Wabaunsee County History
From "A New Centennial History of Kansas," Charles Tuttle, 1876:
Wabaunsee County was organized in 1859, and named after
a war chief of the Pottawatomies. The population, in 1875, was 4,648, of which
number, males register 2,494. Farming employs 82 per cent, of
the settlers, and mines and manufactures, 7 per cent. Alma, the
county seat, is 83 miles west from Topeka and Qo miles west of
Lawrence, at the crossing of the Manhattan, Alma and Burlingame, and the Mill Creek Yalley and Council Grove railroads.
The town has several stores, wagon and other factories, a flouring
mill and a saw mill with water power. The town is well situated
for water power, being at the junction of four creeks. Geological
experts say that coal will be found at this point at a depth of
from 350 to 400 feet, and borings are being made in that interest.
The town increases very rapidly and is prosperous. One excellent weekly paper, the News, is published at Alma; and many
important mail routes converge at that point. The borings for
coal have descended 500 feet, but no paying veins were found,
possibly from some fault in the earth's crust, not in the geological
prospects. There is coal under about one-fourth of the area of
the county at an average of fifteen feet deep, cropping out in the
ravines at many places ; but the quality is inferior, and the seams
about fourteen inches thick. Some of the veins have been mined
and abandoned because the quantity and quality would not pay
for labor and outlay. Blue and white limestone of excellent
quality are found in every township, and fire clay has been found
in many places at various depths, from the surface or near it to
870 feet below. An artesian well bore was made at Alma, and
at a depth of 174 feet very strong salt brine was discovered; the
bore was continued, and at 378 feet the brine was much stronger;
when the bore ceased, at 585 feet, the water was impregnated
with chloride of sodium almost equal in strength to that of the
Syracuse salt works, and there were hardly any impurities to be
removed. The product of the well is now being prepared for the
market by natural evaporation as well as by artificial heat. The
face of the country gives only 4 per cent, of forest, 15 per cent, of
bottom land, and is very fertile. The principal streams are Mission, Dragoon, Rock and Mill creeks; the last named creek is 36
miles long, draining into the Kansas river. Springs are rare, but
excellent when they occur, and good wells range from 20 to 50
feet. There are no railroads in the county. Water powers are
good, but not utilized for want of capital. The manufactures of
the county include, besides the works at Alma, a water power
saw mill at Maple Hill; a cheese factoiy at Wabaunsee; two
cheese factories and a knitted goods factory at Mission Creek;
and steam saw mills at Washington and Berlina townships.
There are two banks at Alma. There are 43 school houses
valued at $41,279, and 53 school districts. Three church edifices
have been erected at a cost of $4,800. Two townships report
libraries to the number of 1,730 volumes. One thousand persons
were in want of food, and 575 had not sufficient clothing for
winter in consequence of the locust visitation of 1874-5; but the
crops of the latter year came near making good all deficiencies.
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This website created July 10, 2011 by Sheryl McClure.
� 2011 Kansas History and Heritage Project
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