIMATE BOOM
Is Surrounded by a Splendid
Farming Country.
Many New Buildings Tell Story
of Reawakening.

Bird City, Kan, July 30-Way back
in the years 1886 and 1887 Bird City
was the county seat of Cheyenne coun-
ty Like many other similar events
in the state a rival town sprung .up
and pulled the seat OF government
away from Bird City. 1t was one OF
the most commanding localities for a
town, the country for miles III either
direction being level as a floor
In those early times the town sup
ported three newspapers, and there were
three banks, two big hotels, two Iu1n-
Der yards, besides most all other busl-
ness aVOcatiOnS were carried on III
Bird CITY. The people hoped that some
thing would turn up whereby they
might retain the court house and coun-
ty seat, but the courts ruled against u
and the records were moved 10 SAINT
Francis this town having beaten Wano
an an omen fight for commercial Supre-
macy. Be it to the credit OF all three
of the towns not a gun was hred IN
the town fight nor in the county seat
removal
suffered From Hard Times in 1890
Bird CITY kept up its good ticks untll
1890 when it commenced to go back
ward In 1894 many buildings were torn
down and moved into the country;
farmers having bought them. one OF
her DiOneer residents says that not less
+ban tIvO-thfrds of them were moved
away And in her palmy days the town
had close to 500 people. At one I!IS
nearly every lot on the site Oh E2lIu
C,itv was sold on the sheriff'S torecIos-
IRE one building on which the taxes
was 81 300 was knocked down under the
hammer for SITS. The population OWN
died down to about $50 people.
In the last two years Blrd Guy nd9
been up and stirring. The old pullu-
ines remaining have been remodeled ana
Dainted. and no less than IA dwellings,
and seven business houses nave peeu
built, including Odd FeHoWs nan nlcn
G n
of county seat times has been 1mproV-
ed. and is now occupied for the county
moor house Among the new business
enterprises is a bank, ABOUT Two years
cid. and deposits at THIS time ANU
$4,000
Has n Large Territory Tributary.
BIRD C,itv brides herself in being the
only town on the Beaver valley branch
of the b & NJ. railroad between Or
leans Neb., and Saint Francls, the
terminus a distance of 137 miles, that
Skinned out corn Of the crop of 1903, |
G ". Trickett has so far shipped 22l
carloads. and hundreds of wagon
loads have been hauled into the coun-
try and neighbOring towns. 50 Tar OF
the old crop he has bought 10000 bush
els. The prospects for a crop this year
IS first-class-
There are a number of big wheat
raisers tributory to Bird City. w: A
Boyington has ZOO acres. B. r. Boylng- |
ton 300 acres. Henry GreisIer 300 acres,
John Skeen has 100 acres, Kite Bros.
has 1900 acres. John Anderson 200
acres. ]. L. Payne $50 acres. Jacob |
and w. H. Erret are large
growers of wheat
In many instances the wheat raisers |
put their crop at from 10 to 40 bushels |
an acre. Large numbers of farmers |
around Bird City raise barley, and they |
estimate the yield the largest in the |
history of Cheyenne county.
To show that Cheyenne county farms |
are worth having. the Level Land and
Realty company of Bird City has sold |
more than 200 quarter section farms in
the last three years. Choice quarters
bring from SO to $50 an acre.