Barton County KS Archives History - Books .....Hoisington 1912 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ks/ksfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com November 13, 2005, 1:05 pm Book Title: Biographical History Of Barton County Hoisington WHEN the main western line of the Missouri Pacific railroad was being built west from Kansas City, and the construction force had reached a point near where is now the townsite of Hoisington, a company of well known Kansas men began the laying out of the town that takes its name from the head of the company, A. .T. Hoisington, one of the pioneers of Barton County and for many years engaged in the newspaper business in Great Bend. The townsite company was composed of A. J. Hoisington, C. Samuels, H. T. Weaver, E. L. Chapman, Edward and Clayton Moses and J. V. Brinkman of Great Bend, these gentlemen having a one-half interest in the company. The remainder of the interest in the company was owned by J. V. McCracken and Brothers and E. C. Moderwell. The first substantial building to be erected on the townsite was a two-story structure which was occupied by the firm of Brooker and Brown with a stock of general merchandise. This was in 1886, shortly after the town-site company was organized. The first agent of the town company was A. Mitchell, who served for about a year, when he retired and the place was taken by A. H. Baker in 1887. In 1887 a great many people from Iowa, Illinois and other eastern states, began to arrive and the town began its growth which has been remarkable from the fact that it was not of the spasmodic, boom kind, but has been steady and substantial until now the town has a population of 2,200. This number will be greatly increased when the Missouri Pacific shops are in operation with a full force of men. [photo] East School, Hoisington The town was incorporated in 1888 as a city of the third class, and at the first city election E. M. Carr was elected mayor. The council was made up of men who were progressive and steps were immediately taken to make the town one that offered good advantages for home making. The territory surrounding Hoisington is among the best and most productive in Barton County, and with the beginning of the town a great many names were added to the rural districts' population through the sale of farm land to eastern people. As the soil was developed and made to produce more and more each year the demand for supplies grew and a number of good stores were added to Hoisington's business section. The first bank was established by A. J. Hoisington in 1887. The schools of Hoisington have always been maintained on the same high standard as is found in all parts of Barton County. The city schools are among the best attended in the county. There are two fine buildings, one on the east and one on the west side of town. In these buildings there is plenty of room to take care of all the pupils enrolled and the future has been taken care of by provision for a large increase in the attendance. [photo] West School Building, Hoisington [photo] Old School Building, Hoisington (Burned) Hoisington's population is made up of law-abiding people and the religious advantages offered by the town are second to no town in this part of the country. The following denominations are represented by large congregations and commodious and modern houses of worship: Catholic, United Brethren, Christian, Methodist and German Lutheran. All the societies usually found in connection with churches of these denominations are active in Hoisington and have large memberships and accomplish a great deal of good in the field of religious endeavor. [photo] Christian Church, Hoisington [photo] United Brethren Church The business section of Hoisington is well built and the stores which represent nearly all lines of the mercantile trade, contain large and well selected lines of goods. There are six general stores, three banks, three drug stores and many other stores that are operated on a high standard of excellence. Hoisington has a municipal water plant that supplies water for domestic and other purposes at a nominal cost to the consumer. A fine sewage system was recently completed at a cost of $45,000 and it adds greatly to the advantages of the town as a place in which to make a home. A local company operates a modern electric and ice plant that meets the demands of the town in a most acceptable manner. [photo] Hoisington M. E. Church The officers of the city at the present time are: Charles Hall, mayor; F. A. Soderstrom, treasurer; J. L. Pieper, clerk; B. F. Jones, police judge; J. C. Ready, marshall, and J. R. Williams, water commissioner. The council is composed of the following: T. C. Morrison, president; H. E. Willard, Phil Ochs, Jr., J. M. Lewis, M. H. Beckett, A. Kindsvater, G. VY. Cooney and J. F. Stoskopf. Hoisington is a freight and passenger division on the Missouri Pacific railroad and the company operates at this point the largest shops between Sedalia and Pueblo and, next to the Sedalia shops, are the largest owned by this company on its entire system. The pay roll of the railroad men in Hoisington adds greatly to the prosperity of the city and makes it not alone dependent on the farmers in the surrounding country for trade. September 28, 1910, work was begun on the first building that makes up the large number composing the Missouri Pacific shops. This building is the roundhouse and has a concrete foundation with fifteen 63-foot engine pits. It is a brick building with the most modern apparatus and appliances. Two sides of the structure are composed of glass which allows plenty of light to filter in. It contains 2,000 yards of concrete, has a turntable with a diameter of seventy-five feet, a 100,000-gallon capacity hot well for the purpose of washing boilers, etc. [photo] Missouri Pacific Shops at Hoisington The coal chute has a capacity of 500 tons of coal and is the type made by the Robinson & Schafer Co. It has elevators with a capacity for lifting 125 tons of coal per hour and a storage capacity for fifteen tons of sand. Green sand is made ready for use after it has been lifted by a Holeman elevator system to the top of the chute where it is dried by a steam drying apparatus. From the dryer it is conducted through chutes to the storage bias from where it is supplied to the engines as needed. This system almost entirely eliminates hand work and results in a high class product Near the coal chutes are found two 100,000-gallon water tanks that afford an endless supply of good water. The water is forced into the tanks by modern pumping systems and their close proximity to the coal chutes makes it possible for an engine to be supplied with coal, water and sand in the shortest possible time. The cinder pit on which work was begun October 24, 1910, is 225 feet in length with a depressed track which allows the work of cleaning the fire box of an engine to be done quickly and thoroughly. The blacksmith and machine buildings are large and equipped with all the latest labor saving machinery and are capable of turning out a great amount of work in the shortest possible time and when in full operation will give employment to a large number of men. The system by which water is supplied to all parts of the different buildings is composed of three wells near the powerhouse— powerful pumps that force water into the pipe lines that conduct it to all parts of the works. The reservoir for the reserve supply of water has a capacity of 100,000 gallons. The power for the plant is furnished by powerful engines and boilers housed in a large building from where power is transmitted to all parts of the works by twenty-four wooden poles strung with wire of high carrying capacity. On the grounds are found a number of other buildings which include the offices of the different heads of departments and when the shops are working at full capacity it is expected that a force of 1,600 men will be required. The total cost of the plant is about $1,000,000. All the buildings are amply protected against fire by the latest and most approved methods. The Missouri Pacific shops is an establishment of which the people of Barton County are justly proud and it is a big thing for the town of Hoisington from a business standpoint. [photo] E. R. Moses Mercantile Co., Hoisington Additional Comments: From: Biographical History Of Barton County Published by the Great Bend Tribune (1912) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ks/barton/history/1912/biograph/hoisingt37gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ksfiles/ File size: 8.9 Kb