Lyon County - Page 2

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A number of tragedies occurred in connection with the guerrilla activities between pro-slavery and anti-slavery bands. One of these was the death of Mrs. Carver, who was killed by a free-state mob from Topeka. She was in bed, and when the men were refused admission to the house, they fired into the building at random and two of the shots hit Mrs. Carver.

In 1862 occurred the most noted raid in the history of the county when Judge A. I. Baker branded the notorious "Bloody Bill" Anderson, his father and brother Jim, as horse thieves, and later was obliged to shoot the elder Anderson in self-defense. About the same time a Mexican who belonged to the Anderson gang was hanged by a mob at Americus.

A few weeks later the Andersons, with four others, one of whom represented himself to be William Quantrill, came to the Baker home, persuaded him to go to his store to get them some whiskey, and just as he was going down the cellar steps shot him a number of times. Baker shot back but only inflicted a flesh wound upon Jim Anderson.

William "Bloody Bill" Anderson

The ruffians then shot Baker's brother-in-law, Segur, and threw him into the cellar. With both men in the cellar, the bushwhackers piled boxes on the cellar door and set them on fire. Baker died before the fire reached him, and Segur escaped by a back window but died a few hours later. All of Baker's property was destroyed by fire and his horses stolen. After a number of other robberies the guerrillas came to the residence of C. H. Withington at Allen. There, they placed all the men under arrest, took what they wanted and destroyed some property. Mr. Withington escaped death through the intercession of William Quantrill. At Elm Creek they attacked the house of a Mr. Jacoby, whose life was saved by a Santa Fe Trail wagon train which happened to be passing.

In March, 1863, the Kansas Legislature passed and act that established the Kansas State Normal School in Emporia. The school's first graduating class consisted of two women in 1867, the year the first permanent building was completed.

In 1864, when General Price threatened Kansas, 300 more answered the call to repel the invasion. They were in active duty about a month.

The first efforts to secure a railroad were in 1864, but it was not until 1870 that the first railroad was built -- the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad which ran south from Topeka. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad was built in the same year and more lines and branches would be added in subsequent years.

A stone courthouse was built on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Commercial Street in Emporia in 1866 at a cost of almost $20,000.

As more settlers continued to locate in the county, more settlements were born, including Reading in 1867. A decade later, Butlertown was founded in 1877, but two years later, it was moved to just across the tracks of from the Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, and renamed Olpe. The town of Hortonburg, which later was renamed Lang, was laid out in 1882, and four years later, in 1886, Allen, Bushong, and Admire were established along the Missouri Pacific Railroad in northern Lyon County.

By the turn of the century, Lyon County supported about 25,000 people, who primarily supported themselves through the farming of corn, oats, wheat, and other crops. The county also sported numerous fruit trees, primarily apples, and hundreds of people raised livestock.

The Lyon County Courthouse continued to be used until about 1903 when a new courthouse was erected on the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Commercial Street at a cost of about $55,000.

Lyon County Courthouse shortly after it was built.

Over the next century the county diversified into manufacturing, services, health care, and academic ventures, especially in Emporia, the county's largest city.

In February, 1923, the name of the Kansas State Normal School in Emporia was changed to the Kansas State Teachers College, leading the path for Emporia and the county into a world of academics. In July, 1974, the name was changed to Emporia Kansas State College, and the name changed again on April 21, 1977 to Emporia State University. Since 1863 more than 150,000 students have studied at ESU and have gone on to careers in business and industry, education, the professional fields and many other areas throughout the world.

In, 2001, Lyon County got yet another new courthouse. The old structure was torn down, along with several other buildings and a new 30 story building, containing nearly 100,000 square feet was built.

Lyon County has consistently grown in population throughout the years and today is called home to about 36,000 people. Situated throughout the county are a number of historic sites, monuments and museums that tell the story of Lyon Counties rich history and culture. The county is nestled in the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas about 100 miles southwest of Kansas City.

The current towns of Lyon County include:

City	Population (estimated 2004-2010)
Admire	180
Allen	214
Americus	938
Bushong	56
Emporia (county seat)	24,916
Hartford	509
Neosho Rapids	280
Olpe	513
Reading	251

Contact Information

Lyon County

430 Commercial St.

Emporia, Kansas 66801

620-342-4950

Compiled by Kathy Weiser/Legends of Kansas, updated April, 2010.

New Lyon County Courthouse, built in 2001.

courtesy John Nichols photostream

About the Article: Much of the historic text in this articles comes from Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, edited by Frank W. Blackmar, published in 1912 as well as Kansas: History of the State of Kansas, by William G. Cutler; published in 1883. However, other sources have also been used, the content combined, and heavily edited.

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