Category: Early History
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The Birth of a Town: Alma
Alma, Kansas is a thriving small town located in the center of Wabaunsee County and serves as the county’s seat of government. The town’s history dates to the middle 1860s when the town was first settled and almost simultaneously declared the county seat. In 1856 Gottlieb Zwanziger, a civil engineer, had settled on Mill Creek, building an…
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Alma Bottling Works
-by Greg Hoots- There are few of us that have never enjoyed a cold bottle of “soda pop” on a hot day. That simple pleasure has become a big business in the United States with revenue from the sales of soft drinks topping 100-billion dollars, annually. While soda pop seems as American as apple pie…
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The History of the Alma Salt Works
-by John Winkler- Editor’s note: This manuscript was written by Wabaunsee County pioneer, John Winkler shortly before his death in 1907. Winkler was scheduled to speak from the manuscript at a meeting of the Wabaunsee County Historical Society on August 6, 1907, but was taken ill and could not attend. His manuscript was read to…
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Hecker Bros. Traveling Medicine Show
Today’s Photo Friday is a real rarity, a view of a traveling medicine show taken between 1890 and 1900 at Alma, Kansas by Alma photographer, Gus Meier. An arena with bleachers has been erected for the show, and individual medicine salesmen have tents along the south edge of the grounds. This medicine show was owned…
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A Hardware Legend
-by Kathy Hendricks, WCHS Museum Curator- Alma, Kansas, known as the “City of Native Stone,” had its birthplace at what is today the intersection of Missouri and 3rd Streets. The county’s first courthouse, the town’s first store and its first hotel were all built near that intersection. The town itself is a mere 150 years old,…
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Alma Portland Cement Works
Photographer Tom Parish visited the site of the Alma Portland Cement Works, a late-19th century manufacturing enterprise, located near Alma, Kansas. Parish photographed the remains of the large kiln where ingots of limestone aggregate were fired into cement clinkers. Closed in the early 1900s, the cement works remains a monument to the work of the…
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Mill Creek Valley & Council Grove Railway Bond, 1873
No single force was so important to the development of the American West than the railroad industry. By the middle of the 19th century, the nation’s lawmakers realized that the development of a network of railroads across America would hasten the economic and political development of the land west of the Mississippi River. Several pieces…
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A Tale of Two Photographers
-by Greg Hoots- Louis Palenske was born in Richardson County, Kansas Territory in 1858 (renamed Wabaunsee County in 1859) in a log cabin on the banks of Mill Creek, the son of German immigrants Frederick and Caroline Palenske. Louis was the second white child born on Mill Creek, preceded only by his brother, August. Louis…
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Number Please: The History of the Telephone in Wabaunsee County
In the history of Wabaunsee County, June 25, 1898 is a date of historical significance when the McMahan Telephone Exchange opened for business in Alma, Kansas with twelve subscribers. The telephone company opened an office at 224 Missouri Street where an operator managed the switchboard which connected the callers on various lines. The lines began…
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Eskridge City Park Bandstand
After Wabaunsee County’s incorporated towns were established from the 1860s through the 1880s, the towns began to recognize the need for a park for the recreation and enjoyment of their citizenry. By the dawn of the 20th century, most of the towns had established a park, easily accessible by walking. At the same time, virtually…