Ottawa County
"A New Centennial History of Kansas," Charles Tuttle, 1876
Ottawa County was organized in 1866. Its area is 720
square miles, and its population in 1875 was 4,429, in which total
males preponderate nearly 300. Farming is the pursuit of 89
per cent, of the population. The county seat is Minneapolis, 109
miles west from Topeka. One-fourth of the area is bottom land,
but there is but very little timber. The streams are the Solomon
and Saline rivers, and Coal, Saw, Lindsay, Salt, Pipe, Yockey,
Henry, Mortimer and Chapman creeks. Springs are abundant
and wells average about thirty feet deep. No coal has been
found, but sandstone and limestone of poor quality are plentiful.
Mineral paint and pottery clay are abundant. There are no railroads yet in Ottawa
county. The Solomon and Sabine rivers
afford excellent water powers, but only five mills have yet been
built, and the powers are scarcely touched. The industries developed in the county,
include at present two water power grist
mills, two water power and one steam saw mill and furniture factory at Centre township;
two mills, grist and saw, both water
power, at Sheridan; and a water power saw mill at Culver.
There are no banks in the county, but the amount of business
transacted will soon require such accommodation. Minneapolis
has a flouring mill, a lumber factory, a wagon factory and tin
ware and stove factory; Delphos has a flouring mill and a lumber factory;
Bennington has a lumber factory; and Culver has two
factories for lumber and pottery. There are two weekly papers
at Minneapolis. There are 57 districts, and 36 school houses valued at $23,457.
There are three churches, and one parsonage
with a valuation of $4,050, and tlie libraries show an aggregate
of 1,613 volumes. Ottawa was one of the sufferers from the
locusts, as there were 400 persons reported in want of rations and
550 in want of clothing in the winter of 1874-75.
Return to Ottawa Co. KHHP
|
This website created Nov. 21, 2011 by Sheryl McClure.
� 2011 Kansas History and Heritage Project
|