The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-04-24

Z. AlDauSh drove the mail wagon
from Kirwin to Phillipsburg in pio-
neer days He said to your CORE
spondent: IF you will go with me to
the county seat, only 5. miles away.
your ride and hotel expenses won't
cost you one cent It was the first
visit a daily newspaper representative
had ever made to Phillipsburg. Phil
lips county was organized in 1872, be-
fore there was building on the town
site tho q town company had been
formed and a charter obtained. The
As years your itemfzer has been VS.
iting there the town has seen three
court houses erected, the present one
being a large, commodious and mod
ern stone and brick building, surpass-
ing most of them, and equal to any
in northwest Kansas. On this first
trip the town didn't have railroad
outlet nor for several years after. The
Central Branch (now Missouri Pa
cific), ran to the south and the B. &
NJ in Nebraska north. The town
grew slowly until it was known the
Rock Island was pushing west thru
the northern tier county seats. On this
first visit of the writer the Following
firms were doing business: r. Rogers,
c. H. Leffingwell, G. A. Spaulding &
Co. ]. V. Close. ]. H. Laird, G. W.
Young, d. A. Huling, NJ. Becl1ley. Nay
Brothers, c. E. Fish, f. A. Dutton,
H. c. Sprague and E. Albaugh. The
names of the lawyers were: G. W.
Stinson. Bradley & Hickenlooper. Pratt
G. McElroy and E. F. woodward. Will
liam Bissell was in the real estate
business. Her newspaper was the
Herald. started in 1878 by c. F. Jen-
kins. The majority of these men have
passed on, and only one now lives IN
Phillipsburg. In later years the town
was the home of \. B. Mccormick,
who represented the Sixth district in
congress- Your correspondent has
seen Phillipsburg grow to town OF
! about $500 population. 1t is also a
passenger and freight division. Phil
i lips county has Jared politically better
than most of the Sixth district coun-
ties, having had two congressman,
Democrat and Republican. Another
nominee for congress by the Demo-
Gratis was beaten at the polls The
county has had the district judge of
the Seventeenth district. The first trip
was of interest. Several acquaintance
were made whose friendship lasted for
many years, and was only separated
| by death.
W. P. Harrington, of Cove City, has
| recently printed an interesting history
of Cove county, which brings the his
torical data down to the organization
| of the county in 1886. The first gov
eminent land homesteaded was in
! 1877. Your correspondent made his
| first visit to the county several years
| after the county seat had been settled,
which was in 1886. The towns in the
| county are Cove City, Buffalo Park,
Grainfield Quinter and Grinnell, all
| railroad towns with the exception OF
| the first named, which is IL miles
| from the nearest railroad. In the
vote for permanent county seat there
were three contestants. Cove City won
by a decisive majority. It was laid
| out in 1885, and at one time it had
| three newspapers Grainfield dates
her birth n 1879, while Buffalo Park
and Grinnell were towns of importance
and some building going on The
! Cove City people believe the rich coun-
! try tributary to their own will some
day be connected by rail. as the Hack
berry valley is rich in stock and agri-
| culture Cove City, Buffalo Park and
| Granville made active campaigns for
| county seat, and offered inducements
| for the location. The big rush of. set
| tiers to the county was in 1885, when
the roads were lined with white
| prairie schooners loaded with emf
| grants, and on many of them was
painted Bound for Cove county or
bust" and every schooner had fam
lily dog, and a coop of chickens tied on
! behind. Hundreds of carloads of buff
/
towns for which the settlers were
paid from 81 to Sc a ton. Gathering
these bones and selling them kept
the wolf from many a door of Cove
county families in pioneer times.
Your correspondent made his first
visit to Jaqua, Cheyenne county. II
| company with Senator p. 3. Plumb in
the pioneer days of that county II
| the rush of immigration for northwest
Kansas lands in the years of the lat
ter sos, one of the fertile spots on the
| Republican river lay just east of the
Colorado boundary. in Cheyenne coun
ty 1t was thickly settled. Sixteer
miles south and west of st. Francis
the town of Jaqua came into exist
ence. with homesteaders upon every
! quarter section, and vast herds of cat
| tie grazing on the fertile river bot
tom land, and a more picturesque de
lightful scene the eyes of man never
beheld. The scene contained the nat
uraI rugged beauty of the high hills or
either side of the river, the banks OF
the river dotted with groves of nat
ural trees. the little town of Jaqua
nestled in the quiet, without the hustle
and hustle of railroads, or the chatter
and din of manufacturing establish
ments. Soon there, was a general store
blacksmith shop. church and school
and everything that goes to make VI
a delightful country village. Blu
when the hard times of the COS set in
the homesteaders forsook their habita-
and sold or traded off their home
steads and belongings and left the
country once more to the stock man
The trade at the store dwindled away
until a few year sage the storekeepel
sold out, closed the store, cancelled
the postoffice, and today there re
mains nothing of the former village