Campbell Township....

Campbell Township was one of the seven original townships organized March 11, 1833, when the county was much larger. Its present boundaries include all the sections in T29N and R21 and 22W. It is bounded by Center Township on the west, Robberson, and Franklin Townships on the north, Taylor Township on the east, and Wilson, Clay and Townships on the south. It is of somewhat greater significance in that it is within this township that the county seat of Springfield is located. It is named after John Polk Campbell who donated the land for Springfield's public square and platted the town site.

Wilson's Creek (that portion running through Springfield's center city is known as Jordan Creek) has as its original source the springs flowing into it. Tributaries of Jordan Creek include Fassnight, South Creek, also within the city limits of Springfield.

The earliest settlers of Campbell Township include: William Fulbright, John Polk and Madison Campbell, Joseph Miller, and Joseph Weaver, 1830; Joseph Roundtree and Kindred Rose, 1831.

Springfield

The settlement that developed around where these early settlers lived was known as Campbell-Fulbright Spring. In 1835 John Polk Campbell platted fifty acres into lots and streets and a public square. The town plan was similar to that of Columbia, Tennessee, Campbell's birthplace. The name given to the town was Springfield relating to the circumstances of there being a spring below the hill while on top of the hill, where the main portion of the town lay, was a field. On August 27, 1836 Campbell deeded to Greene County for county seat purposes the fifty acres. When the railroad came through in 1870, the depot was located a mile north of the town of Springfield. A town called North Springfield developed around the depot. The two towns merged in 1887.

Other communities associated with Campbell Township, but no longer in existence, include Mumford, Ritter, Mascot, Langston, Hays, Hazel Dell, and Roseville. Junction City was founded in 1882 by James Evans at the crossing of two railroad lines, one going to Tulsa and the other to Kansas City. The name was changed to Nichols Junction to honor Danton R. Nichols, an early superintendent of the Frisco Railroad.

Return to the list of Greene County's townships.