August 15, 2020
From Rails to Trails to Highways and Back
1
FROM RAILS TO TRAILS TO HIGHWAYS AND BACK This narrative documents life in Allen
provided by the United States Congress.
the public, the exhibit features dozens of
Society, several sources were critical to
County through five generations of the
Today’s publication in the Iola Register is
photos and items publicly displayed for
this narrative’s success. Among others,
Wilson family, a fictional family whose
designed to support the local companion
the very first time.
The Annals of Allen County, Volumes
progress and challenges echo those of
exhibit, “From Trails, to Rails, To Highways,
Certain passages highlighted in this
One and Two, and The Chronicles of Allen
our communities.
and Back”, a collaborative effort by the
publication will be displayed on the walls
County, Volume Three, along with the
“Crossroads: Change in Rural America”
Allen County Historical Society, Bowlus
with surrounding supportive photographs,
collections at the historical society, were
is an exhibition at the Bowlus Fine
Fine Arts Center, Thrive Allen County, Iola
articles, and artifacts. Additionally, extra
essential sources in documenting local
Arts Center which opens August 29.
Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the
prints of this publication will be available
history. All featured photos are courtesy
“Crossroads: Change in Rural America”,
Bowlus and the Iola Register.
at the exhibition, whose layout will be in
of the historical society.
made possible by Humanities Kansas,
We invite you to come to the Bowlus to
the chronological order of the diary. Please
is part of Museum on Main Street, a
explore the many crossroads experienced
contact the Bowlus at (620) 365-4765
collaboration between the Smithsonian
throughout
or visit bowluscenter.org/crossroads for
Institution
Discover your community’s history and
more information about the exhibit.
for
the defining moments that make our
Composed by Larry Manes, a board
Museum on Main Street has been
corner of Kansas a special place. Free to
member of the Allen County Historical
Councils
and
State
nationwide.
Humanities Support
Allen
County’s
history!
Osage Indians
Je re m i a h Wi l s o n Journal entry - May 15, 1856 My name is Jeremiah Wilson and I was born in the early summer of 1841 on a small but well maintained farm near Gloversville, New York – the first-born son of Jedidiah Wilson. My father was a stern, principled man who supported abolitionism, temperance, pacifism, and egalitarianism. In the fall of 1855 he was approached by a man named Henry Clubb, who was of similar ideas, about establishing a utopian socialist community in the new Kansas Territory which would follow these ideals. According to Mr. Clubb, plans were well established to build a new town. My father found this idea very appealing and after due thought he sold our farm in New York, packed up the family and set off for the Far West region of Kansas at the first signs of spring, 1856. Mr. Clubb provided us with a map of our route and a letter of introduction to the community members of Octagon City. I have decided to keep a written record of our experiences in Kansas to pass on to my descendants so they can appreciate our travels and travails in arriving at this grand undertaking to build a perfect society.
Cofachique About midday of our third day out of Ft. Scott we stopped at the town Cofachique. It may be notable that the name is pronounced as if the “que” was not appended to the name. Given the report we had received the previous day, my father thought it well advised to purchase some staples at this community to see us through our first month at Octagon City. Father was most disappointed in the town. Beyond its rough appearance, the men (the population was primarily male) proved to be most undesirable. They were primarily originally
from the South and were decidedly pro-slave. They also seemed to enjoy visiting the saloon and partaking of alcohol – several appeared to be somewhat besotted. This led father to declare the town a den of iniquity, and while we did secure some basic supplies, he vowed to never again trade with the businesses in the town so long as they persisted in their unacceptable ideas and behaviors. We camped that night at the base of the mound and would complete our trek to our ultimate destination early the next morning which would allow us nearly all day to settle into
our new home.
Addendum - May 10, 1859.
The trip from the edge of Cofachique to Octagon City took only about an hour. We arrived a little after 9:00 a.m. on the morning of May 15, 1856 and were immediately cast into shock. Based upon the information we had received from Mr. Clubb, we expected to find a large stone structure in the middle of town to house new-comers, an array of houses surrounding it, and cultivated fields stretching for acres beyond. Instead we discover a large tent in the middle of the City with a dirt floor and a single large cooking stove in the center and a cluster of smaller tents serving as housing for settlers. As we continue to survey our surroundings, there is no saw mill and no grist mill – both of these had been promised by Mr. Clubb. My father can contain his anger only as a result of his growing concern about our immediate prospects. While
she does her best to contain her disappointment, I can see that there are tears in my mother’s eyes. We are told that many families have already left which in a strange way is of benefit to us – we are able to move into one of the recently abandoned tents and with effort should be able to improve into at least a minimally acceptable condition. It is now two days later and my father has decided to stay here for the summer in the hopes that the promised support from the East will arrive. There is a single plow available in the community and Father, as one of the few experienced farmers in the community, is trying to plow parcels for the planting of at least some garden crops. His efforts are made almost impossible by the heavy mud left from last night’s storm. He has decided to wait a day or two in the hope that the ground, which appears to be potentially rich, will dry enough to be tilled.
With fall upon us we are now committed to stay at Octagon City for the upcoming winter. There are but a few of us left here, however the ones that have stayed represent the strongest and most dedicated of the original settlers. Still, it appears that we lack the necessary resources to survive the winter without outside help. Travelers have told us that the local Indian tribe has a semi-permanent encampment along the Neosho River about a mile north of Cofachique. We understand that the Indians have excess food reserves and will trade for cloth and trinkets if they meet their fancy. Hence we have gathered up all the fabric and limited jewelry, including my mother’s wedding ring, in the wagon and will set off in the morning for the Indian encampment.
I am writing this some three years after our original visit to Cofachique. That town is now largely abandoned and certainly condemned to total collapse in the very near future. Over the last three years the County has grown in population as more settlers have arrived from the East. These new settlers recognize the evils of slavery October 12, 1856 and those who support it and When we arrived at the have founded new towns Indian camp yesterday which have allowed them to morning, we were quite boycott Cofachique. surprised at the appearance of the camp and its inhabitants. The camp, or more appropriately the village, is quite clean and September 28, 1856 well kept, despite the dogs The past few months have and horses that the tribe been busy as those of us who possesses. The Indians remain in the colony try to have a large stock of dried prepare for the on-coming buffalo meat and hides as winter. It is now fall and we well as dried maize and have been able to store away beans from the summer’s enough garden produce and gardens. These Indians were canned enough excess to see most happy to greet us and our greatly reduced numbers two spoke a limited degree through the upcoming of English which made winter. Fortunately, those of our efforts much simpler. us who do remain are used We succeeded in securing to the hard labor necessary dried provisions and enough to improve a few tents to buffalo hides to provide make them tenable for the warmth for the cold nights to trials that lie ahead. We have come. The Indians insisted strengthened our canvas that we stay the night and tents with long strips of tree they treated us to a hearty bark that add to the stability meal and a dance by the and warmth of our humble men for our entertainment. abodes. If we can survive At the end of the day my the winter, Father says that father opined that they were we can reassess our options much superior in behavior to move to better prospects and morality to the men we when spring comes. I fear had met at Cofachique. We that several of our neighbors secured sufficient food stuff and perhaps some of our to see us and our neighbors family will not live to explore back at Octagon City through the cold months to those options. come.
Octagon City (The Vegetarian Community) Journal Entry – May 20, 1856
Journal Entry – October 10, 1856
Allen County’s first residents, AN OSAGE INDIAN FAMILY
Humboldt Journal Entry – May 15, 1857 It appears that spring is now definitely here after a seemingly long winter. While we did lose two members of our group to croup and ague, our immediate family was left relatively healthy and ready to find a better location for our settling place. We have talked to people passing by on their way to found a new community on the banks of the Neosho River a few miles south of our current location. It appears that this community has sound backing for a town company from reputable men led by N.B. Blanton and J.A. Coffey. Today my father and I traveled to this new town site to judge for ourselves the character and permanence of this effort. My father will not again relocate to a new city based solely on the promises of developers and speculators.
place and work is obviously progressing on a two-story log hotel and a general store that promises to be well stocked. A gentleman named Thurston has promised a steam powered saw mill will be in operation by early summer and much of the equipment is already on site. Plans are also set to construct a tin shop and grist mill within the next year. A strong movement is afoot in the State Legislature to officially move the county seat to the place from Cofachique during the 1858 session, which, if successful, will ensure the continued growth of the town in the future. My father was most impressed.
As we continued to survey the town, one potential problem did confound my father. The town will be named for the German scientist, philosopher, and geographer Baron von Humboldt. It is not the name itself which bothers my father, it is the fact that When we arrived at this new the vast majority of the community, it exceeded new residents are German our expectations. Several immigrants only recently permanent dwellings are in