78 10 1856 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/bfbc5f4554da32eac93abfa3c1c46545.jpg c87c2d609837b6b62782d81fa67ebb76 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/a07354b32556495159b1791321e18bd5.jpg acb282a44f95dc76d408095b6e96ac82 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Profiles of Local Persons, Rossville, Kansas Photo A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Portrait of Ralph Valentine, Sam Bristow Photographer, Wetmore, Kansas Description An account of the resource Front: Sam Bristow, Wetmore, Kans. Back: Ralph Valentine, Age 9 1/2 months Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sam Bristow (photographer) Wetmore, Kansas Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Unknown Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource From the donated collection of Sara Horak to the Rossville Community Library in 2015. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0739a, RCL0739b http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/495a0abd0759e36bd3d84d174c315a62.jpg 041c91651fac5a56d4f2e8b9e8b04d32 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Profiles of Local Persons, Rossville, Kansas Photo A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Portrait of woman, Saylor's New York Gallery, Reading, Pennsylvania Description An account of the resource Saylor's New York Gallery 411 N. Sixth St. Reading, PA. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Saylor's New York Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Unknown Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource From the donated collection of Sara Horak to the Rossville Community Library in 2015. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0685 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/70d75885c98cfd6701d9c85bb9d71207.jpeg 5e00f8f7463df0418ae206f9dd1271bb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Transportation and Accidents History Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1913 Rossville Roads Graveled Description An account of the resource DECEMBER 1913 Rossville Main Street will be graveled, according to a decision by the city council. The portion to be graveled will start at the south end near the railroad and run- to the north end of the block and west on Pottawatomie to the city limits. With the three miles finished west of town, a continuous gravel road of about 22 miles will stretch west of Topeka. Hattie Kirby and Walter McCleary were married in Kansas City and went to Texas for a honeymoon. The 14th annual M.W.A. Grand Ball will be held at Fritz Hall New Year’s Eve. Music will be provided by Kramer’s five-piece or¬chestra. The county commis¬sioners are being urged by the Secretary of State to designate the county roads in Shawnee County. The last legislature provided a tax on automobiles and motorcycles, the revenue to be used in the improve¬ment of county roads. This money has been collected in Shawnee county but can¬not be used until the com¬missioners have de¬signated certain of the roads as county roads. This seems to be the day and age when every farmer has a chance to go to school. If he can’t go for four years, he can go for a year, and if he can’t go for a year, the Kansas State Agricultural College offers him a ten- week’s course, beginning January 6, 1914. The little auto that has been on exhibition for several weeks at Rossville Cash Store as a prize to the boy selling the greatest amount of cookies and crackers was won by Ho¬ward Bixby. Ralph Hartzell was second, Theo Marney third, and Willie Shipley fourth. The Reporter begins its' 15th year since the paper succeeded the “Times” or “Gimlet” as its old patrons called it. The editor has also purchased the Silver Lake Mirror and will publish both papers. The Mirror will continue to be published at Silver Lake with Frank Skinner looking after the mechanical end of the business. C. E. Cless has landed the agency for the Ford automobile in this ection [sic] of Shawnee County. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Recorder, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Originally published in December 1913 Featured as a "Way Back When" article on December 12, 1963 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Original text is public domain; reprint is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0482 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/a45f465e4089f6d2cad884527989af67.jpeg 6ae3dd5615e34f4a348e6597c65257f0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ralph Page and 1967 Corn Harvest, Rossville, Kansas Description An account of the resource It's harvest time again--corn harvest began this week and Ralph Page of Rossville was one of the first farmers into the field. Mr. Page remarked that he hadn't had such a weedy field for years. He said he was only able to work his field twice because of the heavy rains. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 19, 1967 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0487 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/391ea30f346a15971ce3794d786c10e5.jpeg a1fa879e6dbb05204f6fec030acad6cc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Profiles of Local Persons, Rossville, Kansas Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fighter Jess Willard's retirement Description An account of the resource SHAWNEE COUNTY REPORTER Thursday, April 2, 1959, Page 9 Fighter Jess Willard’s retirement Jess Willard who was born in St. Clere, Kansas, and is remembered by some of the old-timers here as a horse-trader and livery stable operator at Delis and Emmett, is now living a quiet life in La Cresenta, California. Now in his 77th year the “Pottawatomie Giant” and his wife live very comfortably in their California home and just “take life easy”. They have five children, two sons and three daughters, and seven grandchildren. In a recent interview with a Los Angeles Herald-Express writer, Willard spoke with a keen memory of his fights with Jack Johnson, Jim Jeffries, Jim Corbett, and Jack Dempsey. It will be exactly 40 years ago on July 4 that Willard lost his heavy-weight boxing championship to Jack Dempsey in Toledo, Ohio. He says he can remember the fight as if it were yesterday and says of the fight that “mobsters took my title that afternoon and I hope to one day complete the true story of what happened. Dempsey had more in his gloves that afternoon than his fist!” He says Johnson was the greatest fighter of them all. Willard knocked him out in the 26th round to win the championship in Havana in 1915 on April 5 when the temperature was 115. It’s interesting to learn that Jess says if he had it to do all over again he’d choose another road. He says, “Knowing what I know now I guess I would have just kept on busting broncos instead of becoming a fighter. I got suckered into fighting in the first place. I used to ride herd on horses in Montana, round ‘em up and bring them to Kansas. After breaking “em I’d sell them to the farmers. “When automobiles came in the horse lost his popularity and when a friend suggested that a big strong guy like me should be a fighter I decided to take a crack at it.” This retired “man of leisure” is described as a “great guy” by his neighbors and the kids love him. He stands six fee six inches in his stocking feet and weighs in today at 255, just five pounds over his usual fighting weight. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 2, 1959 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource copy of newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0536 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/52b294266d66e62938dc492e489b94af.jpeg 3ec502660854ce4317ab47655a83c025 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Agriculture from 1962, Rossville, Kansas Description An account of the resource The Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas March 15, 1962, Page 15 Shawnee County Beef Tour Scheduled Beef cattle in Shawnee County have a value of approximately four million dollars. Anyone would agree that this is a sizable industry. We would like to present representative samples of the operation of this industry on Thursday, March 22. This is the date that has been set for the beef cattle tour that should prove beneficial to anyone interested in beef cattle production. The tour will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Joe Campbell farm about three miles west of Rossville on highway 24 and then one-half mile south. Here the group will see a sizable number of cattle that Joe is wintering, in addition to a good set of working corrals. From here the group will go to the Clyde Rogers farm and meet there at about 9:45. This farm is located about one mile south of Rossville. Clyde has heifers on full feed and also heifer calves that were purchased last fall that he is wintering. The third stop will be at the A.J. Thomas and Sons farm located on the west edge of Silver Lake. This stop will be at approximately 10:30 and here the group may see the herd of stock cows and the creep feeding system that the Thomas’ practice. At about 11:20 a stop will be made at the farm of Eugene Smith at 6215 West 21st Street, Topeka. This is about ¾ of a mile west of the junction of 21st Street and Wanamaker Road. Gene Smith and Joe White have a sizable cow herd, both registered and commercial. After this stop, the last stop will be at Roy Engler’s located just one mile south of the Smith farm. After this the group will gather at the Oak Grange Hall which is located by the Roy Engler farm. A free lunch will be served at noon to all those who participate. Wendell Moyer, Extension Livestock Specialist from Kansas State University, will be on the tour to assist with the discussion. A summary will be held after the noon lunch and an early adjournment will follow. Come out all you beef men and bring your neighbor. (pictured Wendell Moyer, speaker) ------------------ WIN BANKERS AWARDS Winners of the 1961 Soil Conservation Bankers Awards are pictured below. They were present Monday evening, February 5, at the annual meeting held at Garfield Park Shelterhouse, Topeka. (pictured) Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Martinek (published, February 15, 1962) ------------------- “JACK AND THE CORN STALKS”… almost looks that way with the little trick photography by the Shawnee County Agent, Herb Bulk. Agent Bulk took the picture to show how tall the corn is in the Kaw Valley. It’s nearly as tall as the picture appears, too. (picture shows child looking up standing in the middle of a corn field) (published, August 2, 1962) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 15, 1962 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clippings Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0436 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/2fc0bbe79398de105d13bc02e4b33bec.pdf 94763542d3e930de2c50fb66363fae1b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tom Williams, at 81, farms the old way, Willard, Kansas Description An account of the resource At 81 and still farms the old way Tom Williams is a farmer of the old-fashioned variety, but a hard worker for his community. Besides taking care of the small farming jobs around Willard, he was Marshal of the town in 1959. Tom Williams, an 81 year old resident of Willard, Kansas, still farms with a team of dependable horses. He and his team do farm jobs around this little community and Mrs. Williams always goes along to pitch hay or do whatever job a farm hand is needed for. The horses, which Mr. Williams has used for 16 years, are 24 and 25 years old, but as work horses they can’t be beat. Farming has always been Mr. Williams’ livelihood. He and Mrs. Williams were married 58 years ago at Manhattan. They moved to Willard in 1947. Mrs. Williams at the age of 75 takes in washings and ironings as well as helping her husband with his farm chores. This happy farm couple has two children, Ira and Pearl, and two grandchildren. Their outlook on life has apparently been handed down to their children. Recently their son, Ira, was the first man employee to be nominated in the “Friendiest, Most [missing portion] This dependable old team provides an income and a way of life for Mr. and Mrs. Tom Williams of Willard. Pictured with Mrs. Williams (left) and Mr. Williams (far right) are their neighbors, “ Uncle” John and “Aunt” Em Jackson. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 25, 1962 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper article Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0354 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/9a77e623a2f8ed9d84586d4f719ff4d0.pdf 5202965b10cecf8f388bdda4d415c666 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1964 Soil Awards, Rossville, Kansas Description An account of the resource MR. AND MRS. JOE CAMPBELL, ROSSVILLE MR. AND MRS. JIM REZAC, ROSSVILLE Soil awards given Five farmers in Shawnee County received the Kansas Bankers Association awards for soil conservation work at the annual meeting of the district held Monday evening in Topeka. The winners are Bartlett Ranch, Silver Lake, Darryl and Stanley Little operators and May Y. Bartlett, owner; Joe C. Campbell, Rossville, George Goff, Tecumseh, Joseph Koch, Topeka and James Rezac, Rossville. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 27, 1964 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper article Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0356 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/c90fdef2510dbed2ff8073cbc9533d09.jpeg d16ae537bfb29ea7fd76daac724cb9cf Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1966 Gary French Conservation Award, Rossville, Kansas Description An account of the resource FEBRUARY 17, 1966, 8 PAGES ROSSVILLE, KANSAS Conservation Awards Presented At Annual District Meeting Outstanding conservation awards were presented to five Shawnee County farm families at the Annual Soil Conservation meeting held Monday evening, February 7 in Topeka. These awards are made available by the Kansas Bankers Association and are presented to not more than five farmers in each of the counties of Kansas. Selections are bas¬ed on the completeness of the farm plan applied and the quality of the work done and maintenance of the con¬servation practices. Those receiving these awards were Mr. and Mrs. Gary French, Mr. and Mrs. Jean Wachter, Mr. and Mrs. George Scrivner, Mrs. Re¬gina P. Simon, and Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Wulfkuhle. Wil¬bur Levering, vice-presi¬dent of the Merchants Nat¬ional Bank of Topeka, pre¬sented the awards. Lever¬ing, the county Key Banker, was assisted by Herb Bulk, Shawnee County Agriculture Extension Agent. Robert L. Coppersmith, Extension Economist of Livestock Marketing, Kan¬sas State University, was the guest speaker. For thir¬ty minutes he held the 235 persons in attendance spell¬bound with his subject of Soil and Water Conserva¬tion. He pointed out that for any program, organization, or business to be success¬ful, loyalty, hard work and belief in the program are necessary. Jack G Humphries, rep¬resentative of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, presented Charles Todd of Dover with the Goodyear award for outstanding ac¬complishments in the Soil and Water Conservation program in Shawnee County. Orville W. Love, Area Conservationist of the Soil Conservation Service of Topeka, gave an up to date report on the progress of the Wakarusa and Cross Creek Watersheds. He re¬ported the planning stages of these watersheds were progressing rapidly and would soon be completed. Bert Lading, ASCS office manager for Shawnee Coun¬ty, reviewed the highlights of the 1966 Agriculture Pro¬gram. He stressed the Soil and Water Conservation practices that were available for cost-sharing assistance to landowners in Shawnee County. Board members, Clar¬ence Longabach and Irvin DuBois, presented awards to winners of the 1965 Soil and Water Conservation Poster and Essay Contest. In the poster contest first place was awarded to John Reyner, second place went to Margie Haid and third place to Alan Meyer. Those receiving the essay awards were Don Bodle, first, Deb¬ra Woodbury, second, and Janis Giefer, third. Dur¬ing the business meeting, one member of the District Board of Supervisors was elected. A. R. Henderson, whose term had expired, was re-elected. [photo caption:] Mr. and Mrs. Gary French Own and operate 735 acre farm. Other pictures on page 8 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource February 17, 1966 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper article Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0357 http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/dd8bd9278e20f7fc4cf23ff61020886d.jpeg 91c8742ae7479af5781a11dc2e58ba9d http://www.recollectionsks.org/files/original/c299bd7c28e14ee3f72fc674d2157a57.jpeg b098490e80c0ccdf6d3651079aa6e582 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1963 Purina Tour, Kansas Description An account of the resource Purina Tour Back row, left to right: Leo Ronnse, Bernard Peterson, [ ] Slough, [ ] Seeley, Ed Brennan, Harry Hershey, Unknown, Alex Johnson, Laird French, Roy Florence, [unknown] Purina official Middle row, left to right: Joe Straub, Matt Rezac, George Seele, Joe Ronneau, Unknown, Unknown, Roy Lasswell Kneeling in front row, left to right: Bob Gentry, Gerald Reser, Unknown, Joe Connelly, Carl Figge, Jim Smith Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 1963 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource photograph Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0359 RCL0359a RCL0359b