Gove County KS Archives History - Books .....First Settlements 1930
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Book Title: History Of Gove County, Kansas

CHAPTER VII
FIRST SETTLEMENTS

  The construction of the Kansas division of the Union Pacific railroad was
begun at Kansas City in September 1863. It had a government grant of $16,000 per
mile and every alternate section of land for twenty miles on either side of the
track. Construction was slow and the road seems not to have reached Gove county
till 1868. A report issued by the company July 3, 1868, stated that the road was
then completed to Fort Wallace near the Colorado line. It was finished to Denver
August 15, 1870.

  The legislature of 1868 created two new counties, Gove and Wallace. Evidently
an influx of settlers was expected, though the railroad was not yet finished;
but the settlement was not to come for ten years yet. The original boundaries of
Gove county were the same that it has today.

 • The county, like a score of others in the state, was named after a Union
soldier. Here is all the information I have been able to collect about him:

  Blackmar's History of Kansas says: "Gove, Grenville L., soldier, was a son of
Moses Gove, who was one time mayor of Manhattan. At the breaking out of the
Civil War he enlisted in Company F, Sixth Kansas Cavalry, as a private, but was
soon made corporal. In the summer of 1862 he was assigned to duty as a
recruiting officer and raised Company G, Eleventh Kansas Cavalry, of which he
was commissioned first lieutenant. In May, 1864, he was promoted to Captain and
remained in command of the company until his death at Olathe, Kan., Nov. 7,
1864. Gove county and a Grand Army Post at Manhattan have been named in his honor."

  My friend George A. Root of the State Historical Society writes me: "Mr.
William W. Denison, assistant adjutant general of Kansas G. A. R., was a member
of the 11th Kansas. He says that 'Lew' Gove (doesn't remember whether it was
Louis or Lewis) was a man of medium size, and as an officer made a very fine
personal appearance. His company was said to have been the best drilled company
in the 11th Kansas,  and when the other companies saw it getting ready to drill,
they all stood around to watch them. He was in the Price raid campaign from
start to finish, and died soon after of brain fever at Olathe. When Major
General Samuel R. Curtis took command of the Western Department he looked about
for a cavalry company as a body guard, and was not long in requisitioning the
services of the company commanded by Gove. Gove was promoted captain May 19,
1864."*

*Note 4.

  The government began the survey of Gove county in August, 1868. The county was
laid off into townships six miles square at this time but for some reason,
perhaps on account of Indian troubles, the subdivision into sections and parts
of sections was not made till 1869. By the way, this survey was a very slovenly
piece of work; the courses of the streams are not indicated correctly, they
being marked down in some cases a mile away from where they should be; some of
the section lines are crooked and the corner stones several rods out of line.
Evidently the surveyors were more interested in finishing the job and drawing
their pay than they were in doing their work well.

  Gove county was too far west at this time to attract settlers. No one lived in
the new county except the buffalo hunters and the railroad employes. Weston's
Railway Guide says of Buffalo Park in 1872: "There is a telegraph office,
soldier's quarters, turf house and tank here." At Grinnell were "section house,
railway tank, six dug outs and two large turf houses."

  The first bona fide settler in Gove county was George Von Dehsen, who came to
the county from Colorado with a party of buffalo hunters in 1871. Instead of
following the buffalo after they were driven from the county he settled down at
Grinnell and lived there till killed by a stroke of lightning in 1913. The next
settler was Charles Johnson of Grainfield township, who came to the county as a
section hand in 1874.

  The new county must have been a very lonesome place indeed in those days. The
Indian, the buffalo and the buffalo hunter had vanished, and grass grew in the
ruts of the abandoned Butterfield Trail. The only signs of animation were along
the railroad where the trains hurried through without stopping except for coal
and water and the section crew went forth on its daily round to keep the track
in order.

  Charles A. Sternberg, the noted fossil hunter, who has Gove county for one of
his regular hunting grounds, made his first trip here when a very young man, in
1876. He tells about it as follows in his book, "The Life of a Fossil Hunter":
"As soon as the frost was out of the ground, having secured a team of ponies and
a boy to drive them, I left Manhattan and drove out to Buffalo Park, where one
of my brothers was the agent. The only house, besides the small station
building, was that occupied by the section men. Great piles of buffalo bones
along the railroad at every station testified to the countless numbers of the
animals slain by the white man in his craze for pleasure and money. A buffalo
hide was worth at that time about a dollar and a quarter.

  Here at Buffalo I made my headquarters for many years. A great windmill and a
well of pure water, a hundred and twenty feet deep, made it a Mecca for us
fossil hunters after two weeks of strong alkali water. At this well Professor
Mudge's party and my own used to meet in peace after our fierce rivalry in the
field as collectors for our respective paleontologists, Marsh and Cope.

  What vivid memories I have of that first expedition!—memories of countless
hardships and splendid results. I explored all the exposures of chalk from the
mouth of Hackberry Creek, in the eastern part of Gove county, to Fort Wallace,
on the south fork of the Smoky Hill, a distance of a hundred miles, as well as
the region along the north and south forks of the Solomon River.

  When we left Buffalo station we left civilization behind us. We made our own
wagon trails, two of which especially were afterwards used by the settlers until
the section lines were constructed. One of them was directly south, crossing
Hackberry Creek about fifteen miles from the railroad, at a point where there
was a spring of pure water—a rare and valuable find in that region.. We camped
here many times and made such a good trail that it was used for many years. Our
second trail extended across the country, striking Hackberry Creek where Gove
City now stands, and led over Plum Creek divide, whose high ledges of yellow
chalk served as a landmark for twenty miles. From this point we could see
Monument Rocks, and near them the remains of a one-company post on the; Smoky
Hill Trail. Our trail then led up the Smoky Hill to the mouth of Beaver Creek,
on the eastern edge of Logan County, and followed the old road as far west as
Wallace.

  Prairie dog villages extended west along all the water courses, and open
prairies to the state line, and we were rarely out of sight of herds of antelope
and wild horses. Near the present site of Gove City, on the south side of
Hackberry Creek, there is a long ravine with perpendicular banks ten feet or
more in height. This ravine at that time was used as a natural corral by some
men who made a business of capturing these wild ponies by following them night
and day, keeping them away from their watering places, and giving them no chance
to graze, until they were exhausted. They were then easily driven into the
ravine and roped; after which they were picket-ea on the prairie and soon became
tame. These wild horses were swift travelers, and the most graceful of all the
wild animals of the west; being distinguished for the beauty of their flowing
manes and tails.

  There was constant danger from Indians, and in order that we might escape as
much as possible the eagle eye of some scout who might be passing through the
country, our tent and wagon sheet were of brown duck. This blended with the dry,
brown buffalo grass, as we traveled from canyon to canyon, and could not be
distinguished very far even by the trained eye of an Indian."

  But in 1878 the wave of immigration struck Kansas and flowed far out on the
plains before it spent its force. Of course the vacant lands in central Kansas
were taken first, but by 1879 Trego county had attained a population of 3500 and
settlers were pouring on west into Gove county.

  The first homesteads taken in Gove county were the southwest quarter of
section 8-11-27 and the northeast quarter of section 18-11-27. These tracts
adjoin the townsite of Buffalo Park. They were both taken the same day, December
10, 1877, the former by W. A. Lewis and the latter by J. C. Burnett.

  Settlers came in at a lively rate in 1878 and 1879. Among those who came in
the spring of 1878 was a party of "Pennsylvania Dutch," from
Westmoreland county, Pa., who settled south of Buffalo Park. The party consisted
of Christian Schaefer with his wife, five sons and one daughter, Wm. Walthour
and family, Wm. Rowe and family and the Skelly brothers, twenty two persons in
all. At the time of their arrival the only habitation in that region was the
house of Jim Thompson, the section boss at Buffalo Park. Today only two of this
party are still living in Gove County, Mrs. Schaefer and her daughter Emma,
(Mrs. Chas. Crippen). Christian Schaefer died in 1913. Mary, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Schaefer (now Mrs. John Sutcliffe), was born Sept. 17, 1879, and is said to
have been the first white child born in Gove county. Only once have I ever known
Mary Schaefer's right to this title to be disputed. In some early county paper I
once found an item about the "Hamilton twins" of Grinnell, with the claim that
they were the first white children born in the county.

  Tom Hamilton was section boss at Grinnell in the seventies and the family left
the county, as near as I can find out, in the spring of 1878, going to Ellis,
Kansas. Does any one know anything about the twins?*

*Note 5.

  It is impossible after a lapse of forty years to give much account of the
earliest settlers. The majority of them were gone again within a couple years,
leaving no trace on the history of the county. Only a few of the men and women
of 1878 and 1879 survive to this day and none of them, so far as I know, have
ever written their experiences. It will probably take an Old Settlers'
organization to draw out the recollections of the pioneers, if the history of
the first settlement of Gove county is ever to be written in detail or with any
degree of accuracy.

  One group which left a record of the date of its arrival was the "Bristol
colony," from Bristol, Bucks Co., Pa., which arrived March 4, 1879, at Buffalo
Park. This consisted of Richard E. Shaw, Joseph Moulding, W. and R. Scott, and
Messrs. Smith, Wood, Robinson, Peterson, Longworth, Bennett and West. These
families all settled in town 11, range 28, a few miles southwest of Buffalo
Park. A write up of the colony appears in the Grainfield paper the following
year. The "colony" is not heard of afterward and probably most of its members
soon left the county. Joseph Moulding seems to have been the only stayer.

  What was known as the Locket colony settled on the Hackberry about twelve
miles south and three west of Grainfield in 1879. The first arrival was Thomas
Locket, March 8, 1879. Later came the Maxwell, Dannaker, Tenan and Swaer
families, and a postoffice known as Locket was established with Thomas Locket as
postmaster. All these families soon left the county.

  A colony of Holland Dutch came to make their homes in Gove county at this
time. At the time of the Indian raid in 1878 when trains were being held up for
fear of the savages a telegram from Salina dated Oct. 3 said "Last night there
were 44 Hollanders from Iowa on the train, bound for Gove county." N. J. Gesmon
was the agent of the colony and bore a letter of introduction from Governor Geer
of Iowa to Governor Anthony of Kansas. This colony settled principally in
township 11-29, southwest of Grainfield, and the census roll of 1880 contains
the names of some fifty families of undoubted Hollander blood.

  Of these Kryn Van Zee and members of the Verhoeff, De Boer and Van Marter
families are the only ones who still live or have lived in the county in recent
times. It would be interesting to know what has become of the following
families: Platz, Rheitz, Van Stenwyk, Van Gorkon, Brinker, Pas, Schimmel, Booi,
Van de Verre, Ruiter, De Yong, Van Kooy, Rhyneburger, Kamp, Brenklander,
Vanderlinden, Walraven, Boombower, Van Loon, Faasen, De Wild, Kraag, Rap,
Vanderwilt, Notenboom, Glanzevoort, Muillenburg, Vanderhorst, Vanderpool,
Bennink, Koffers, Vanderkreek, Den Burger, De Bondt, Ten Hagen, Veenstra,
Vanderwerf and others.

  Kryn Van Zee tells me that it was the intention of the Hollanders to start a
town on section 2-11-29, but the move got started too late and the establishment
of Grainfield two miles east of the site they had selected put an end to the
project. Most of the colony seem to have returned to Iowa in 1880, where perhaps
some of them are living to this day.

  In the list of "first happenings" in Gove county history it may be well to
include here the following:

  The first wedding of which we have any record is noticed thus in the Buffalo
Park paper:

  "William Watcher and Cornelia Den Burger, both of Buffalo Park, were united in
the bonds of holy matrimony July 10, 1880, by Rev. J. A. Hahn. The happy couple
will go to WaKeeney where Mr. Watcher is employed by the railroad company." It
is contrary to nature that the county had been settled two years before there
was a wedding, but if there were any before that date they never got into the
papers.

  The following record of the first sermon is taken from successive issues of
the Grainfield paper in 1880:

  Feb. 13—A little over a year ago the first sermon ever preached in Gove county
was delivered at Buffalo Park by a Presbyterian clergyman, Rev. Mr.
Schermerhorn. It was preached in a railroad car to a respectable audience. Feb.
20—Our correspondent whose record of the first sermon preached in Gove county
appeared last week was mistaken. The Rev. Mr. Schermerhorn is a German Reformed
minister and till recently was pastor of the church at Pella, Iowa. Mr. S. was
passing over the Kansas Pacific railroad when the Indians made their raid
through this country a year ago last fall. As the passengers feared to proceed
the train remained at Buffalo station over the Sabbath which gave the zealous
minister an opportunity to preach and he improved it.

  But the most important result of the immigration of 1878-79 was the founding
of Grainfield and the growth of the older towns, Buffalo Park and Grinnell.

  The townsite of Grainfield was laid out by the U. P. Railway Co. in June,
1879. The station was first opened for business August 23. John B. Beal and
George S. Dryer were among the first arrivals; they put up the Occidental Hotel
and engaged in the real estate business. The first newspaper published in Gove
county was the Grainfield Republican. A. J. R. Smith editor, which made its
first appearance Jan. 28, 1880. It was newsy and well patronized but we look in
vain in its columns for names which are familiar to us today. John A. Lewis .was
postmaster, A. J. Ayres seems to have been the leading merchant, Miskelly &
Sons—probably relatives- of the young man killed in the Indian raid—were dealers
in live stock, but Beal & Dryer were the only firm whose name is known to the
present generation. The population of Grainfield is not given.

  The Kansas Gazeteer for 1880 mentions Grinnell as having a population of 75.
It says of Grinnell, "it ships cattle and banks at WaKeeney." Joseph Corette was
postmaster. Buffalo Park had 250. L. J. Bliss was postmaster and J. H. Miskelly
was listed as "hotel and live stock dealer."

  Grainfield and Buffalo Park were good trading- points at this time, as not
only did they handle the freight for Gove county but goods were hauled from them
as far as Oberlin on the north and Dighton on the south. These towns as yet had
no railroad, find the official record books for Decatur county and a 4000 pound
safe in which to keep the records were unloaded at Grainfield and hauled to
Oberlin, a distance of fifty miles. The first frame houses in both Oberlin and
Dighton were built of lumber hauled from Grainfield.



Additional Comments:
History of Gove County, Kansas
by W. P. Harrington

Gove City, Kan.	1930


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