The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-05-08
BY HARRY ROOT.

BY HARRY ROOT.
In the spring of 1907 it looked If st.
Francis. Cheyenne county. and north
west Kansas was going to get a sugar
plant. so much so that farmers in the
valley of the Republican river began
raising beets. The first crop of sugar
beets raised out there was marketed in
Ames. Neb. and found to contain a
large percentage Of sugar. as well as
making a large tonnage per acre. At
this the agitation for beet sugar fac
tory began. A year or two later a man
named Dunbar. representing to be a
capitalist. made visit to st. Francis
to look over the proposition. To help
along the enterprise a commercial CLUB
was organized with more than 100
members of substantial business men
and farmers, who gave Dunbar en-
couragement. A few weeks later other
eastern capitalists turned up for the
purpose of organizing a company, they
claimed. and if ample local aid could
be raised the sugar beet enterprise
would be a success. Ut was also neces-
sary to have another railroad, as the
r. & NJ branch from Orleans. Neb. to
st. Francs the terminus, was made
quate to handle the business such an
enterprise required. The new road
was to tap the main line at Benkel-
man, Neb.. seventy-eight miles. The
cost of building the sugar beet factory
was to be one-half million dollars and
the building and equipping the rail
road was to be close to one million.
Half the total amount of the sugar
factory and the railroad was to be
raised by popular subscription among
the people of Cheyenne county and
Yuma county, Colorado. The subscrip-
ton lists were passed around and a
hundred thousand was raised in a very
short time. At that point Of the
operation Mr.. Dunbar left and went to
Kansas City to look after materials for
beginning operations. A few days
after leaving St. Francis he tele-
graphed from Kansas City that he had
made arrangements with a Kansas
City bank to take over the subscription
notes which were being held in escrow
by the banks in st. Francis. and that
he must have twelve thousand dollars
in cash forwarded to Kansas City in
the first mail. A committee of citi-
zens of the town were appointed to go
to Kansas City and investigate Dunbar
But before they arrived there he was
placed Under arrest for having
swindled his wife's brother out of a
considerable sum of money The com
mittee found he was living in Kansas
City in almost poverty. When the
word was received of the circum-
stances the people were chagrined and
disappointed. The result was the COM
mercial club disbanded The citizens
promised themselves that they would
not harbor any more Dunbars in the
future. 1t is said that he escaped the
officers in Kansas City and was never
heard of again in St. Francis or Chey-
enne county.
Rawlins county was organized in
1891. 1t is said there were only six
farmers in the county in April. 1879.
In March, 1880. only one house was
erected in Atwood. the county seat.
IN IN august or the same year twenty
1lve were built. Your correspondent
remembers his first visit to the town.
several years ahead of the railroad.
United States Senator John ]. ingalls,
was touring northwest Kansas in the
interest of selecting a site for a gov
ernent land office. A town named
Beaverton had started up in July.
1880. and the promoters believed they
could pull the county seat and land
office to their town. They also mag
ined- they could hear the Central
Branch (Missouri Pacific engine
whistling for Beaverton. Several
towns were after the land office, At
wood and Beaverton. Rawlins county;
Wano, Cheyenne county; Oberlin, De-
catur county, and three other aspir-
ants, Inez. Kelso and Kenneth, Sheri-
dan county. Oberlin was selected for
the location. In August, 1880. there
was published in Atwood the Pho
neer, by A. S. Thorne. who also car
ried on a general store. Your item
izer found the following lines of bust
ness carried on: Anderson & Greason
published the Republican Citizen; J.
P Mathes. general stock. also lum-
Der; Nelson Bros and G. w. Gaunt.
grocers: VIM. Reilly & Co. hardware
and furniture; S. D. Warren, flour