A Century of Greenwood County, KS History - Eureka Herald, 1968

1903

The coal famine had its clutches on Eureka. The Quincy State Bank opened in January. Ground was broken for the new Free Baptist Church at Union. Eureka received two new rural delivery routes on February 2 - the first to be established hers. Order of the Eastern Star chapter was installed at Severy in March. Wires were being strung for more street lights.

On April 16, the Herald appeared in a brand new dress and new headgear. The new dress weighed about 350 lbs. and cost more than any of the glad rags seen ambling piously to church the Sunday before. Nobody in Eureka had worn a dress as long as the Herald - the old one had done service for 35 years.

Land was being leased for oil and gas. Several oil wells were being sunk in Greenwood and Woodson counties. Southeast Eureka was hit hard by a tornado on May 22 with 30 residential properties damaged, eight totally demolished. Another twister swept across the county in Oct. The First National Bank of Toronto opened its doors for business in July. With the July 16 issue, George G. Wood became a co-worker and partner of George E. Tucker in the Herald. Twenty-five business houses in Eureka agreed to close at 7:30 each evening except Saturday. The old Presbyterian Church at Fourth and Main, which had been a landmark to citizens of Eureka for 20 years, was torn from its foundation and moved to Pine street to be used as a barn.

In October, the Herald went to a twice-a-week publication, edited on Tuesdays and Fridays. Madison opened its new Opera House on Nov. 16. The new city park, to be located at the foot of Main, Oak and Elm streets, was soon to be a reality. The Greenwood County Fair Assoc. was organized in November. The site of the grounds joined Eureka on the southeast. Ten men and 20 horses, under the direction of J.S. Davis, were at work filling in ditches, plowing, scraping and trying to transform prairie land into modern fair grounds.

1904

Horse stables had been erected at the fairgrounds and an amphitheater, 96 feet long with a seating capacity of 1200, was soon to be built. Good Greenwood County beef cattle were bringing $5.35. The new Methodist Church at Severy was dedicated April 17. Land in Otter Creek township was being leased for oil. Eureka's population was 2500.

Heavy rains caused about 10 feet of the newly constructed vault wall on the north side of the courthouse to collapse. The Eureka postmaster received $1900 per year. Petitions had been presented to the city for a sewer system. The board of education was asking for a larger high school building. An election was held in July and the bonds carried 395 to 386. The building was to cost $25,000. The site selected was in the Bitler block, across the street south of Sill's Grove.

The Home National Bank in Eureka opened in August with G.S. Sallyards as president, Samuel Holmes, vice-president, and Elwood Marshall, cashier. The Sorosis Club was organized in September. The Herald issued a daily during the county fair in September. Five thousand people attended the opening day of the fair. A motorcycle on the streets in October caused almost as much attention as a box of monkeys. The owner was averaging 120 miles per day on his trip from Wichita to Missouri. A congregation of free Methodists was organized in Climax in December.

1905

In July, Eureka sported two automobiles. The citizens of the staid old town were completely upset on seeing F.B. Graham come tearing down the street in a 24 hp double action center fire, three-seated touring car. He purchased the machine in Topeka and it was made there by the Smith Bros. The third horseless carriage to appear in eureka was a 10 ho Cadillac, purchased by C.W. Hale.

The second annual Greenwood County fair was held in August. Several gas lights were installed in stores. Dr. W.S. Moonlight located in Eureka in August. School opened in the new high school in September. The building, of native stone and compressed brick, was dedicated on October 13. Eureka merchants signed a petition to close at 6:30 p.m. The Eureka Marble and Granite Works started up in January.

Eureka had a male chorus of 22 members. A.L. Shultz started a newspaper at Quincy, the Quincy Enterprise. On October 6, the Herald went back to a weekly paper. The Electric Light & Power Co. started burning gas under its boilers and did away with coal for that purpose. The big cottonwood trees were removed from the courthouse square and the flying cotton from that particular section was no more. the county had placed a bounty of three cents on crows.

Title Page
1906 - 1907


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