La Junta tribune., 1911-10-07
Mills from each.

The second lnIluh OF settlers O.
CURED in lsS5-lss6 Hamilton county
was organized January 49, 1885. and
after a bitter county seat contest coy
ering period of two years, Syracuse
was voted the county seat, With the
[ throwing open OF the rich territory OF
I Oklahoma hundreds OF the settlers
deserted this and other Kansas coun-
ties and flocked to the new territory,
I Hamilton county losing one-half its
population in the early nineties.
Another one OF those periodical
rushcs Of new settlers to the west
took place In l9O5l9OG when the
county more than doubled It's popu.
lation Syracuse now has l126 in
habitants and Hamilton county more
than 5000.
Roads are such in Hamilton county
that mail is delivered In part Of the
county by automobile carrier service.
\ daily mail by fast automobile is
maintained between Syracuse and
Richngld county seat OF Morton
county. - miles south Syracuse is
a railroad shipping point for a terri
tory embracing two counties and sec
lions OF two other counties a firm
gypsum road has been constructed
through tho sand hills which are
from four 10 six miles wide. and a
s2j 600 steel and concrete bridge
spans the Arkansas river.
stock raising has been the principal
Industry oi the country rluns tie old
tmu near the Colorado state line a
hundred families ut Nnn0airas. how.
egaru 1908 settled la southern Ham
umu county aud have been growing
wheat with ur success. There IS Ul
some government land ia Hamilton
county subject 10 b1m. .Iaa entry
Tine UarrI States government has
forest reservation ,f rau.U ACRES m
fHa @uI HI HI.uIr tr raa nrupa-
Hat.Du 0t tr..-
. TH. II and raa .rll. Hr 20 Haae
|a rIyaI .n taa Gulf aHa Ear.HH.tau
railway Hbr.G ha. gt H. onrurt
Tor m, roasrra.unn .f a raUHaI
from g01dlauH. Kan. due south
Hmleb tl. e1mtIs uf sherman,
{ Wall8r.. Grr"lsy aud Hamilton thence
sautB.aswarI 30 Liberal Kan Couu.
.ry bonds have been voted DO the
several counties through which the
road Is projected and these bonds. In
aid uf CO., rad. win b. void after
June o. 1879. unless tha railroad is
iu operation.
lH the Arkansas river bottoms irri-
cation by pumpius plausN'ung 1900
gallons OF water a minute is being
developed for uteHsiy, gardening aut
farming Tracts OF land so Irrigated
rival in pr1luet.yene-s fhc best iui
I. sutaI land iu 'hy Rocky Ford district
. farther west on tha upllnds cattle.
wheat and broom corn are pr1filuhIy
gr1WH Horses and mules do Urll a,
ths was thu FaHua grounds oi taaH.
sands 1f Wild MUSTANGS aaI buffalo
before 90, Indians W.r driven oat
H zr.rmuafrd
ru Boot brothers Frru,h.Cura
dian hunters and app.. William
.G.HE Robert and charles. HaE s.E.
aal forts H.na fle Iuu uf Jle uiI
TRAIL n 1896 taa u.Hrs and Colonel
Cam So yrau. also o. Frurh.CaHa-
dian trlpp.r srfJlrd ou ,be upper
Arkansas bntw eu Pueblo aud Canon
Cly and erected q rgdr s'6okuir ua
a trading port ur fort Two years az.
tsrNarJlu I>gs. they moved pastRard
aud built larerr post twelve miles
northeast OF thr present town of Las
Auimas The walls Of this slogkade
wrrc oi adobe. OF sun dried brick.
and the station was named Fort WI.
liam Ia honor OF Col. William Bent
Colonel Bent offered 10 sell the fort
In 1852 to the United States govern.
mcnt. but when the government off.
cials declined TO pay the price asked
by Colonel Bent. he destroyed the
fort In the same year hc built anoth-
er and more ambitious structure.
largely of stone. north OF the Arkan-
sas river and west OF the prcscn,
town Of Lamar. Later be built still
another structure further east Bent's
Fort was afterwnrd named Fort Wise
In honor Of Governor Wise OF Virgin.
Ia In 1861 the name was changed
10 Fort Lyon. In honor Of General
Nathaniel Lyon. who was killed while
I commanding the Union troops at the
battle OF Wilson's Crock. lugust 10.
1864. This was old Fort L.on and
WaH directly on Tho Eantn Ea trail