Shawnee County History
Silver Lake Twp.
"History of Shawnee County and Representative Citizens," James L. King, 1905
Silver Lake Township � Located north of the Kansas River, directly
east of Rossville township, and extending north to the Jackson County line.
Soldier Creek runs through the township from the northwest to the southeast
corner. The Union Pacific Railroad and the Kansas River are along its
southern boundary. The township was detached from Soldier township
March 16, 1868. The first white settlers were men employed as instructors
for the Kaw Indians. Maj. Robert W. Cummings and Thomas Huffaker
were on the ground as early as 1835, but there was no settlement of consequence until 1847, when the following names appeared upon the records:
E. B. Kennedy, Charles Rodd, Joseph G. Kennedy, Lucius Darling, Stephen
McPherson, J. Frap, William Martell, William Johnson, John Harden, Allen
Harden, W. H. Wells, William Alley, John D. Scroggins, George Mullen, P.
Malosh, Fred H. Counterman, John and Joseph Ogee and F. Trombley. The
following came in 1848; James A. Gray, Wesley Hopkins, C. B. Randall, H.
McDowell, J. C. Vanderpool, and Messrs. VanHorne and Browne. Charles
Dean and E. M. Sloan came in 1849: Samuel Cummings. L. B. M. Kennedy,
Joseph Wellfelt and Joseph La Frame in 1850; Hiram Wells, J. C. Freeman,
Enoch Stevens and Joseph Lay ton in 1852. The Pottawatomie Indians
owned much of the land, and descendants of the tribe still reside in the township.
TOWN OF SILVER LAKE.
Silver Lake, the principal town in the township, was platted in February,
1868, the proprietors being M. B. Beaubien and A. S. Thomas. It is located
on the railroad at a point where a bend in the river forms a beautiful sheet of
water, from which the name is derived. Beaubien was one of the head-men of
the Pottawatomies. A. S. Thomas is still living on his Silver Lake farm. He
was for many years clerk of the United States courts in Topeka. J. B. Oliver
was the first postmaster in 1868. Cyrus Corning published the Silver Lake
Nezi's in 1882, but the paper had a short life. H. D. McMeekin had a store
in this locality in 1853, and afterwards became a well-known hotel man in
Kansas. Some of the names familiarly connected with Silver Lake are
Samuel Beal, C. D. Ward, Dr. A. G. McGill, Thomas Neiswender, C. W. Edson, B. F. Vanorsdal, Dr. H. D. Tuttle, George W. Vanorsdal, J. E. Guild,
L. H. Neiswender, J. S. Kelly and O. N. Wilson.
Kingsville is another railroad station in the township, the site of the
H. M. Holden stock ranch, formerly operated by Andrew Wilson. Kingsville
is 13 miles northwest from Topeka and does a considerable amount of shipping, principally of cattle.
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