DECEMBER 1913 Rossville Main Street will be graveled, according to a decision by the city council. The portion to be graveled will start at the south end near the railroad and run- to the north end of the block and west on Pottawatomie to the city limits. With the three miles finished west of town, a continuous gravel road of about 22 miles will stretch west of Topeka. Hattie Kirby and Walter McCleary were married in Kansas City and went to Texas for a honeymoon. The 14th annual M.W.A. Grand Ball will be held at Fritz Hall New Year’s Eve. Music will be provided by Kramer’s five-piece or¬chestra. The county commis¬sioners are being urged by the Secretary of State to designate the county roads in Shawnee County. The last legislature provided a tax on automobiles and motorcycles, the revenue to be used in the improve¬ment of county roads. This money has been collected in Shawnee county but can¬not be used until the com¬missioners have de¬signated certain of the roads as county roads. This seems to be the day and age when every farmer has a chance to go to school. If he can’t go for four years, he can go for a year, and if he can’t go for a year, the Kansas State Agricultural College offers him a ten- week’s course, beginning January 6, 1914. The little auto that has been on exhibition for several weeks at Rossville Cash Store as a prize to the boy selling the greatest amount of cookies and crackers was won by Ho¬ward Bixby. Ralph Hartzell was second, Theo Marney third, and Willie Shipley fourth. The Reporter begins its' 15th year since the paper succeeded the “Times” or “Gimlet” as its old patrons called it. The editor has also purchased the Silver Lake Mirror and will publish both papers. The Mirror will continue to be published at Silver Lake with Frank Skinner looking after the mechanical end of the business. C. E. Cless has landed the agency for the Ford automobile in this ection [sic] of Shawnee County.
Shawnee County Recorder, Rossville, Kansas
Originally published in December 1913 Featured as a "Way Back When" article on December 12, 1963
Original text is public domain; reprint is copyrighted; the copyright holder has granted permission for this item to be used by the Rossville Community Library. This permission does not extend to third parties.
1963 Accidents on Maple Hill Road, Rossville, Kansas
E.R. Heslet, 43, of Rossville was in critical condition after his car struck the rear of the Harold Reser car. Mrs. Reser, riding in the car driven by her daughter, Lillian, was examined for shock and possible back injury and released from the hospital. Heslet's seven year old son, William, was treated for face cuts and released. The accident occurred about 6 p.m. Saturday about two miles west of Rossville on the Maple Hill road. It was reported Mrs. Reser and her daughter were driving to the field to pick up Mr. Reser when they saw him in another car approaching from the opposite direction. The Reser car slowed down to stop so they could talk to Mr. Reser. Heslet's car approaching from behind struck the Reser car, driving it through the ditch. ------ James Wamego Booked for DWI After Wreck TOPEKA - James R. Wamego, 21, Rossville, was booked on drunk charges after he admitted driving a car which turned over late Monday west of Rossville on the Maple Hill road. At first, Wamego insisted that he was a passenger, officers said. He was found lying near the car in a corn field a short distance west of US-24 on the Maple Hill Road. No other occupants of the car could be located. The owner of the car, James S. Vanderblomen, Channelview, Texas, later told officers he loaned the car to Wamego.
Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas
Rossville Community Library, Rossville, Kansas used with permission
Pictured are Archie Cless, Carl Parr, and Irene Howard in possibly the first automobile seen in Rossville, Kansas. From the March 14, 1902, issue of the Rossville News, Mr. U. G. Stewart wrote, "Mr. George Burghart of the Burghart Cigar Company of Topeka was in our city Tuesday with the automobile. Several of our citizens took a ride in the vehicle, and we expect to see automobiles a common luxury among our people in the near future." Note: This picture was in the 1971 Centennial Booklet with the above information. We believe this information is in error. Notified by a local citizen, Daryl Dannefer, that the picture is a 1908 Ford Model T and has nothing to do with news article quoted in Centennial book, we did our research and agree with him.
Chuck Macha Accident, 1974, Rossville, Kansas
Last Sunday night, the Chevrolet driven by Chuck Macha, Rossville, (shown at right) went out of control on the wet street and jumped the ditch, then collided with the Cadillac shown at left. The Cadillac parked in the drive is owned by Buddy Taylor of north Rossville. Damage was done to the rear fenders of both cars. No one was injured.
Construction of the Willard bridge, Willard, Kansas
This bridge is between Willard and Rossville, Kansas. The Rossville News of September 27, 1901, reports, “A force of men with teams and scrapers are putting the Rossville-Willard boulevard in fine shape. When complete this will be the ‘boulest’ road in the country.” The April 11, 1902 issue reports that the Willard bridge is completed except for final work on the approaches but it can be used. The 1903 flood of the Kaw River washed out the bridge and did considerable damage to the road. It was several years before this road was again usable.
Deadly accident in Cross Creek, 1968, Rossville, Kansas
Death rides the highway Tragedies: Above is the station wagon, loaded with nine occupants, which plunged into Cross Creek. Three died. The lower picture shows the car in which the single occupant died in a one-car accident Saturday. --------------- Two separate one-car accidents took four lives in a three-day period on Highway 24 between St. Marys and Rossville last week. The first accident occurred Thursday evening when a station wagon with nine passengers hit a bridge abutment and plunged into Cross Creek at Rossville's west city limits. Dead in this accident were Mrs. Ada Wright, 27, Syracuse, driver of the station wagon, and two of her children: Kristie Marie Wright, 2, and Carl G. Wright, 4. The body of Carl was not recovered until Friday afternoon. Also injured in the accident were Frankie Wright 8, Raymond Wright 9, LaVonna Wright 5, and Joy Hazlett, 16, all of Syracuse; and Berlin Wagoner, 22, Lakin. The second fatal accident occurred Saturday evening about two miles east of St. Marys when a car driven by Nathaniel Ware, 45, Topeka, left the highway and struck a utility pole. Ware's body was thrown out of the car. Witnesses said Ware was attempting to pass another car when he apparently lost control of his vehicle. --------- A very tragic accident occurred last Thursday night when a station wagon driven by Mrs. Ada Wright, 27 of Syracuse, Ks., plunged off the bridge and into Cross Creek at Rossville. There were nine people in the station wagon; two children thrown out into the water; Kristie Marie, 2 years old and Carl Wright, 4 years old were dead when found. Mrs. Wright died before reaching the hospital. The four other children; Raymond, 9; Frankie, 8; LaVonna, 6 and Llewellyn, 5 suffered multiple bruises and abrasions. Also injured were Joy Hayzeltt, 16, of Syracuse and Berlin Wagoner, 22, of Lakin, Kans. They were reported in serious condition at Stormont Vail Hospital. Mrs. Wright was on a trip from Syracuse to see her husband who was working in Kansas City, Mo. Searchers found the bodies of the two children hours after the accident. Harvey Bonher, Shawnee County undersheriff said excessive speed was the cause of the accident. Sheriffs officers reported the vehicle was estimated to be traveling 80 miles per hour when it rounded the curve at the west edge of Rossville. -------------- Rossville Are inured in one-car accident Mrs. Rae Trimble Mrs. Francis Davis and her daughter, Candace, 10, were injured in a one-car accident near Rossville Saturday. The Davis car was westbound on US-24 west of Rossville when Mrs. Davis lost control of the vehicle on any icy bridge and the auto skidded into a ditch, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. The mishap occurred at approximately 11:20 a.m., officers said. Mrs. Davis and her daughter were taken to St. Francis Hospital in Topeka, where both were admitted for observation of possible head injuries. Stitches were taken in a cut on Mrs. Davis' head and her daughter sustained multiple bruises, hospital officials said. -The Capital.
St. Marys Star, St. Marys, Kansas Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas
October 31, 1968 (SCR) December 26, 1968 (SMS)
Death Ends It, Honeymoon of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Smith Is Over, Rossville, Kansas
DEATH ENDS IT Honeymoon of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Smith is Over. He With Two Others Killed at Crossing. STOPS A MARRIAGE. Other Two Victims to Have Been United Sunday. Maggie Marney and Edward Smith Find Union in Death. ONLY ONE IS ALIVE. Mrs. Fred Smith Tells How Accident Happened. Young People Returning From Dance at St. Marys. Three persons were instantly killed and another perhaps fatally injured shortly after 1 o’clock this morning at bond’s crossing, about two miles west of Rossville, by the Union Pacific passenger train No. 3, west-bound. The killed are: FRED SMITH, EDWARD D. SMITH AND MISS MAGGIE MARNEY. Mrs. Fred Smith may recover, although at noon today she was still unconscious and was in a delirious condition. Mrs. Smith was a bride of less than a week, having been married on Sunday, and Miss Maggie Marney was to have been married next Sunday to Edward Smith, one of the unfortunate men. Edward and Fred Smith were brothers, both prosperous young farmers who parents also live near Rossville. They had been to St. Marys to attend a Woodman dance and were returning home when the accident occurred. They were driving a team of horses attached to a double-seated carriage, when they crossed the Union Pacific at Bond’s crossing, and the engine of the Union Pacific passenger train crashed into them. The bodies of the killed were terribly mangled, and Miss Marney’s head was completely severed from her body. Both the horses were instantly killed, and the carriage was smashed. The engineer did not see the carriage until after the engine had struck it. He immediately brought his train to a standstill and the bodies of the dead and Mrs. Smith, who was unconscious, were taken on board and were carried to St. Marys. They were taken to Rossville early this morning, accompanied by Dr. Miller and a Catholic priest, Father DeSmedt, and an inquest was held at 9 o’clock. Mrs. Fred Smith is receiving the best of medical care and attention. She talks in a rambling manner and knows nothing of what has occurred. She is aware that her husband was killed. She suffered a severe shock and one arm and an ankle were broken. The doctors hold out hopes of her ultimate recovery. Miss Maggie Marney was the daughter of William Marney, a well known farmer of that vicinity. She was to have been married to Edward Smith next Sunday. Mrs. Fred Smith, the bride of two days, whose husband met a horrible death at the Bond crossing, gave the first coherent account of the accident to a State Journal reporter this afternoon. “We were married in Topeka at the home of my sister, Mrs. H.E. VanVleck, at 220 East Fifth street,” said she. “We went down to Topeka on Saturday and were married Saturday evening. We were at the home of my sister until Monday afternoon when we went to Rossville. Ed met us at the train. He asked his father for a team and got a double seated carriage in Rossville and we went to the Mulvane ranch where we got Maggie Marney and we then went to the dance at St. Marys. “When we were coming home Fred and I were on the front seat and Fred was driving. We had the side curtains on. We got on the wrong road and we had to turn north and were compelled to cross the tracks again. We had already crossed them once. As we drove onto the tracks the train hit us and I don’t remember anything more. The engineer did not whistle.” Mrs. Smith was Miss Vina Vieu. She is a young woman of prepossessing appearance. She appears to scarcely realize the terrible fate of her husband, brother-in-law and friend. It was at first thought that her ankle had been broken but it now appears that this is a mistake. She is not seriously injured and will be able to be out in a few days. Engineer Emmett Lewis of the Union Pacific train that caused the death of the three young people was prostrated. He went with the train as far as Junction City where he turned the engine over to a substitute, being unable to go farther. The conductor of the train was F.S. Fields and both the engineer and conductor are attending the inquest this afternoon. The parents of Fred and Ed Smith, the two young men who were killed, live two miles from Rossville. They were worried over the non-appearance of their sons but did not know of the accident until this forenoon when Floyd McPherson drove out and informed them. Mrs. Smith fainted and was in a serious condition but is better this afternoon. Neither the father nor mother knew that the young people had been married. The bodies of the dead were all frightfully crushed. Fred Smith’s legs and one arm were broken, his neck was also broken and one side was crushed. Ed Smith’s side was crushed and his legs were broken. The car wheels had passed directly over Maggie Marney’s head and face and the top of her skull was found lying beside the track. Claim Agent Peterson, of the Union Pacific is on the ground and with him is Photographer John Strickrott who took photographs of the scene of the accident to be used in the event of a suit for damages. Coroner Hogeboom went to Rossville on an early morning train and is holding an inquest this afternoon. The people of Rossville are greatly excited over the frightful accident. (published, April 1, 1902 ?)
Debbie Lord car accident, 1979, Rossville, Kansas
Extensive damage occurred to this 1973 Ford which was in an accident Thursday morning, September 12. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol which worked the accident, Debbie D. Lord, 18, Rossville, attempted to enter U.S. 24 from a county road at milepost 351.9 at the Rossville city limits at 7:40 a.m. A GMC semi driven by Joe A. Turner, 55, Route 5, Huntsville, Ark., was westbound on U.S. 24. The report shows that Miss Lord pulled in front of the truck, was struck by the truck, pushing her off the road into a grain trailer parked on private property. Miss Lord was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital; Turner was not injured. Preliminary reports show $2,600 damage to the Lord vehicle and $400 damage to the semi. St. Marys Star Staff Photo
Southeast of Rossville, Kansas, (between Rossville and Silver Lake) stood the town of Kingsville which Andrew Wilson built and erected at his own expense: a depot (pictured), hotel, store, blacksmith shop, cattle yard, scales, and a stone school house. This picture was taken the same time as RCL0067.
Public domain due to copyright expiration
Dr. and Mrs. Henry H. and Ella Wyatt Miller in automobile, Rossville, Kansas
This car is one of the first ones purchased in Rossville, Kansas. It was a 20 HP "Aurora" Runabout owned by Dr. H.H. and Ella Wyatt Miller. The house in the picture no longer exists due to a fire in 1989. It was located at the present site of 304 Main Street.