A Story of the Pioneer Days of Elk County by Donald Lockhart

[genealogynut]

Howard Courant
March 12, 1924

IN THE WAKE OF THE BUFFALO

A Story of the Pioneer Days of Elk County by Donald Lockhart

One year after Kansas became a territory in 1853, a district in southeast Kansas was named Godfrey county in memory of Bill Godfrey, a trader among the Osage Indians. These Indians occupied a strip of land fifty miles wide stretching half way across the south border of the Kansas territory.  Godfrey county was not surveyed and had no white settlers except the few trappers and traders bartering with the Indians for pelts and beaded goods.

Richard Groves, the first white man who visited Godfrey county as a homeseeker in 1856, lived for a short time on Indian Creek but on account of the hostile attitude of the Indians, soon retreated to civilization, returning with other setttlers in 1864.

In the meantime, the name of Godfrey county was changed to Seward county in the year 1861.  After Kansas became a state and in the reconstruction days after the Civil War, the name of Seward county was again changed to Howard county in honor of Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, a soldier of the Union Army in the Civil War.

The first settlers who came to Howard county to locate permanent homesteads, found but very little to distinguish this county from adjacent counties.  An undulating prairie, watered by plenteous streams wending through fertile valleys and shaded by the most substantial of decidous trees, was spread before them.  Nor were the great green swells and dales void of welcome to the new "Paleface" arrivals.  Many of the most musical song birds, such as the yellow breasted meadow lark with its "Laz-i-ness will kill you" greeted them.  Often when in doubt whether to locate here or move on a little "farder west," the shrill note of the red bird in yon tree top rang loudly "Right-here, right-here: here, right-here."  The weary boomer gazed at his beasts of burden, his oxen, which were enjoying themselves at the noon hour in the shade of the spreading elm or burr oak.  The delicious odor of coffee and bacon was wafted to him by the zephyrs and he saw his helpmate preparing camp dinner by the side of the old Kansas schooner, an old type wagon of the linch pin and tar bucket type, and as he strolls nearer, she, in her home-like manner remarks, "Dave, this is a pretty country."  So, they talk it over with the members of the emigrant train (homeseekers usually traveled in units of several wagons for mutual protection).  They concluded to stake out claims and the admonition of the little red bird that said "Right here" was sacredly remembered.  As the pioneers trudged forth on the dewy spring morning at dawn of day to yoke his oxen to the flat breaker plow, he was greeted by that familiar and never-to-be-forgotten song of the prairie chicken, "Whool-dool-doom." and so the pioneer has cemented himself to the vicinity in a way that causes his children to "rise up and call him great."

In the spring of 1865, the Indian Creek colony, in the northeast part of the county, was reinforced by almost double their population.  Among the new arrivals were the names of D. W. McKey, J. K. Shipley, and others.  Bu the autumn of 1866, the little colony had begun to show some semblance of the ways of the civilized man.

D. M. Spurgeon and Sarah Knox of this settlement, were sweethearts, but as far as Howard county was concerned they might always remain in this stage.  The county was unorganized and no one had the authority to issue a marriage license, but love will find a way.  By investigation, they found that Greenwood county had a crude government and for judicial Howard county was under the jurisdiction of Greenwood, so procuring a license from the probate judge of that county, the next search was for a minister to perform the ceremony.   The search ended on the creek where the minister was found making rails.  The ceremony was performed for the couple while they remained mounted on their horses.  This occasion was the first marriage performed in Howard county.

The first public school was taught this same autumn in a log cabin standing near the north bank of Indian Creek.  Sarah F., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Shipley was the first white child to be born in the county.  Her birth occurred in this year.  In December 1866, members of the settlement met at the claim shanty of George W. Knox and organized a Missionary Baptist church, the first church organized in the county.

The second settlement in the county was on Elk river and the first claim staked out was by Ellison Neet in 1866, six miles northwest of the site of Howard.  It is familiarly known as the old Tesh farm.

The great War of the Rebellion was now terminated and the soldiers were mustered out of service for civil pursuits.  Their attention was directed to homemaking and the new state of Kansas was the ideal place of their dreams---consequently, Howard county received its quota and the scanty population was more than doubled and trebled in 1868.  S. J. Bascum and others settled on the head waters of Elk river and in the same year settlements were made in the vicinity of Howard, Elk Falls, and Longton.

In this year, H. G. Miller moved from the Indian Creek settlement to Elk River and opened the first store in the county two miles east of the present site of Longton.  A great percent of his customers were blanket Indians of the Osage tribe.  The same year a second store was opened in the vicinity of Howard by Jeff Barnes, and the third store on Elk River was opened at Union Center, by W. A. Dobyns of which the F. L. Dobyns store of Howard is a continuation.

The homesteaders on lower Elk in the vicinity of Oak Valley felt the need of schools and co-operated in furnishing material and erecting a log school houose.  They employed Nora Smith to teach the first public school on Elk River.

The first claim taken in Caney valey was by Joe Trent one mile north west of the present site of Grenola.  In the spring on 1870, Dick Roe, Poley Logsdon and others settled in this valley.  The valley of Caney was now open for bonafide settlement.  Prior to 1870, the land, south to the line between townships 29 and 30, was an unsurveyed Indian reservation but the best of the valley lands were held by squatters or "nesters" as they termed it, waiting for the land to be open for settlement.  While the Indian reservation could not legally be entered for homestead purposes yet, the homeseekers who squatted on this land took their chances on holding possession.  Often a house was erected and a crop planted and if for any reason, the occupant or squatter was called away, the claim might be in the possession of another man upon his return.  This was called claim jumping.  The first entry was claimed by right of discovery while the claim jumper entered on the theory that possession was "nine points in the law."  As there was no legal way to settle disputes in regard to this Indian land held in trust by the government, much bitterness and hatred was aroused between rivals for possession of the land.

An example of one of the most horrible tragedies occurred in the early part of 1869 on Elk River, one mile north of Elk Falls.  A young man named Fletcher from Linn County staked out his claim in the autumn of 1868.  After constructing his log claim house all complete with fireplace and chimney, he had what was considered an up-to-date residence for this time.  He attended to other little details to give it a "homey" appearance, as every log Fletcher built into the wall and every clapboard on the roof, riven from a large burr oak near the house, meant to him a thought sealed of her, who was waiting back home.  In the spring, she would share his fate, for better or for worse, in this cozy home on the south bank of Elk River, protected from wintry breezes by a growth of heavy timber.  In this, the blue birds sang merrily in the spring time and the violet peeped forth on sunny days in sanction of his dreams of love.

But--"there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip."  The eventful date had arrived; Fletcher had journeyed to Linn county and had been married about three weeks intending to take back his bride, when the news reached him that his claim was taken.  He wasted no time in preparation. After enlisting the assistance of his friend, a young man named Hall, they departed at once for Fletcher's Elk Falls claim.

Jo Anders, a homeseeker, taking advantage of Fletcher's temporary absence had concluded to appropriate this nice home for himself.  Acccordingly, he moved into the new house, established his residence with his wife and brother, Alex Anders, a 14 year old boy.  On arrival of Fletcher and Hall from Linn county, greetings were short.  Fletcher walked to the door of his cabin while Hall held the horses.  As Fletcher arrived at the door, Jo Anders and his brother seized and forced him inside and stabbed him to death before Hall could gain admittance.  When Hall forced the door, he was met by a volley of shots from the two Anders.  They missed, Hall didn't, and when the smoke settled, the sight was revealed of three men killed, Fletcher and two others, in less than three minutes, after the arrival of the original owner. Hall was arrested and taken to Greenwood county for trial, as Howard county was still unorganized.  He was acquitted on self defense by the testimony of the wife of Jo Anders, the only other eye witness.

Neither the wife of Anders or Fletcher desired to keep the claim after this gruesome tragedy and G. W. Roberts bought their interest, paying an equal sum to both widows and later, when the county was surveyed, deeded the claim from the government. The pioneers were, in some ways, rough, but mostly wore the rough side out.  Respectable travelers were never denied the hospitalilty of their homes and many are the stories of incidents where storms and cold have overtaken travelers and the humble dwellings were transformed to "the house by the side of the road."  Jo Anders, one of the victims of the tragedy near Elk Falls, was a poor man and had no appropriate clothing for burial.  On inquiry over the country, it was learned that J. H. O"Neal who lived nine miles up the river at the mouth of Rock Creek, yet preserved his wedding suit.  Upon hearing the condition of affairs, Mr. O'Neal dedicated his suit for the remains of Jo Anders,a claim jumper, who, in his last repose, was looked upon as a human brother.

During the year 1869, a great many new settlers arrived.  Two Indian trails crossed the county, one in the north crossed Elk River on the claim on S. J. Bascom and was said to be the trail followed by John C. Fremont in the forties.  The other crossed at the center of the county.  These trails became at times, almost thoroughfares for prairie schooners,, where only a few years before were dog trails used by the roving bands of Indians passing to and from buffalo hunting grounds west of the Arkansas River.

A census enumeration revealed the fact that the county contained almost a thousand in population.  A petition was signed by the citizens and granted by Govenor Harvey for the organization in the early part of 1870.

In this year, the Osage Reserve was surveyed and opened for settlement.  The south part of the county began to be settled. J. L. Lockhart and others, with their families settled on lower Big Caney and Douglas Custer and others settled in the southeast part of the county.

As most of the settlers lived in the north part of the county, the matter of a county seat location was the main issue of the days of 1871.  Elk Falls in the center of the county, named for the cateract in the river which falls seven feet, was the oldest town in the county and the first to have a U. S. post office.  It was the first candidate for county seat.  Peru in the southeast part of the county, Longton in the east central, were candidates, also Boston, a new town of some prominence which had sprung up nine miles southwest of Elk Falls on the old Independence, Winfield and Wellington wagon trail, held a very prominent place in this controversy.  Some of the promoters were John Oliphant, J. L. Mattingly, and others.  When the county seat fight finaly narrowed down to Elk Falls and Boston, all previous friendship ceased to exist between the two towns, and much trickery and even gun play was carried on until Elk Falls finally won by decision of the courts.  Much jealousy and dissatsifaction existed bewteen the north and south factions of the county, and this was never eliminated until the county was divided by petition to the state legislature.  The south half became Chautauqua county, named for Chautauqua county, New York and the north half became Elk County named for the most prominent river whech flows through the county from the northwest to the southeast.  The river was said to be named by the first Indian traders on account of the feeding grounds of the elk on the head waters of the river.

Early in 1871, the Hart brothers started the town of Canola.  Grenola and Moline were started some years later when the railways were built.  In 1871, the first printing press of the county was set up at Elk Falls where the "Elk Falls Examiner" was published. Longton soon followed with the "Ledger."  "The Howard Messenger" was started in 1872.

Elk Falls organized the first Methodist church.  The first term of district court was held at Elk Falls, and strangely enough the first civil suit was a divorce suit.

The first attorneys at law to settle in the county were R. H. Nichols and S. B. Oberlender.  Mr. Oberlender afterwards edited a paper at Howard called the "Broadaxe."

When the state legislature passed the law creating Elk County, Howard was designated as the county seat.  A furrow was plowed south to the old wagon trail crossing the south part of the county where a sign was posted giving the number of miles to Howard, the new county seat of Elk county.  Elk Falls fought to retain the county seat for some time but finally gave up in 1875.

An episode of some importance in the county was an era of rail road building in the latter seventies.  The settlers could not accustom themselves to the rapid advancement of the times.  The Southern Kansas railway routed from Kansas City via Independence to Wellington was planned to be built through the county, also the St. Louis and San Francisco railway was negotiating for a right of way accross the county for an extension from Joplin, Missouri, to Wichita.  These roads were normally surveyed through Howard and according to custom, the counties were asked to vote bonds as a bonus to the railway company to help defray preliminary expenses.  Many meetings were held to discuss the matter pro and con--mostly con, and many heated debated occurred.  One delegate declaring his township was absolutely against bonds as some of his neighbors had left the east to get away from the clutches of the "cussed" railroads, consequently, the Frisco passed just over the line in Greenwood county, and the townships in the south part of the county voted the bonds and the Southern Kansas entered the county east  of Oak Valley passing through five towns, leaving the county west of Grenola.  In 1879 the Santa Fe built an extension from Emporia to Howard and when the Santa Fe took control of the Southern Kansas in 1886, the extension was built to Moline, giving Howard a much better outlet by rail.

The men and women who carved Elk county from the wilds of nature realized that in the last analysis mankind is only a unit in the handiwork of the Creator and their unity was consecrated on the advancement of the community welfare.  When the little handful of homesteaders settled on Indian Creek, the church and school were organized and as other parts of the county became settled, the church and school soon followed, reinforced by the good influence of the Masons, Odd Fellows, etc.  in the towns and the Grange in every community center.  From the start the county has been favored with newspapers published by alert and up-to-date editors.  Two of our leading county papers at the present time, The Citizen and The Howard Courant are edited by apprentices of the early day printing office of Ade Reynolds of the Longton Ledger, one of the first offices established in the county.  The presses had no small part in shaping the destinies of the county. The majority of the settlers were of good stock, this is reflected by the fact that some of the descendants of these pioneers are making names for themselves of which any county might consider itself complimented.  Among some of the most prominent names of the sons of early day pioneers of Elk county is that of ex-Senator J. L. Bristow, who was Fourth Assistant Postmaster General.  Mr. Bristow's father was a resident in the '70's of Union Center township, ten miles northwest of Howard on the farm where the Clear Creek church is located, and is still remembered by some of the present day old settlers here as a man of gentilities though poor in wealth as the majority were.  They speak of Mr. Bristow as attending a Sunday school convention at Craig's grove on Elk river barefooted, which was not out of the ordinary in the days of the 70's.

As the _______ of slate and national fame is that of ex-Governor and now-Senator Arthur Capper, whose father was once a resident, in the pioneer days, along the valley of Elk River and was prominent in the early settlement of Longton.  Mr. Capper first gave the name to the town as Langton, in honor of Langton, England, his birthplace, but the majority of the citizens did not like the English accent and the name was changed to Longton about 1870-71.

The ranks of the pioneers are now thinnned.  Many have passed over the "Great Divide," some have journeyed to the four points of the compass, some have acquired success and prosperity, others have passed into poverty and oblivion, but whoever they may be and wherever they live there's a sort of golden halo around the memory of the days of forty and sixty years ago.  It may be the memory of tilling the virgin soil in the spring time and the lazy afternoon when the team was stopped for the short "breathing spell" and he meandered down to the prairie branch for a drink of water and the music of the rippling frog song spoke contentment.   Or. Perhaps, it was the impression of the wild prarie fire in the evening as it sent its hideous red glare into the heavens as far along the horizon as eye could reach and he, with his fellow homesteaders counted and rode away into the stiffling smoke to battle the common menace and save his own or his neighbor's family or proerty from the fiery demon.  But whatever the recollection may be, these sages are satisfied with the easier mode of living wrought by the evolution of time and none would turn back the pages of history and again live the days of yore.  They are satisfied with their achievements and point to Elk county with pride as the county which was built by them on the foundation laid by them in the wake of the buffalo.