The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-04-29
Sixth District NelOs Notes
Items and "reminiscences by An Old Timer With His
Ear to the Grass Roots.
BY HARRY ROOT
BY HARRY ROOT.

DR. G. S. Beatty, of CawlSer City,
writes an interesting column of items
| for the Beloit Gazette He is one
of the pioneers of northwest Kansas,
| and at one time he served in the
| Iegisla ture from Mitchell county He
was there before the Central Branch
railroad was built. In his last items
! he wrote one to the effect that the
town of Downs owes Col w. G. Whit
ney, now dead, a public monune nt
| for the part he took in locating the
railroad division at Downs instead of
| Cawker City, where he resided at the
time, and prior to that was a firm
| friend and booster for Waconda which
| at one time had big hopes of being
| the county seat of Mitchell county,
besides securing the Central Branch,
l(now Missouri Pacific) shops and
railroad division. Maj. w f. Downs
was general superintendent of the
road during its building. He visited
Cawker City long before the railroad
reached that place. He favored the
location of the depot on ground east
of where the famous Whitney House
stands, which if a committee of repre-
sentative citizens of the town had
given in to him the road would have
had level foundation to build on.
and would have do away with the
cuts and fills both east and west of
CaWker City. This committee was so
positive that their town would be the
division, and the south fork of the
from Cawker City they turned down
the propositions of Maj. Downs, and
he being a fighter himself he went
west six miles, and another town
started up and named townsville. in
honor of Max Downs, later on the
last syllable willie" was dropped.
There are people living in Cawker
City now who believe that if this
committee of half a dozen had let
Downs have his way the division would
n a L nT
Most if not all of the committee are
now dead. Your correSp ondent knew
Maj. c. w. Guliek well. During
the building of the railroad thru
Mitchell county he had a big hold on
the contractors, and furnished car
loads of supplies to the railroad gangs
The Prosser, Neb., branch was built
later. Gulick was instrum entail in get
ting a town laid out north of Scan
Ola, near the Nebraska line and il was
named Talmage, in honor of one of
the big moguls of the Missouri Pa
cific, but like many other towns in
pioneer times it didn't do anything, so
II the people of Downs erect a public
monument to the memory of Col w
c. Whitney it would look very appro-
pirate to have the name of the bust |
ness committee of Cawker City citi- |
zens carved on the same with Col |
Whitney. The town of fWaconda; To- |
Gated in the Solomon river valley |
and only two or three miles from |
Cawker City, was the first to start |
up. 1t had a firm foundation for a !
town, and some good business houses. |
New men with means came in, among !
them Col. e. H. Cawker, in honor of |
whom Cawker City was named, and |
after bitter fight. but no blood spill |
ing gained the goal, and Waconda |
got on wheels and moved to the new /
town. The writer of Sixth District |
Notes made his first visit to the Solo |
mon valley the summer the grading |
of the railroad commenced at Green |
leaf, and stopped a day each in Clyde
Beloit AID Cawker City. |
Glen Elder had a store or two. Be
tween Concordia and Beloit there was
only a postoffice or two. Judge Clark
A. Smith, now dead, was the first
person to hitch his horse to a buggy
and drove me to Waconda Springs.
The first drink of that salt water
lasted me for years. AS a general
hing the PEOPLE of Cawker City now
wish that Maj. Downs had built the i
ing of railroad bonds figured in the
deal to consid erabie extent. And Af-
Ter all the town has survived, and her
people have stayed and built up one
Of the prettiest towns in northwest
Kansas. 1t has. too, splendid rec
ord. Col Whitney was at one time
department. commander Of G. A. r.,
Judge Clark A. Smith served on the
bench Mrs. Emma Alrich
mas served as department president
W. r. c., and Mrs. Grace Snyder is
L candidate for state superintendent
IF schools
Two men met in the state house cor
- oil Il 11f