Bourbon County Biographies
"The Why of Fort Scott"
JOSEPH RAY.
Mr. Ray first saw Fort Scott, in 1857, a little village built around the four sides of a square. He
must have been somewhat astonished to see, not
ordinary log-cabins, incident to a far-western town,
but large substantial two-story houses, fronted with
wide balconies, and facing a grassy square.
He was the first Mayor of the town, and to him,
as Mayor, in 1860, was sent the land-patent for Fort
Scott. This patent was signed by Abraham Lincoln.
When first here, he clerked for H. T. Wilson, and
later Mr. Wilson took him and S. B. Gordon into
partnership. Their store was on Bigler street, and
the firm was known as Wilson, Gordon & Ray.
These two young men were twins, as to age, and
were close friends till Mr. Ray's death in 1869. After
his marriage with Virginia Wilson, daughter of his
partner, he built a house on the lot where the Masonic Temple now stands.
DR. J. S. REDFIELD.
Dr. J. S. Redfield came here with his wife and
one daughter in 1859. Soon after his coming he
built a two-story frame house on the lot where the
Marble building now stands. In the front room of
this building he opened the third drug store and settled his family on the second floor. He began the
practice of medicine, the drug store being a side
line. Later he bought the house at the corner of
Third and Main streets, in which he died and where
his wife lived until she died in 1916. There is an
adopted son still living.
WILLIAM SMITH.
With his wife and two children, Mr. Smith left
Lockhaven, Pa., in May, 1858, for their long journey to the then Territory of Kansas. They came by
rail to Pittsburgh, Pa., from there down the Ohio,
and up the Missouri rivers by boat to Kansas City,
and by stage from there to Fort Scott. They saw a
familiar, welcoming face, when they stepped from
the stage in front of the Free State Hotel, that of E.
A. Smith, their son, who had come the year before.
Mr Smith and son edited the Fort Scott "Democrat" and continued the
editorship until the breaking out of the Civil War. It was at that time that
the announcement was made that "Hereafter all
party politics would be dropped and the paper devoted to the upholding of the administration at
Washington."
When the Smiths first came, they lived in the one-room house on Williams street,
built by A. Campbell and B. P. McDonald. Afterwards, Mr. Smith
built the first house outside of the Plaza, on the corner of Locust and Scott Avenue, doing the work
himself. As they could find no one to do the plastering, they put their carpets, which they had
brought with them, on the walls instead of the
floors, and thus were enabled to live with comparative comfort throughout the winter. Mr. A. Coston
coming the next summer, plastered the house for
Mr. Smith. The winter, 1859-60, was a warm one.
Mrs. A. Campbell, nee Smith, says they ate Christmas dinner with the doors and windows open.
After the war, Mr. Smith bought from the Government, the block house. Fort Blair, and moved it
onto the rear of his lot, for a carpenter shop, where
it stood until Dr. W. S. McDonald (who is much interested in everything connected with the earlier
days) in the true spirit of patriotism, had it moved to
his lots on National Avenue, to preserve it to the
town. The other two forts had been allowed to go
to rack and ruin. They were so intimately connected with the defense of Fort Scott during the Civil
War, this remaining one should be preserved for
all time, and we should all be very grateful to Dr.
McDonald for his foresight in having it preserved.
Mr. Smith held positions of trust, and was among
the workers who foresaw the importance of the
town, and worked hard for its upbuilding.
MRS. WM. SMITH.
Mrs. Jane Smith, lovingly known by all the town
as Aunt Jane, was as good and devoted worker in
her church and all the things pertaining to the moral
religious and social upgrowth of the town, as was
her husband along his special lines, and loyally and
ably supported him, as did all the women of this
little community. Her sobriquet of Aunt Jane tells
worlds in her favor. Mrs. Smith was one of the
three organizers of the Presbyterian Church.
E. A. SMITH.
Mr. Smith reached Fort Scott in 1857, nearly a
year before his father, Wm. Smith, came. He was
a civil engineer and had just finished surveying a
railroad in Wisconsin. Almost his first work here
was with the Town Company, laying out the townsite. July 14, 1859, with his father, he began the
editorship of the Fort Scott "Democrat," and continued until the summer of 1861, when he entered the
Frontier Guards. It was at this time that the name
of the paper was changed to "The Western Volunteer." Enlisting in the army, he served on Gen.
J. Lane's staff, and was later Captain of the 2nd
Kansas Battery, raised by C. W. Blair in 1862. He
continued in the army until the close of the war, after which he took up engineering again. In 1873
he went to California, where he died in San Bernardino, in 1902.
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This website created August 22, 2011 by Sheryl McClure.
� 2011 Kansas History and Heritage Project
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