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Before the town of Ezbon (later Esbon) even began, there was Ezbon School District No. 98. The district was organized on Sept. 4, 1873. Little is known about the early years of the school as only a few comments survive. One, a comment in the Sept. 9, 1880 Jewell County Review, tells about a "special meeting" to repair the old school house. Then an Oct. 7, 1880 note in the Jewell County Review relates "a five month school begins in District No. 98...although a sod house, it is well fixed up."...
Coming up Saturday, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day. Constitution Day became a National Holiday with the passing of the Omnibus Spending Bill of 2004. It is also called “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.” Senator Robert Byrd proposed the amendment to the spending bill which created the special day. Citizenship Day had existed on its own since Feb. 29, 1952, when a bill, signed by President Harry S. Truman, became law. Citizenship Day was preceded by “I Am An American Day.” That holiday was advocated by newspaperman William Randolph Hearst...
Constructed in the 1890s the oldest frame building on Main Street in Lawrence ended its life Friday. The demolition of the little building nestled between the post office and old cafe building is no more. The building has most recently been used as an art studio, but has remained empty for a number of years. A bit of history of the building is taken from the Lawrence 100 year anniversary book goes as follows: The building was built in the 1890s and the use varied as follows: law office,...
The Lawrence Telephone Company ceased existence in 1958 when the business was sold to the Glenwood Telephone Membership Corp. However, a reminder of the business continued on in the presence of the phone company's office sitting on the north end of Main Street in Lawrence. The evidence of that building will soon go away as well as the Lawrence Fire Department used the building for a 'Practice Burn' on Sunday, Aug. 28. The building is gone but the remaining trash has to be cleaned up. After the b...
To date, there are thought to have been a total of 16 high schools which provided education for students in Jewell County. Of course, not all were in existence at the same time. But spanning Jewell County's history, from near the beginning in 1876 to the present day, an education "higher" than common school (eighth grade) was and is available in Jewell County. Today, Rock Hills USD 107, is the only high school in Jewell County. The first newspaper item about "high school" in Jewell County is...
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the building of the log cabin which became Superior's first post office. It was built by William Louden, the founder of Superior. The cabin was first located on the lower lands southwest of the former Mid-America Dairymen plant. There it served not only as the post office but also as an early store and residence. Tiny houses are not new. At one time it was divided and two families called the small structure home. The building has been moved at least...
The historical Beeler House, Mankato, has recently undergone a lot of restoration and unique updating. This 120 year old Queen Anne Victorian House was one of the several historic houses featured during the 150th Year Mankato Celebration held on Memorial Weekend. Located on Commercial Street, this unique house is thought to be built by L.C. Beeler, a farmer from the Ionia area. He was the son of the well known early pioneer farmer-stockman, Fredrick Beeler. He lived in the house until the...
The Ruskin Alumni banquet was a wonderful event. I was asked to share my dad’s (Keith Schultz) story about the Class of 1948 and their connection to the gymnasium built in 1949. Here is his story in his words: School Memories By Keith Schultz The Class of 1948. We were the last class to play basketball and volleyball in the little gym in the school house. I’d like to tell the story of how we became an influence on getting this building built. In 1946, we had an administration change. JF Hunter left Ruskin and hired a major fresh out of the arm...
In 1950, the Athens Rural High School Alumni began to gather annually. The meeting was sometimes called the “Athens School Reunion” but whatever the name, the group met continually for 42 years. At the 1992 meeting, faced with dwindling attendance, it was decided to look into the possibility of meeting with the Ionia Alumni Association. The earliest known record of an Ionia Alumni Association, gathering, reunion or community picnic is found in a May 1967 Jewell County Record. This group also continued to meet. But in 1993, the two groups, the...
25 was the year . . . Mick Streff and Don Faimon both were graduates of the Lawrence High School that year. And . . . they both had low "lottery numbers" in the Military Draft. The military draft was a thing many young men considered at that time and these two had numbers that insured they would be called up for military service in short order. Both volunteered for the Army quickly. After basic training, both ended up in Europe, Mr. Streff in Belgium and Mr. Faimon in Germany. Both returned...
Strand Hill is familiar to many, especially those living or growing up in the Randall area. The long sloping hill lies immediately south of Randall and is situated in both Allen and Prairie Townships. Today's 250 Road traverses the hill. Because of the location of Randall, on the township line, the W 1⁄2 of both Sections 6 and 7 were taken from Allen Township and added to Prairie Township. Thus, much of Strand Hill lies in Prairie Township. The hill is named for the Strand Family. Joseph N. S...
The Jewell County Monitor on March 20, 1925, reported the following: The worst thing which has happened to Mankato in a long time was the loss of the large modern Metz Packing Plant on North High Street by fire Sunday morning. The fire evidently originating in the furnace corner of the basement, just how, when, or where was not known as the fire had gained such headway before being discovered that the basement could not be checked. The Formoso Fire Department was called and reached Mankato in 29 minutes although the roads were bad to assist in...
None of the 15 Jewell County high schools were alike. There were different mascots and colors, some had mottos, some didn't, some had buildings built for first through twelfth grades, others had buildings dedicated to the high school. But one school had several attributes setting it apart from all the others. Northbranch Academy didn't have a district number or a "school board." It had a charter from the State of Kansas and was governed by a nine-member board of directors. Northbranch Academy...
The Limestone Post Office was located in Section 18 of Limestone Township. Anyone who has driven through western Jewell County on Highway 36 has driven by Section 18. It is between 80 Road and 70 Road on the north side of 36 Highway. Today there seems nothing to indicate a post office was there in the “early day.” The Limestone Post Office was also called the Esbon Post Office though it originally was not in the town of Esbon nor even in Esbon Township. The post office was organized on Jan. 26, 1874. Discontinued and reestablished twice, it...
“In like a lion and out like a lamb.” Or “In like a lamb and out like a lion.” Those adages are not the only weather ones for March. There is also “A dry March and a wet May; fill barn and bays with corn and hay.” Plus, “As it rains in March, so it rains in June.” And finally, “March winds and April showers, bring forth May flowers. We can expect windy days in March. March and April are historically the windiest months in Kansas. Dodge City is the third windiest place in the United States behind only Mount Washington, New Hampshire and Blue Hil...
The Dentonia Post Office was organized on Aug. 25, 1882, and discontinued on Dec. 31, 1903. Bruntzel's Quick Reference to Kansas gives the location as Section 29 of Odessa Township. Dentonia is not found on the 1878 Jewell County map nor is it listed in the 1880 Kansas Gazetteer. But the "Dentonia P.O." is located in Section 29 on the 1884 Jewell County Atlas and "Dentonia" is located in Section 29 on the 1887 Jewell County Map. The town must have sprung up in the early 1880s. Informative...
The Black and Gold Falcons of Formoso were part of the educational scene of Jewell County for 50 years. The four-year high school began in the fall of 1910 and closed in the spring of 1960. The closure came after an April 19, 1960, fire had so damaged the school building it was condemned. But the history of the high school began a bit earlier. Anne Bowles, Deborah Guthrie and Pearl Thompson were the first students to graduate from Formoso High School. The year was 1904. That first commencement...
Jewell County was organized on July 14, 1870. The U. S. Census for 1870 found 205 persons living in the county. By 1880, the population had grown to 17,475. A tremendous increase in population in a relatively short period of time. Not all the residents of the county found prosperity, some found dire financial straits. It was not many years into the county history that Jewell County faced the necessity of caring for those in need. "Pauper" was the term used in those early days to identify...
Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) have worked hand-in-hand with conservation partners to support landowners for 50 years to accomplish the mission of protecting lives, property and the future. NRDs deliver several state and federal programs including many projects with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE), Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NeDNR) and the University of Nebraska. These partnerships equate into real dollars for N...
It is January, time for cold weather, New Year's resolutions and the birthday of the State of Kansas. It was on Jan. 29, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln signed the document establishing Kansas as the 34th State in the United States of America. This year, Kansas is 161 years old. During those 161 years, Kansas has acquired some 24 symbols plus mottos, banners and nicknames. It began in 1861 with the State Seal and has continued through 2019 with the state's White Wine Grape, Vignoles, and the...
Jewell County was named and the boundaries established by the Kansas State Legislature on Feb. 26, 1867. The government of the county was organized on July 14, 1870, when James Harvey, Kansas governor, appointed C. L. Seeley, E, T. Gandy and A. I. Davis as county commissioners, James A. Scarborough as county clerk, and Jewell City as the county seat. In the beginning, Jewell County had only five townships, Big Timber, Buffalo, Limestone, Vicksburg and White Rock. There were 207 residents counted on the 1870 U. S. Federal Census. Today there is...
This week marks the 150th anniversary of a buffalo hunt that some credit for being the inspiration of famous paintings created by Alfred Bierstadt, a western landscape artist. But an event which happened in Nuckolls County in 1863 is claimed by local historians as the source of the inspiration. A story recorded in Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences and written by Claredon E. Adams, said the following narrative was told to him by E. S. Comstock, an earlier settler in the Oak area. “In 1863, Mr. Albert Bierstadt, a German Landscape painter, joined a...
October 17,1951, was a big day in Superior. Both the Crest Theatre and the new J.C. Penney store were having grand openings. The J.C. Penney Company arrived in Superior in 1929. The store was moving to a new downtown location and expanding its inventory. The community was thrilled to know James Cash Penney, the founder of the company, was going to make an appearance in Superior. J.C. Penney and three partners opened their first Golden Rule store in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyo. Mr. Penney's idea was to...
Physiographic features of Jewell County By Kerma Crouse In a relatively obscure 1955 publication, "Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Jewell County, Kansas," authors V. C. Fishel and Alvin R. Leonard included a map of the physiographical features of Jewell County. These features include the Greenhorn Hills, the Jewell Plain, the Mankato Upland as well an area of Chalk Pediments. The Greenhorn Hills are in the southeast corner of the county – Allen Township. With the exception of a few scant a...
You can't turn on the television today without seeing advertisements for Ancestry.com or hear about how DNA is connecting people from all over the world. You may not have an interest in genealogy, but maybe you have in your possession an item or story that might help someone researching the ancestors of your family. I contacted Bill Blauvelt to see if I could submit a small article about preserving our past and he graciously agreed to publish my article in this newspaper. I consider myself a fam...
