An incorporated town of Crawford County, is a station on the St. Louis & San Francisco RR, about 15 miles northeast of Girard, the county seat, and near the Missouri state line. It has a bank, a good graded public school, a fire department, a weekly newspaper, planing mills, brick and textile factories, a hotel, churches of several of the leading denominations, and in 1910 reported a population of 694.

Communication with other places is maintained by telegraph and telephone in addition to the facilities offered by the post office, which issues international money orders and supplies the surrounding rural districts with mail through the medium of four free delivery routes.

An incorporated town of Crawford county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific RR, 9 miles east of Girard, the county seat, and about 3 miles west of the state line. It is a typical Kansas town, has express and telegraph offices, a flour mill, a lumber yard, several general stores, and in 1901 reported a population of 327.

A village in Sheridan township, Crawford county, is a station on the St Louis & San Francisco RR 5 miles south of Girard, the county seat. It has a money order post office, express and telegraph service, a good local trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 100.

A village in Crawford county, is located in the northeastern part, about 12 miles from Girard, the county seat, and 3 miles northwest of Drywood, which is the nearest railroad station. Mail is received by rural delivery from Arcadia. The population was 112 in 1910.

One of the principal incorporated cities of Crawford county, is located near the southern boundary, at the junction of the St Louis & San Francisco and the Missouri Pacific RR, 12 miles south of Girard the county seat. When the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf RR was under construction, supply camps and boarding shanties were established at suitable places along the line for the workmen. A building of this nature was erected by William Sharp on the site of Cherokee early in the year 1870, which was the beginning of the present city. The land had been entered by John G. Knox and John J. Hoke, but it was donated to the railroad company, which in April, 1870, laid out the town and began selling lots. A school house was erected the following year, and in May 1874, W.K. Goode removed his newspaper outfit from Girard and began the publication of the Cherokee Pharos, which was the first newspaper.

The Cherokee of the present day is one of the busy cities of southeastern Kansas. It has two national banks, flour mills, grain elevators, an ice plant, a broom factory, a telephone exchange, good hotels, churches of principal denominations, a graded school system, telegraph and express offices, a number of first class mercantile establishments, and a weekly newspaper (the Sentinel). The post office at Cherokee issues international money orders, and from it emanate two rural routes which supply a large district with daily mail.

Sheridan township, in which the city is situated, is one of the finest agricultural regions in that section of the state, and Cherokee is the shipping point for large quantities of grain and live stock. Coal of fine quality is extensively mined near the city. According to the US census of 1910, the population was 1,452.

One of the principal towns of Crawford county, is located in Baker township, 13 miles southeast of Girard,,the county seat, and 4 miles southwest of Pittsburg. It is in the coal fields, and the chief occupation of the people is mining and shipping coal, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri Pacific railroads furnishing excellent transportation facilities. The town has a money order post office, telegraph and telephone facilities, Catholic and Protestant churches, good public schools, some well stocked stores, and in 1910 reported a population of 955.

A village of Crawford county, is a station on the Joplin & Pittsburg electric line and about 8 miles east of Girard, the county seat. It has an international money order post office, some local trade, and in 1910 reported a population of 125.

A thriving town in the eastern part of Crawford county, is a station on the Kansas City Southern RR about 12 miles east of Girard, the count seat. It is situated in the coal fields, mining is the principal industry. It has a money order post office, some well stocked general stores, telephone connections, etc. Curranville was incorporated in 1906 and in 1910 reported a population of 773.

A village of Lincoln township, Crawford county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific RR about 9 miles northeast of Girard, the county seat. It has a money order post office, express and telegraph service, telephone connections, a hotel, a feed mill, some good general stores, and in 1910 reported a population of 140.

A prosperous little town of Crawford county, is a station on the St. Louis & San Francisco RR in Sherman township, 7 miles north of Girard, the county seat. It has a money order post office with one rural route, telegraph and express service, some good general stores, Christian and Methodist churches, etc. and in 1910 reported a population of 211.

A village of Crawford county, is a station on the Joplin & Pittsburg electric railroad, about 8 miles east of Girard, the county seat. It has a money order post office and is a trading center for that section of the county. The population in 1910 was 150.

An incorporated city of the second class in Crawford county, is located 9 miles southeast of Girard, the county seat, at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Kansas City Southern railroads. It is also on the line of the Joplin & Pittsburg electric railway. Frontenac has a bank, international money order post office, express and telegraph service, telephone connections, several good mercantile establishments, hotels, etc. It is situated in the coal fields, and the principal industry is coal mining. A Catholic academy is at Frontenac, and the city has a good public school system. The population in 1910 was 3,396, a gain of 1591 during the preceding decade.

A town of Crawford county, with a population of 351 in 1910, is a station on the Kansas City Southern RR 10 miles east of Girard, the county seat. It has a money order post office, telegraph and express offices, telephone connections, a good local trade, etc. Coal mining is the principal industry, and large quantities of coal are shipped from Fuller annually.

The county seat of Crawford county is situated near the center of the county at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the St. Louis & San Francisco railroads. It is also connected by electric lines to Franklin and Dunkirk. The town was laid out in 1868, when the railroad survey was made, by a company of which A. Danford was president and C.H. Strong was secretary. It was named Girard by Mr. Strong, after his old home town in Pennsylvania. The first dwelling was erected by C.H. Strong, who was appointed the first postmaster when the post office was established in 1868. J. Alexander opened the first store. A second store was soon after opened by a man named Sinnet, and in Dec., 1868, James Hull erected a building which was used as the first courthouse. Owing to the troubles over building of the railroad, the growth of Girard was slow for a time, but by Feb. 1870, there were 140 buildings in the place. The first town trustees, appointed on Nov. 10, 1869, were L.F. Crawford, N. Sinnet, D.W. Burnett, W.E. Blandon, and James Hull. The first school house was built in 1869, and Maggie T. Hill taught the first school in the new building. A high school was established in 1882. The first newspaper - The Girard Press - was started in Nov., 1869, but did not live long. (See Newspapers)

In March 1871, Girard was incorporated as a city of the third class, and at the election in April George Ryan was chosen mayor; A.J. Vickers, J.E. Raymond, E. Fanger, H.P. Grund, F.B. Andrus were councilman.

The first bank was started in June, 1871, by Frank Playter. The Girard of present day is a city of the second class, equipped with waterworks, electric lights, fire and police departments, a fine sewer system, good public schools, a number of churches, etc. It has 3 banks, 3 weekly newspapers ( Girard Press, Independent News, and Appeal to Reason), an international money order post office, with seven rural routes, a telephone exchange, an opera house, telegraph and express offices, good hotels, and a number of fine stores and residences. Among the industries are flour mills, an oil refinery, a creamery, cereal coffee, condensed milk, vinegar and fence factories, a stove works, and ice and cold storage plant, etc. Being located in the coal fields, a large number of the inhabitants are interested in mining operations, and large quantities of coal are shipped from Girard every year. The population in 1910 was 2,446.

An Incorporated city in Crawford county, is situated in Walnut township and is a station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas RR., about 15 miles northwest of Girard, the county seat. The town was established in Jan 1871, by a company of which B.F. Hepler of Fort Scott was president and T.H. Annable was secretary. The first settler was John Vietz, who erected the first business building. On Jan 4, 1883, appeared the first issue of the Hepler Leader, which was published by W.D. Wright. Hepler has a bank, a money order post office with two rural routes, a weekly newspaper (the Enterprise), telegraph and express facilities, telephone connections, hotels, churches, good public schools, and a number of good mercantile houses. It is a shipping point for a rich agricultural section in the northwestern part of Crawford and southwestern part of Bourbon county, and in 1910 reported a population of 275.

An incorporated city of the third class in Crawford county, is located 16 miles southwest of Girard, the county seat, and is on the St. Louis & San Francisco RR. It has two banks, a weekly newspaper (the McCune Herald), a high school, the leading church denominations, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order post office with six rural routes. The population according to the 1910 census was 736.

McCune was laid out in 1879 by Isaac McCune, who owned and had been farming the land. He built the first store, which was opened by J.D. Rogers. The post office, which was called Time prior to founding the town, was changed to McCune and Mr. McCune was made the postmaster in 1878. The town was incorporated as a city of the third class in Oct., 1881. The following were the first officers: Mayor; Isaac McCune; councilmen, I.V. McCune, R.O. Harris, M. Casey, and K.P. Minard. The first newspaper, the McCune standard, was established in that year by D.A. Burton. By 1882 the town had made considerable progress, having 500 inhabitants and a dozen stores.

A mining town in Crawford county, is located on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the St. Louis & San Francisco railroads, 16 miles southeast of Girard, the county seat. The mining company maintains a general store and there is a money order post office. The town was formerly known as Nyack. The population in 1910 was 400.

A village in Crawford county, is located on Sheridan township on the St. Louis & San Francisco RR, 12 miles south of Girard, the county seat. It has an elevator, a few stores, churches and a school, telegraph and express offices, and a money order post office with one rural route. The population according to the census of 1910 was 179. This is said to be the oldest town in Crawford county, having been laid out by L. Manlove on his own farm in 1866. The post office was established in that year and Manlove was the first postmaster.

An incorporated town in Crawford county, is located in Lincoln and Washington townships at the junction of the Kansas City Southern and the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad, 12 miles east of Girard, the county seat. It has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the News), a flour mill, all lines of retail stores, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order post office with two rural routes. The population according to the 1910 census was 997. Mulberry was founded in the late 70s as a mining town and called Mulberry Grove.

One of the important cities of southeastern Kansas is located in Crawford county, 11 miles southeast of Girard, the county seat. It is 3 miles from the Missouri line and 134 miles from Kansas City, at the junction of four railway systems--the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Missouri Pacific, the Kansas City Southern, and the St. Louis & San Francisco. The Main shops of the Kansas City Southern and the St. Louis & San Francisco are located here and give employment to 1600 men. It is in the mineral and oil district and the zinc smelters give employment to 1200. Coal is extensively mined and shipped.

Other important industries are the foundries and machine shops, cornice works, flour and planing mills, tent and awning factory, boiler works, paving and building brick plant, sewer pipe works, factories for the manufacture of gloves, mittens, garments, and cigars, stone quarries and packing houses. There are 4 banks, 4 newspapers,(the Headlight, the Kansan, the Labor Herald, and the Volkesfreund), and a monthly fraternal paper (the Cyclone). The city has electric lights, fire and police departments, sewer system, waterworks, paved streets, electric street railway, a $60,000 opera house and a fine school and church building. This is the seat of the manual training branch of the state normal school, a Catholic academy, and a German Lutheran school. There are telegraph and express offices and an international money order post office with eight rural routes. This is one of the points designated by the government for a postal savings bank. The population in 1910 was 14,755.

Pittsburg was laid out in 1876 by Col. E.H. Brown for Moffett & Sargent. The post office was established that year with George Richey as postmaster. The first dwelling was built by J.T. Roach in July, and the first business house was erected abut the same time by G.W. Seaburt & Co., who started a general store. By the fall there were 100 inhabitants. In 1879 the town was incorporated as a city of the third class and the first officers were: Mayor, M.M. Snow; councilmen J.R. Lindburg, W. McBride, F. Kalwitz, P.A. Shield and D.S. Miller. The Girard & Joplin R.R. which had been built prior to the founding of the town connected it with these two points. In 1880 the railroad was sold to the St. Louis & San Francisco company. A new addition of 40 acres was platted at that time and in 1882 another addition of like extent. The first newspaper was the Pittsburg Exponent, established in June of 1882, by L.C. Hitchcock.

By 1884 the population was 4,000, six years later it was 6,697, in 1900 it had grown to 10,112. In 1891 there were 29 corporations doing business in Pittsburg with a combined capitalization of nearly $10,000,000. In 1904 there were 55 coal companies employing 11,835 men in addition to many small operators, and 44 new coal mines were opened. During the year ending in Sept., 1904 about 700 new dwelling houses were built and $3,000,000 spent on home improvements.

An incorporated city in Crawford county, is located on Walnut creek and the junction of Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroads, 15 miles northwest of Girard, the county seat. It has a bank, an opera house, a flour mill, grain elevators, 2 weekly newspapers (the Eagle and the Advance), 2 hotels, a washing machine factory, which is also a sawmill and a manufactory for screen doors, a feed mill, a large number of retail establishments, telegraph and express offices and an international money order post office with five rural routes. The population in 1910 was 639. The town was founded in 1871 by a town company. A post office had been established the year before, with Thomas Jones as the first postmaster. Very little progress was made during the first years on account of a dispute between the people and the railroad over the title to the lands. Prior to 1877 the town was known as Glenwood, but the name was changed by the act of March 3, 1877 to correspond to the name of the post office. The first newspaper, the Walnut Journal was established in 1881.

A mining town in Crawford county, is located in Washington township on the Missouri Pacific RR, 12 miles east of Girard, the county seat. It has general stores, telephone connections, telegraph and express offices, boarding houses, and an international money order post office. The population in 1910 was 862.