Wilson County Historical Society

Wilson County Historical Society Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Wilson County Historical Society, Museum, 420 N 7th Street, Fredonia, KS.

10/12/2017

WILSON COUNTY MUSEUM
is having an evening of
FRIGHT at the SPOOKY BARN!
We will be open from 8:00pm to 11:00pm
October 13th, 14th, 27th, 28th, and 31st
There is a $3.00 admission charge

10/03/2017

The City of Altoona(!904) was started in 1869 and was originally called Giddesburg. Dr T.F.C. Dodd was president and J.N.D. Brown was secretary of the town company. Dodd was the first physician to locate in the town and he was still there in 1904.The town company's two- column advertisement in the Altoona Union contained the striking headline(1870) "Ho! for Altoona, the future county of seat of Wilson County" Altoona has an abundance of oil and gas and the town uses both for light and fuel.
Altoona is now a thriving little town and is rapidly growing. It has a large smelter, a large brick plant, ,a large flouring mill, four lumber yards, a good weekly newspaper, a creamery, two livery stables, two millinery stores, photograph gallery, two good banks, three churches,, opera house, a school building, several lodges, jewler, lawyers, doctors, ministers.
Altoona has a local and long distance telephone systems and is connected with all surrouding towns. It also has two rural free delivery mall routes.
The Missouri Pacific railroad runs through this place and is the CoffeyvilIe-Kansas City main line. Altoona has some of the most pleasant people a person could care go meet always ready welcome a stranger and to help a good cause along, and we will here say that the town has one of the best Commercial Club They are all hustlers and good honest business men .
Altoona is in Cedar township.

08/28/2017

This story is from "Ghost Towns of Kansas" Volume II
written by Daniel Fitzgerald

The history of Guilford goes back to May of 1861, when J.H. Gunby built the first log cabin on the townsite on the west side of the Verdigris river. Gunby had intended on moving into his cabin but was motivated to seek elsewhere when the Indians burned it down. Gunby then settled on Buffalo creek.
In 1865, the war was terminated and a treaty was made with the Indians in the fall. Many settlers then began moving in, all locating on precious bottom claims. Andrew Akin and sons, Carlos G. and Charles M settled in the fall of 1867 and soon set up a sawmill where the townsite of Guilford was later located. A post office was established in 1868, with Andrew Akin as postmaster. The Verdigris river was damned and the Akin flour mill constructed in 1870.These were the beginnings of Gilford, being formally planned in 1870 by the Guildford Town Company, and filing charter on August 5 of that year.
Mr. Samuel Morse opened a store at Guilford on the west side of the town in 1869 and Luke Brook promoted one in 1870 on the east side. In addition, Guilford began building a law office, doctor's office, printing plant, shoe shop, blacksmith shop and a snake antidote resort. They were all built in 1870.
Robbers and Bandits found Guilford a good place to stay. The editor of ;the Guilford Citizen wrote, "During the last ten days , our county has been troubled by a gang of horse thieves who have displayed a boldness in their operations which is rarely to be met with, even among these longhaired bad guys.."
Gilford rapidly declined until the year 1876. Then, in 1886, two railroads were constructed through Guilford Township. At their intersection, the town of Benedict was surveyed in May of 1886. Many of the town's buildings and the post office were moved to Benedict from 1888 to 1889.
The current townsite of Guilford, which is eight miles northeast of Fredonia, has few remains today.

08/28/2017

Our hours are 1:00p to 4:30p Mon. thur Fri.

07/28/2017

We were looking thru some other newspapers this week, to find stuff for this column. This week is from "The Yellowjacket " of 1939. (Fredonia High School Newspaper)
Time Has Come to Brush Up On Manners
Time makes one wonder if manners are OK
Q: Should the boy send the girl a corsage? What time should it be sent?
A: Corsages should be sent about 5: or 5:30. If the girl lives in the country, the boy make take it when he goes after her.
Q: Should the boy take hold of the girl's arm when walking?
A: Neither takes hold of the others arm.
Q: Who checks the wraps?
A: The boy takes all wraps and checks them
Q: Is smoking permissible at the banquet?
A:Smoking and drinking are not accepted at high school anytime or anyplace.
Q: From which side of the chair should you sit down?
A: Sit down from the left side of the chair.
Q: Should the napkin be completely unfolded?
A: If it is a large napkin unfold only half, if small, unfold entirely.
Q; What should be done it a piece of silverware is dropped?
A:Leave it on the floor and ask the waiter to bring another.
Q: What if you do not like a food that is served?
A: Taste all the foods and eat a little whether you like it or not.
Q: May souvenirs be taken?
A: Leaver flowers and silverware alone. You may take favors or programs.
Q: Should bread be taken with fork or fingers?
A: Take bread with fingers, never stab with fork
Q: Is it your duty to dance with your date?
A. Dance first and last dance with date always. See that your date has a date for every dance.

Have any comments? But remember this is 1939!

07/24/2017

DID YOU KNOW
The land on which Neodesha now stands was traded for a pony worth $10.00 in the fall of 1868. Soon afterward, R.S. Futhey and John B Keys, Colfax, purchased the very same claim for $500.00
The name Neodesha, is an Osage Indian name, meaning meeting of the roily waters of the Vedigris and Fall RIvers, which was named by the committee of settlers in 1869; it grew from a trading post to a town of 1,000 population in a single year -1870-and that 32 years elapsed before it attained the second 1,000; it now has a population of 3500--and that it was larger by 1,350 in1906?
A NEODESHAN 64 YEARS
Dr. E.N. Nichols, one of the pioneer citizens of Neodesha, will celebrate the 64th anniversary of his arrival in that city on April 15th, 1940
IN THE LONG, LONG AGO
A Neodeshan, an ancient exhorter and of amorous whiskey fame exhorts the jury not to find him guilty on 70 counts for violating the liquor law The county attorney Ed Mikesell presented the defendant with a BIble so that his lonesome moments in the county bastille may renew his strength by thought and mediation. ALL Neodesha attended the trail.
Anniversary of First Child
Tomorrow (March 5, 1940) will mark the 70th birthday anniversary of the first white child born on the site of the city of Neodesha---Mrs. Thomas Fulton, who before her marriage was Miss Neodesha Derry, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. C.W. Derry. She died September 7 1895 at the age of 25 years. Mrs. Fulton was named "Neodesha" it is said at the request of the townsite committee.
HAS PICTURE OF 1917 PARADE
Yesterday's (Oct ?1940) story in the Daily Sun about the World war registration day on June 5, 1917 has brought forth a photograph of the parade car that day. Mrs. Omer Thompson today brought to the Sun office two pictures, one of the parade on registration day and the other of soldiers in Neodesha in 1917.
The parade picture shows at the head of the columns two of Neodesha's beloved citizens now gone----Mayor Jack Bonus and Dr.John Moorhead.(The Museum doesn't have this picture)

07/14/2017

James Porter Visits Here From Panama (1967)

Very few people have had the honor of having a building named after them....while they still live. Dr. James A. Porter, Jr. of Panama has the display building at the Wilson County fairgrounds named in his honor
One of energetic organizers of the present Wilson County Fair, Dr. Porter is presently a research scientist at the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory in Panama City. He is specializing in research on malaria. Dr. Porter's staff do experimental work with monkeys, but also have been called upon to help when outbreaks of malaria have occurred among the Central American Indians. With 15 -20 people in the lab and more working in the field the Laboratory has programs on many tropical diseases.
Because the U S Army has not been fighting in Southeast Asia for several years, they dropped their malaria program, but now a crash program is underway to improve the treatment used in World War II and since.
During this summers visit to the United States, the Porter children, Kathleen 8, Craig 11, and Darcy 15, have brought along their school books. The Panama school year runs from just after Easter until about Christmas time. The first months of the year are their vacation time.
After attending the fair at the end of July, the family will head back home to Panama. After flying here on the first leg of their journey. they will be driving home a new car, which they purchased in the United States. They plan a leisurely drive back through Mexico and Panama. Dr. Porter says good highways all though Mexico and to Panama City will allow them to travel comfortably and as swiftly as they could in the US. In fact, he thinks, it will take less time for the long drive home than it did to fill out the paperwork to be able to put his Panama tag on his new car and bring it back over international lines.
The most important part of the Porter's luggage is Dr. Porter's
briefcase, with all the family's travel permits in it.

Vanishing Art Is Part of Fredonia Heritage Glass Plant Part of Fredonia Hey-Days A part of Fredonia's his...
07/07/2017

Vanishing Art Is Part of Fredonia Heritage
Glass Plant Part of Fredonia Hey-Days
A part of Fredonia's history fast fading into oblivion is the glass blower. At one time these highly skilled craftsmen were numerous--in the days when the old brick building where the County shops are located produced glass for a growing building economy.
Few of these glass blowers are left today (1967) in Fredonia. One is Joe Yetka, who retains only some of the tools of his old trade, but many memories of the days when a highly skilled young blower like himself could ply his trade anywhere and was always welcome.
Born at Carnegie, PA in 1880, Mr. Yetka became a glass blower's apprentice at the age of 14. Apprentice's usually serve a four year term, however, he learned fast and became a full-fledged blower before he was 18. He first came to Fredonia in 1907. He worked awhile for the Fredonia Glass Plant which had been built about three years before.
He was young and single and had an urge to see the country.
He worked in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for several years. He returned to Fredonia permanently in 1913.
This was a period of booming economy and population in Fredonia. The abundance of natural gas being discovered in the fields around the city fed several industries.
At the Fredonia Glass Plant a record amount of single, double, and triple strength glass was being turned out by the hand-blown method
A blower himself, Mr. Yetka worked with a three man crew that included a gatherer and a snapper, in addition to himself. Working above a large tank of molten glass, it was the gatherer's job whirl the proper amount of molten glass onto the blower's blowpipe. The gatherer blew the initial bubble in the blob of glass then handed the blowpipe to the blower.
The skillful blower then blew a large cylinder of glass all the while twirling the pipe to be sure no spot was thicker than another, swinging the glass back into the heat so it did not cool too quickly. When the cylinder was blown, the snapper cut it loose form the blowpipe. It was then split and reheated to make a flat piece of glass. This is why old window glass has "waves" in it.
A three man crew could make about seven cylinders of double strength glass an hour or nine of single strength. Mr. Yetka said he made very little triple strength.
The glass crews worked from September until about June, he remembers. Then the plant closed down during the hot summer months.
The introduction of the rolled glass process and a diminishing gas reserve brought about the end of old-time glass-blowing
The art is only rarely practiced anymore and only for glass specialties.
The hand-blown glass which still exists in window and door panes in Fredonia is eagerly sought for art and craft work.
The Wilson County Historical Museum has among its displays many interesting items which the glass blowers made in their spare time.
After the closing of the glass plant, Mr. Yetka remained in Fredonia, working for the Fredonia school system until he retired. He enjoyed good health disproving the old stories that glass blowers were short-lived.
He was one who marked an important period in Fredonia's first 100 years.

06/30/2017

The following story comes from a collection articles written from personal interviews written by Belle C Lyon for the Wilson County Citizen between the years 1930 and 1938.

On the outskirts of Benedict at the northwest edge of town on a picturesque slope of ground, dotted with beautiful old cedars, stands a fine old mansion where Mr. and Mrs. Steve M. Singleton have resided for the paste forty years.
In 1865, about the time of the close of the Civil War, Mr. Singleton, then a youth of 16 years, came with his sisters and their husbands, Frank and Mose Davis, early settlers of this locality, and located in the vicinity of Benedict.
At the time of his arrival in Wilson county, the Osage Indians were living on he Verdigris river and though mostly subdued and peaceful, there were still occasional outbursts of savagery that, had they not been prevented, might have proved to be of a serious nature.
An incident of this kind recalled by the Singletons and occurring in the Davis family concerned two young women who were alone one day while the men were off at work. An Indian man appeared at the door and demanded that the young housewife give cornmeal to him in exchange for tallow. Not wishing to make this exchange, the courageous woman refused and immediately the Indian advanced on her with his knife, but matching his daring, she backed away from him to the bed where her husband's gun lay and securing it, drew it upon her assaulter. In the meantime, the other young girl had fled from the house and warned the men, who hastened to the house and found the frightened Indian has already made his escape. The irate husband pursued the assailant on horseback and he was not again seen in that vicinity.

Was the castle copied after a Castle on the Rhine? Was the man who engineered this million dollar cement plant and the "...
06/27/2017

Was the castle copied after a Castle on the Rhine? Was the man who engineered this million dollar cement plant and the "Castle" really a German spy? Was the "Castle" and its colorful occupant a missing part of history overlooked in the spy activity in the United States during World War I?
So many years and still a mystery.
Anyone wanting to know more about North Altoona and see more pictures should drop in to the Norman #1 Museum and Gayle Allen can tell you more.
The information in this article was taken from a paper that Merima Carver wrote for a class in Pittsburg State College back in 1964. Thanks to Mrs. Carver for her contribution to this story.
The Museum is open 10 - 12 and 1 - 5 Tuesday through Saturday. Come in and look around.

06/26/2017

Notes from Norman #1 Museum
By Gayle Allen Continued.......
Still another rumor flying around was the Beautner family left Altoona and moved back east. The story goes that their house there caught on fire and Mr. Beautner succumbed to a heart attack during the excitement.
Rumors - how interesting and exciting even though it has been almost a century since this took place in North Altoona. At the beginning o World War I in 1917, the town and the cement plant were one of the busiest and successful plants in Kansas but times change and success does not last forever. A boom town became a ghost town.
Time passes and at the close of the war the plant went bankrupt. The plant was in need of repair after being idle for a year so it was sod at the west door of the court house in Fredonia. It never operated again.
The castle and the plant were crumbling and were destroyed in 1922 when it was considered too dangerous for people to tour them anymore. The buildings were abandoned and left to crumble and fall down in the growing shrubs and trees as nature slowly reclaimed its land.
to be continued......

06/23/2017

Notes from Norman #1 Museum
By Gayle Allen
In a picturesque setting about four miles north of Altoona, the quiet beauty of the countryside a mystery of early 1900's before World War I is revealed as one leisurely drives or walks through the beautiful place The Verdigris River tumbles along through the valley close by the Missouri Pacific railroad. Things change and the castle that once was there is gone, In addition the Portland Cement plant formerly located dated there is nothing more than
there were 150 to 200 men employed there under the management of Mr Victor Beautner ( pronounced Boyntner) who came to Altoona to construct the plant but also build "castle" for his family to live in.
The local neighborhood was quite impressed by the Beautner family and their apparent wealthy . Above a cliff overlooking the river and the railroad, this castle was built. It towered over the surrounding trees and shrubbery, standing like a sentinel overlooking the country side. This wealthy family enjoyed a different and more elaborate standard of living,
The cement plant was situated on 500 acres of land and was the most modern cement plant in the world .It was in operation by January 1, 1909. The plant was located four mile north of Altoona and was built so the best economy of the manufacturer was obtained.
World Was I broke out in Europe and the neighborhood of North Altoona became engrossed in wartimes activities as wer similar neighborhood.
Rumors flew concerning the Beautner family - how the mysteriously disappeared leaving everything behind. It was reported that Mr. Beautner was a spy for the Germans. It was a also said he was caught and hanged as a spy in Louisiana, or perhaps it was in Leavenworth as the informant's hearing was not to good. As the story goes he was to watch the railroad and monitor shipments to the gulf of Mexico and a ship that sailed to Europe to help in the effort against Germany.
to be continued.........

Address

420 N 7th Street
Fredonia, KS
66736

Opening Hours

Monday 12am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 12am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 12am - 4:30pm
Thursday 12am - 4:30pm
Friday 12am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16203783965

Website

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