4 10 1856 http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/5b389fe92694852cb03dddd732bab9f0.jpeg f11fd84e0caf613389af57cfa63dd9e5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Farmall Tractor Description An account of the resource We would like more information about this photograph. Please contact us if you know anything. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Unknown Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Unknown Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public domain Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource photograph Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0527 History Mystery http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/50d80d5a7923a0db50e3bb2c7b239384.jpg 4e164f8469f024934b3c2780ee8ee093 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1962 Agriculture & Business, Rossville, Kansas Description An account of the resource First Article: Future business outlook good Future business outlook for Shawnee County appears to be on the better side. Regardless of what the recent tele¬vision show “The Land” said about small towns in Kansas dying, those in Shawnee County can take a brighter look at the future. I firmly believe the TV production was good, the truth was told honestly, and the show will probably do some good. I already notice one small community an-nounced a public meeting to look over their own community and to try to see what could be done. However, what happens in some areas will unlikely not happen in Shawnee County. Shawnee County is blessed with a growing Topeka. Recent reports are that Topeka may be double in size by 1970. What is good for Topeka in growth and industry is good for all the county. When¬ever Topeka grows, outlying areas also show growth. As industry moves to the west of Topeka, Silver Lake and Rossville will feel growing pains. City govern¬ing bodies of both cities have already felt the need for expansion of public utilities and the need will continue to mount. Rossville has already doubled in popu¬lation since 1942 according to official population figures. Most of this growth has been in the past few years. If the present growth continues, the population will probably be over 1000 in 1965. What will this mean. First, an overload on public utilities and schools. Bus¬inesses will be affected more than they are now. They will have to fight harder and harder to compete with large firms that are within a 20 minute drive from al¬most any point in the county. Small businesses will have to offer advantages big stores can’t. Small businesses will have to grow or they will slide backwards. Cities will have to have good zoning and planning to make a good area. Cities like Silver Lake and Rossville will actually be shopping centers and will have to com-pete with other shopping centers. While some may disagree with these growth and business prospects, the figures show they may be possible. Some may even disagree that these prospects are good for a community, that if such a thing comes true, the small town will no longer be a small town. This is also true, but it's better than living in a "dying town.” Second Article: Annual Irrigation Tour Set for July It is again the time of year for the annual Kaw Valley irrigation tour. This year the tour will be Wednesday, July 25 and it will begin at the C.C. Kirt Shafer farm located on Lower Silver Lake Road one and one half miles west of Skinner's Retail Nursery Store. Or, another direction, one mile south and two and one half east of Kiro. From here the group will progress to the Bennie Dick and sons farm located approximately one mile northwest of Rossville on Highway 24 and then about one mile north. A fertilizer demonstration plot as well as the general irrigation practice will be seen at this farm. The group will then go to Richard Kelsey's farm located one and one half miles west of the junction of the Maple Hill Road and Highway 24, northeast of Rossville. The irrigation practices of the Kelsey's will be seen here and also at this location is where Dr. Floyd Smith of Kansas State University has the corn fertility research plots. The noon meal will be at the Rossville City Park through the courtesy of the Berry Irrigation Supply of Rossville. Howard Wilkins, Extension Agronomist, Donald Brosz, and Russell Herpich, both Extension Agricultural Engineers from Kansas State University, as well as Dr. Floyd Smith, will be present on the tour and will give a short discussion after the noon meal. Some good information will be discussed on this tour so we hope that a large crowd will be available. Caption of picture: Farmers in this area did some fast plowing Saturday. Nine farmers and tractors went to work on the George House farm and plowed under 55 acres of wheat straw in about four hours. The farmers got together for the work to help out Mr. House who has been ill all year and unable to work. The farmers who helped were: Johnny Miller, Gerald Reser, Bennie Dick, Sr., LeRoy Carrell, Laird French, Allen Ent, Ralph Page, Bob Gentry, Don Rogers and LeRoy Parr. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource We believe these clippings are from the Rossville Reporter, Rossville, Kansas. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Article 1: (Future business outlook...)- March 22, 1962 Article 2: (Annual irrigation tour...)- July 19, 1962 Photograph/caption- July 19, 1962 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clippings Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0301 http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/a476ae3d25db443d6fc15726becfddbd.png cda5bd68b443725294dfd10e595fa806 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville to Host Irrigation Tour in Shawnee County, 1961, Rossville, Kansas Description An account of the resource "Now is the time when corn needs water. If the water does not come from above, it must come from below, through irrigation," Herb Bulk, Shawnee County agent said in outlining plans for the annual irrigation tour in Shawnee County. Bulk said a sizable number of persons in the Kaw Valley have a considerable investment in irrigation equipment and in leveling for irrigation. With this in mind, Bulk said, it has been the practice of conducting a tour of some of the irrigation projects each year. Friday, July 28, beginning at 9 a.m., has been scheduled for this year's tour. It will begin at the Scott E. Kelsey Northwood Farms at the airport location in the Oakland area in North Topeka. The second stop will be at the Floyd Cochran farm located on Highway 24, just north of Flemings new warehouse. It is expected the tour will arrive there at about 10 a.m. From this location the tour will proceed toward Rossville with stops along the way. The noon luncheon will be held in the city park at Rossville, through the courtesy of Berry's Irrigation Supply of Rossville. Last year a question was asked relative to the number of years one can irrigate without harmful effects. One of the oldest irrigation projects is located on the Scott Kelsey farm which is the first stop. The well was dug in January of 1935 and has been used to the present time. However, it is now being abandoned because of the flood protection work in that area. The best route to take to get to the Kelsey farm would be to turn off highway 24, onto Kansas Avenue which is about two blocks east of the Cloverleaf in North Topeka. Then go south to Morse Street, turn east and cross the river on the new Sardou bridge, continue east on Sardou Avenue to the west edge of the Municipal Airport and go south on that street to the corn field. Caption to picture: Forrest Parker, who lives just east of Rossville, watches the flow of water from his well. Parker irrigates with open ditches and siphon tubes and finds it very satisfactory on his level ground. Parker has been irrigating since about July 4th. This is the first year he has irrigated soy beans, using a weed killer to keep the weeds out, and his crop looks excellent. This is his second irrigation of the corn this year. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource We believe this article is from the Rossville Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 20, 1961 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0308 http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/aa72b9537ebbe49c8ed7c80d40461126.jpg 6458b3a4c85e5a489f1e0f96679e5055 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Churches History Subject The topic of the resource Churches in the Rossville, Kansas, area. Description An account of the resource Among the various cultural developments in Rossville none was more important than the establishment and growth of organized religions. Shortly after the village of Rossville was started in 1871, some of the settlers felt the need for a church. The first known organized church was the Baptist Church started in August 1871 with nine members. A newspaper account, dated May 1879, about the school house in town says, “…at this time the building is used on Sunday by various church denominations as they are not supplied with church buildings. Six denominations have organized: The Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, Methodist, Episcopal, Methodist Southern and Advent. The Baptist have begun to erect a neat frame church building.” The Baptists built a small church on the approximate site of the Joe Navarre home on Spruce Street and dedicated this church on February 29, 1880. For a few years after that the Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist shared this building—each having the use of it one Sunday a month, morning and evening. The Baptist church disbanded in 1910 and was torn down soon afterwards. Organization of the United Brethren was soon followed by the United Brethren Church, also known as the Olive Branch Church. The first church building in the community was built by its members in about 1877. The old landmark, five miles north of Rossville, was torn down about 1952. Some of the farm folk responsible for its organization and erection were Mr. and Mrs. Joe Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Lasswell, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert James and their sons, Robert and James, Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Hook, who donated land for the church. A decline in membership prompted the church officials to sell the building to the Czech Christian organization and it served as a worship center for many years. Other denominations organized early, which have little recorded history, including the Colored Baptist, also called Second Baptist. A news clipping shows the Colored Baptist Church was in existence in 1885 and meetings were held at the old school house. At that time they were endeavoring to raise funds for a structure of their own. It was later erected in the southeast part of town on Orange Street. Their building was repaired in December 1904, but soon after the church disbanded. The only information available about the Cambellites, followers of Alexander Cambell, shows that they gathered regularly early in the city’s history. The Cambellites here and in other localities were the forerunners of the early Christian Church. A church was organized with the name Church of Christ in 1872 with Bennet Swearingen, an elder. In 1879 a group was meeting in the school. Between 1880 and when it was decided to build a church, it is believed the members met in the Baptist Church. A deed was recorded on June 29, 1887, for three lots for which they paid $50.00. The exact date of the erection of the present church is not known. Revered Alex Montgomery was a stone mason and laid the church foundation. Charles Bixby, father of the late Albert Bixby, was a carpenter and supervised the building of the church. Lumber was hauled from Topeka by Alex Nadeau and others. The supplies were purchased from the Thomas Lumber Company at Topeka. The first funeral held in the church was for William Lacock, grandfather of the late Albert Bixby. The oldest Sunday School record is dated September 7, 1884, with May Parker its first secretary. Due to an increase in the Christian Church's membership, in 1949 a large room was added to the north side of the building. Other improvements included new colored glass in the windows, and pews from the old United Brethren Church. In December 1960, another addition to the building was completed. As more settlers moved to this community, those who were of the Presbyterian faith organized their group in 1878 and met in the school in town. Reverend E.P. Sempel was the first pastor. A.C. Sherman, Richard Binns, Daniel Wilt, J.C. Bradley, William Bond, Henry Kassebaum, W.M. Mitchner, Sam Kerr, Dr. H.H. Miller and Isaac Trostle were the founders of the church. Later the Presbyterians met in the Baptist Church. In 1883, the Presbyterian group purchased the land on which the present church stands and began to build. The first church was built of red bricks which were made at a brick kiln located at the east edge of town. As the years passed a crack appeared between the bricks in the east end of the building. This fault was used as the reason for tearing town the old building. The present structure was constructed in 1917. The Reverend J.H. Naismith, the originator of the game of basketball, served as pastor in 1922 and 1923. Mr. Gus Kassebaum served as a Trustee for 39 years, from 1915 to 1954. His wife, Mrs. Lula Kassebaum served most of these years as president of the Ladies Missionary Society. The Rossville Charge was organized in the James School House, three miles west of Rossville in the year 1872 under the leadership of Mr. Paul Strimple, a local lay preacher. Shortly afterwards, another group of Methodists (Southern Methodists) met in Rossville and had services at the school in town. These two groups joined in planning construction of a church. Since the Baptists were the first to build a church, the two Methodist groups shared the building. The Methodist Church was chartered and registered with the Secretary of State, June 13, 1881. The first trustees and signers of the charter were: W.G. Gilbert, Isaac Larrance, Joseph Andrews, J.W. Miller, A.E. Strimple, J.T. Heslet, and T.M. Attebury. Building of the new church began in 1884, and it was dedicated on March 1, 1885. Nine years later the south room was added, and it was used as a dining room and meeting room. The Sunday School addition was added in 1960. The name was changed from Methodist Episcopal to Methodist, October 11, 1939. It was again changed in 1968 to United Methodist when the United Brethren and Methodist merged. The Election Day dinner was first served in 1882 and has become an established tradition. Dinner and supper were served to over 175 persons at a cost of 25 cents per person. Some of the men who took an active part in the life of the church were C.E. Gresser, E.G. Griswold and Frank Strimple. Before St. Stanislaus became a reality, according to Ellen Leonhardt of St. Marys, Kansas, Mass was held monthly sometime before 1894 in the Fritz Hall. She remembers accompanying Father Krier, a Jesuit priest, from St. Marys to Rossville along with other girls to sing in the choir. The first St. Stanislaus Church was built under the auspices of Father John B. Kokenge, S.J., who collected about eleven hundred dollars to procure the ground and put up the structure. It measured 42 x 30 feet with a sanctuary that added twelve feet to its length. The corner stone of this mission church was laid by Bishop Fink on June 18, 1899. Many notables from the St. Marys College were present as well as Reverend H.A. Schapman, S.J., former president of Detroit College. The document placed in the stone contained the following: “Leo XIII being Pope, William McKinley being President of the United States, W.E. Stanley being the Governor of Kansas, Joseph Calvin Bradley being Mayor of the city of Rossville, this church to be erected to the honor of God under the invocation of St. Stanislaus Kastka was begun today when the corner stone was laid this the eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.” The dedication of the completed church took place on October 29, 1899. In 1967, the parish purchased the home across the street from the church, so that the expanding catechetical classes would have a better place to meet. A $20,000 renovation project in 1975-1976 added a brick extension to the front of the church and a full basement. In 1998 Dekat Hall was dedicated and the mortgage was paid off. By 2009 the parish, which encompassed Rossville, Silver Lake, Willard, and Maple Hill, was in need of a bigger building so Don & Kathleen Damon donated a $1.1 million gift for the building of a new church. After raising the additional needed funds, the new worship space for 400 people was built in 2012 near the former church. In the early 1950s a group of believers who met together for weekly Bible Study grew in number so that they were encouraged to secure a property, call a pastor and organize a church. The Stewart property on the corner of Main and Pottawatomie was purchased in June 1952. After renovation, the first services of the Rossville Bible Church were held on September 7, 1952, with Reverend Clarence Swihart as pastor. Reverend Floyd Gee became the second pastor in June 1954. The church purchased a building site from the Hesse family that adjoins the Grade School in August 1960. Reverend Hugh Gardner, Wichita, superintended the construction of a basement to be used for an auditorium. A building was moved from Forbes Air Force Base and set on the basement. June 7, 1970, was a day of rejoicing for the congregation as they had a mortgage-burning service with Reverend Joe Arnedd, Des Moines, Iowa, evangelist, as speaker. Thus is the history of the early churches which no longer exist in the community and the churches which continue to function--though in somewhat different roles than in the early years. Once, the church, as well as the school, was the center of most family activities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Methodists Went Skiing in Colorado Description An account of the resource Members of the Rossville United Methodist Church and guests recently returned from a three-day ski trip to Winter Park and Silver Creek, Colo. The trip, which was coordinated by Doug and Betsy French and Diane Heckerson, attracted 38 people. The group left Rossville on a chartered bus on February 16, for Colorado where they stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies. The return trip was delayed when blowing snow caused Interstate High¬way 70 to be closed and the group had to stay overnight in Limon, Colo. However, for the most part the weather was beautiful and skiing con¬ditions were ideal, the Reverend Gene Damewood, minister of the church, said. “Skiing conditions were perfect for half of the group to learn to ski and the other half to improve their skills,” he said. Shown by the bus as they prepared to leave, are: L-R, front row (kneeling): Betsy French, Kenny Verschelden, Lorene Damewood, Dwane Isaacson, Irene Isaacson, Tara Claycamp, Diane Heckerson, Angela Berkey, Heather Damewood, LaVone Hedges, Angela Murphy, Joan Murphy, Andy Foster, Adam Foster, Virginia Foster, Sheldon Murphy, Mark Murphy, Sean Claycamp. Back row: Doug French, Pauline Conley, Joe Conley, Gene Damewood, Mark Wilt, Cindy Wilt, Jim Gentry, Tim Damewood, Eric Boyles, Tom Hedges, Scott Damewood, Carol Hedges, David Foster, Ed Claycamp, Vickie Claycamp, Judy Boyles, Leonard Boyles, LeAnn Boyles, Becky Ussery. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource St. Marys Star, St. Marys, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 22, 1983 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0528 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Rossville United Methodist Church http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/64bd5cf5dce52c714da4b19d15dc7bdf.jpg ca7bb0fcb3bc9b9197d39f99590983ee Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Churches History Subject The topic of the resource Churches in the Rossville, Kansas, area. Description An account of the resource Among the various cultural developments in Rossville none was more important than the establishment and growth of organized religions. Shortly after the village of Rossville was started in 1871, some of the settlers felt the need for a church. The first known organized church was the Baptist Church started in August 1871 with nine members. A newspaper account, dated May 1879, about the school house in town says, “…at this time the building is used on Sunday by various church denominations as they are not supplied with church buildings. Six denominations have organized: The Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, Methodist, Episcopal, Methodist Southern and Advent. The Baptist have begun to erect a neat frame church building.” The Baptists built a small church on the approximate site of the Joe Navarre home on Spruce Street and dedicated this church on February 29, 1880. For a few years after that the Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist shared this building—each having the use of it one Sunday a month, morning and evening. The Baptist church disbanded in 1910 and was torn down soon afterwards. Organization of the United Brethren was soon followed by the United Brethren Church, also known as the Olive Branch Church. The first church building in the community was built by its members in about 1877. The old landmark, five miles north of Rossville, was torn down about 1952. Some of the farm folk responsible for its organization and erection were Mr. and Mrs. Joe Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Lasswell, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert James and their sons, Robert and James, Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Hook, who donated land for the church. A decline in membership prompted the church officials to sell the building to the Czech Christian organization and it served as a worship center for many years. Other denominations organized early, which have little recorded history, including the Colored Baptist, also called Second Baptist. A news clipping shows the Colored Baptist Church was in existence in 1885 and meetings were held at the old school house. At that time they were endeavoring to raise funds for a structure of their own. It was later erected in the southeast part of town on Orange Street. Their building was repaired in December 1904, but soon after the church disbanded. The only information available about the Cambellites, followers of Alexander Cambell, shows that they gathered regularly early in the city’s history. The Cambellites here and in other localities were the forerunners of the early Christian Church. A church was organized with the name Church of Christ in 1872 with Bennet Swearingen, an elder. In 1879 a group was meeting in the school. Between 1880 and when it was decided to build a church, it is believed the members met in the Baptist Church. A deed was recorded on June 29, 1887, for three lots for which they paid $50.00. The exact date of the erection of the present church is not known. Revered Alex Montgomery was a stone mason and laid the church foundation. Charles Bixby, father of the late Albert Bixby, was a carpenter and supervised the building of the church. Lumber was hauled from Topeka by Alex Nadeau and others. The supplies were purchased from the Thomas Lumber Company at Topeka. The first funeral held in the church was for William Lacock, grandfather of the late Albert Bixby. The oldest Sunday School record is dated September 7, 1884, with May Parker its first secretary. Due to an increase in the Christian Church's membership, in 1949 a large room was added to the north side of the building. Other improvements included new colored glass in the windows, and pews from the old United Brethren Church. In December 1960, another addition to the building was completed. As more settlers moved to this community, those who were of the Presbyterian faith organized their group in 1878 and met in the school in town. Reverend E.P. Sempel was the first pastor. A.C. Sherman, Richard Binns, Daniel Wilt, J.C. Bradley, William Bond, Henry Kassebaum, W.M. Mitchner, Sam Kerr, Dr. H.H. Miller and Isaac Trostle were the founders of the church. Later the Presbyterians met in the Baptist Church. In 1883, the Presbyterian group purchased the land on which the present church stands and began to build. The first church was built of red bricks which were made at a brick kiln located at the east edge of town. As the years passed a crack appeared between the bricks in the east end of the building. This fault was used as the reason for tearing town the old building. The present structure was constructed in 1917. The Reverend J.H. Naismith, the originator of the game of basketball, served as pastor in 1922 and 1923. Mr. Gus Kassebaum served as a Trustee for 39 years, from 1915 to 1954. His wife, Mrs. Lula Kassebaum served most of these years as president of the Ladies Missionary Society. The Rossville Charge was organized in the James School House, three miles west of Rossville in the year 1872 under the leadership of Mr. Paul Strimple, a local lay preacher. Shortly afterwards, another group of Methodists (Southern Methodists) met in Rossville and had services at the school in town. These two groups joined in planning construction of a church. Since the Baptists were the first to build a church, the two Methodist groups shared the building. The Methodist Church was chartered and registered with the Secretary of State, June 13, 1881. The first trustees and signers of the charter were: W.G. Gilbert, Isaac Larrance, Joseph Andrews, J.W. Miller, A.E. Strimple, J.T. Heslet, and T.M. Attebury. Building of the new church began in 1884, and it was dedicated on March 1, 1885. Nine years later the south room was added, and it was used as a dining room and meeting room. The Sunday School addition was added in 1960. The name was changed from Methodist Episcopal to Methodist, October 11, 1939. It was again changed in 1968 to United Methodist when the United Brethren and Methodist merged. The Election Day dinner was first served in 1882 and has become an established tradition. Dinner and supper were served to over 175 persons at a cost of 25 cents per person. Some of the men who took an active part in the life of the church were C.E. Gresser, E.G. Griswold and Frank Strimple. Before St. Stanislaus became a reality, according to Ellen Leonhardt of St. Marys, Kansas, Mass was held monthly sometime before 1894 in the Fritz Hall. She remembers accompanying Father Krier, a Jesuit priest, from St. Marys to Rossville along with other girls to sing in the choir. The first St. Stanislaus Church was built under the auspices of Father John B. Kokenge, S.J., who collected about eleven hundred dollars to procure the ground and put up the structure. It measured 42 x 30 feet with a sanctuary that added twelve feet to its length. The corner stone of this mission church was laid by Bishop Fink on June 18, 1899. Many notables from the St. Marys College were present as well as Reverend H.A. Schapman, S.J., former president of Detroit College. The document placed in the stone contained the following: “Leo XIII being Pope, William McKinley being President of the United States, W.E. Stanley being the Governor of Kansas, Joseph Calvin Bradley being Mayor of the city of Rossville, this church to be erected to the honor of God under the invocation of St. Stanislaus Kastka was begun today when the corner stone was laid this the eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.” The dedication of the completed church took place on October 29, 1899. In 1967, the parish purchased the home across the street from the church, so that the expanding catechetical classes would have a better place to meet. A $20,000 renovation project in 1975-1976 added a brick extension to the front of the church and a full basement. In 1998 Dekat Hall was dedicated and the mortgage was paid off. By 2009 the parish, which encompassed Rossville, Silver Lake, Willard, and Maple Hill, was in need of a bigger building so Don & Kathleen Damon donated a $1.1 million gift for the building of a new church. After raising the additional needed funds, the new worship space for 400 people was built in 2012 near the former church. In the early 1950s a group of believers who met together for weekly Bible Study grew in number so that they were encouraged to secure a property, call a pastor and organize a church. The Stewart property on the corner of Main and Pottawatomie was purchased in June 1952. After renovation, the first services of the Rossville Bible Church were held on September 7, 1952, with Reverend Clarence Swihart as pastor. Reverend Floyd Gee became the second pastor in June 1954. The church purchased a building site from the Hesse family that adjoins the Grade School in August 1960. Reverend Hugh Gardner, Wichita, superintended the construction of a basement to be used for an auditorium. A building was moved from Forbes Air Force Base and set on the basement. June 7, 1970, was a day of rejoicing for the congregation as they had a mortgage-burning service with Reverend Joe Arnedd, Des Moines, Iowa, evangelist, as speaker. Thus is the history of the early churches which no longer exist in the community and the churches which continue to function--though in somewhat different roles than in the early years. Once, the church, as well as the school, was the center of most family activities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Church Completes Pony Express Run Description An account of the resource A new spirit of teamwork filled the Rossville United Methodist Church Sunday, January 30, as a result of the climax of the Pony Express Stewardship Campaign. General Manager Doug French, dressed as a dusty Pony Express rider, gave everyone in the congregation a rousing send-off for the Pony Express. Doug praised the enthusiasm the Reverend Damewood and his family have brought to the church. This enthusiasm, he said, has spread to the members uniting everyone into a closer Christian fellowship, thus making the Pony Express Stewardship Campaign for the Rossville United Methodist Church such a success. The one day “Run,” now over, proved a success — even with the obstacle of the snow. The trail bosses helped get the saddle bags from family to family. This year the trail bosses were: Howard Parr, Luther McClain, Nancy Brooks, Bob Macha, Ed Claytamp, Denny Keller, Leonard Boyles, Bob Gentry, Tom Hedges and Doug French. Doug praised the dedication of the route riders, trail bosses, station agents and other key workers, whose cooperative efforts enabled the “church mail” to be carried in saddlebags across the community. Cooks for the chuck wagon dinner were Elsie Rasch, Edith McClain and Sophia Dayton. Ralph and Ruth Page loaned the covered wagon for the Campaign. The Reverend Damewood said he was pleased with the results of the Stewardship Campaign. He said the members showed they have a great faith and a willingness to have the church meet its budget. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource St. Marys Star, St. Marys, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 1, 1983 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0529 Rossville United Methodist Church http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/e3f6f2ba783ba0feb9e84b83fb3425c3.jpg 80889176d77a1608f270ccb0cac2183c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Agricultural History Subject The topic of the resource Farming/Ranching Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Description An account of the resource Rossville is fortunately situated in many ways—we are near a large city, Topeka, but far enough away to retain our own identity; we can be considered a bedroom community to Topeka since so many residents commute to work to the larger city; we are just north of the Kansas River and enjoy the fertile “Kaw River Valley,” which has benefited agriculture in our community since its very beginnings. From the early days, Rossville Township was blessed with fertile creek and river-bottom land, combined with the upland, which consisted of bluestem grass. The early settlers broke and cleared the bottom lands and part of the upland prairie. The settlers of the 1860-70s began farming and found the soil fertile and productive. However, the task of clearing the timberland and breaking prairie sod must have seemed insurmountable. Corn and wheat, the main crops, and cattle, hogs and other livestock-raising, became the basic agriculture of Rossville township. Many of these early farmers came to Kansas seeking land. They traveled by ox cart and wagon before the railroad went through, following the Oregon and other trails. Settlers bought land from the Santa Fe Railroad or from members of the Citizen Potawatomi Band, who were selling their allotment land. The first mention of early agriculture in Rossville comes from Dr. Gabbey’s account, written in 1886: “The Pottawatomi as a tribe never took kindly to agriculture, four or five acres in corn was a large field. Their fields were usually cleared up from the edge of the timber along the streams, as the Indian had little use for the Prairie kind.” One account gives the cost of prairie in the early days from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre. Lumber was worth from $25.00 to $39.00 dollars per thousand feet. Oxen cost $100.00 a yoke, mules from $100.00 to $200.00, horses $75.00 to $150.00, sheep $2.00 a head and chickens 25¢ each. Masons and carpenters received $2.00 to $3.00 per day in wages. Wheat was worth $1.50 per bushel and flour $4.50 per hundred pounds. From newspapers of 1877: “New corn brought in for shipment is getting 18¢ to 20¢ and corn huskers have been in demand at $1.00 per day and board; 2.5¢ per bushel thrown on the ground or 3.5¢ in the crib.” “Mr. Lambert James, a farmer living a few miles west of town has this season manufactured 1,500 gallon of sorghum molasses, which he readily disposed of at 50¢ per gallon.” But challenges persisted for early settlers. Although this was an extremely desirable area for agriculture and the raising of livestock, it was not possible for the early settlers to procure manufactured goods from the East without paying an extremely high freight bill. It was also impossible to ship their grain and produce economically. River freight was tried but the Kaw River often times did not have enough water to make shipping dependable so the answer to this problem was the railroad. Rossville’s answer came May 18, 1866, when the first train passed through the town. Corn was the main crop and early editors gave much space extolling its excellence. Corn cribs were numerous along the south side of the railroad tracks and on the east side of north Main. A water powered grist mill was located on Cross Creek north of town. Mulvane Bros. built a steam powered mill south of the railroad tracks. One of the earliest farmers was Henry Ford, who acquired 80 acres southwest of Rossville in 1864. His wife was the former Mary Nadeau, who came to Rossville from Indiana in 1862. Henry Ford came to Kansas in 1863 and was a stage coach driver for the Overland Stage Company between Topeka and Manhattan. He met his wife at “Buttermilk Station” where she worked for her brother, Big Alex Nadeau. While working to clear their land of timber and build a log house, they lived in one room of a three room house, west of Cross Creek, north of the old Oregon and California trails. The other two rooms were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Gabbey and Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Higginbotham. After the Fords moved into their log cabin, Mrs. Ford often rode horseback nine miles with her baby to the mission in St. Marys. The first flowers she had to plant by the cabin were given to her by the nuns at the Mission. Another early farmer, John DeGraff settled south of Rossville in 1865. He and his wife, the former Frances Navarre, lived in a small dugout until their house was built. The following is a list of early farmers: Name | Year to Rossville | Origin Archibald Abbott 1870 Kingston, Canada West Joseph Andrews Westmoreland County, Pa. W. Thomas Andrews 1879 McKay, Ohio Joseph Beseau 1875 Monroe County, Michigan John A. Bond 1872 Tyler County, W. Virginia William Bond 1873 Tyler County, W. Virginia John DeGraff 1865 James DeVinney 1880 Ross County, Ohio Benjamin Franklin 1869 Ross County, Ohio John Fritz 1877 Somerset County, Pa. Martin Hass 1877 Richland County, Ohio Henry Kassabaum 1877 Brookmell, Prussia T.J. Kiernan 1868 Elzey E. Kinsey 1877 Ohio Henry Lipp 1868 South Germany Isaac McCollough 1873 Holmes County, Ohio R. McCollough 1878 Holmes County, Ohio Michael O’halaron 1880 Samuel Oldfield 1878 Derbyshire, England S.J. Oliver 1876 Edward Partelow 1868 Newport, Kentucky Thomas L. Ross 1882 Cincinnati, Ohio M.M. Standley 1874 Carroll County, Indiana Bennett Swearingen 1868 Meigs County, Ohio Isaac B. Trostel 1877 Perry County, Pa. Frank Van Vleck 1878 William Wax 1878 Juniata County, Pa. Daniel Wilt 1876 York County, Pa. Henry York 1869 Zurich, Switzerland Peter H. Zickefoose 1874 Highland County, W. Virginia Samuel Beals 1867 E.S. Doud 1869 W.L. James Wm. Kirkpatrick 1871 Frank L. Sanders John Heslet Noel Graves W.W. Janes J.K. Conley 1870 Yates County, New York Startup, Ab Thomas Attebury 1877 George Hejtmanek 1880 Wisowitz, Moravia, Austria D. Hartzell 1872 Francis E. Williams 1876 New York Captain John Gutshall Col. A.S. Stanley 1880 Meigs Co., Ohio Martin Nason 1872 Jos. Van Vleck 1878 M.L. Cless 1876 B.W. Higginbotham 1861 Thomas Moss 1877 J.M. Parr Clay Co. Indiana J.A. Parr Clay Co. Indiana H.W. Lipp 1878 Illinois Samuel B. Zickefoose 1869 West Virginia Mrs. Jane Jackson 1875 Scotland Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dehydrating Plant to Be Moved to Platte, Nebraska Subject The topic of the resource [A note on the bottom says this did not happen. More research may be needed.] Description An account of the resource Announcement was made this week of the removal of the Rossville Dehydrating plant from Rossville to Platte, Nebr. Work has been started to tear down the Plant and so soon as the machinery can be ready will be loaded out and taken to Platte. This is a great loss to Rossville an community. [sic] Farmers have been able to market their alfalfa at home. Bill Farley, local manager, will be transferred to Platte and take over his same duties there. The loss of the Dehydrating plant will throw a large number of men out of jobs, with a sizeable annual payroll. The employment the dehydrating plant has been able to furnish, to our local men has made many realize the value of the Plant and everyone regrets to lose it. The management wanted about a thousand acres of alfalfa to assure the plants profitable operation but were unable to get over 400 acres pledged, hence the removal. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 9, 1951 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0311 Kaw Dehydrating Plant http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/204499e168050b99e6d805d9d121e305.jpg ede9f51414a745fd6fd114d36c0f87b3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Churches History Subject The topic of the resource Churches in the Rossville, Kansas, area. Description An account of the resource Among the various cultural developments in Rossville none was more important than the establishment and growth of organized religions. Shortly after the village of Rossville was started in 1871, some of the settlers felt the need for a church. The first known organized church was the Baptist Church started in August 1871 with nine members. A newspaper account, dated May 1879, about the school house in town says, “…at this time the building is used on Sunday by various church denominations as they are not supplied with church buildings. Six denominations have organized: The Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, Methodist, Episcopal, Methodist Southern and Advent. The Baptist have begun to erect a neat frame church building.” The Baptists built a small church on the approximate site of the Joe Navarre home on Spruce Street and dedicated this church on February 29, 1880. For a few years after that the Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist shared this building—each having the use of it one Sunday a month, morning and evening. The Baptist church disbanded in 1910 and was torn down soon afterwards. Organization of the United Brethren was soon followed by the United Brethren Church, also known as the Olive Branch Church. The first church building in the community was built by its members in about 1877. The old landmark, five miles north of Rossville, was torn down about 1952. Some of the farm folk responsible for its organization and erection were Mr. and Mrs. Joe Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Lasswell, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert James and their sons, Robert and James, Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Hook, who donated land for the church. A decline in membership prompted the church officials to sell the building to the Czech Christian organization and it served as a worship center for many years. Other denominations organized early, which have little recorded history, including the Colored Baptist, also called Second Baptist. A news clipping shows the Colored Baptist Church was in existence in 1885 and meetings were held at the old school house. At that time they were endeavoring to raise funds for a structure of their own. It was later erected in the southeast part of town on Orange Street. Their building was repaired in December 1904, but soon after the church disbanded. The only information available about the Cambellites, followers of Alexander Cambell, shows that they gathered regularly early in the city’s history. The Cambellites here and in other localities were the forerunners of the early Christian Church. A church was organized with the name Church of Christ in 1872 with Bennet Swearingen, an elder. In 1879 a group was meeting in the school. Between 1880 and when it was decided to build a church, it is believed the members met in the Baptist Church. A deed was recorded on June 29, 1887, for three lots for which they paid $50.00. The exact date of the erection of the present church is not known. Revered Alex Montgomery was a stone mason and laid the church foundation. Charles Bixby, father of the late Albert Bixby, was a carpenter and supervised the building of the church. Lumber was hauled from Topeka by Alex Nadeau and others. The supplies were purchased from the Thomas Lumber Company at Topeka. The first funeral held in the church was for William Lacock, grandfather of the late Albert Bixby. The oldest Sunday School record is dated September 7, 1884, with May Parker its first secretary. Due to an increase in the Christian Church's membership, in 1949 a large room was added to the north side of the building. Other improvements included new colored glass in the windows, and pews from the old United Brethren Church. In December 1960, another addition to the building was completed. As more settlers moved to this community, those who were of the Presbyterian faith organized their group in 1878 and met in the school in town. Reverend E.P. Sempel was the first pastor. A.C. Sherman, Richard Binns, Daniel Wilt, J.C. Bradley, William Bond, Henry Kassebaum, W.M. Mitchner, Sam Kerr, Dr. H.H. Miller and Isaac Trostle were the founders of the church. Later the Presbyterians met in the Baptist Church. In 1883, the Presbyterian group purchased the land on which the present church stands and began to build. The first church was built of red bricks which were made at a brick kiln located at the east edge of town. As the years passed a crack appeared between the bricks in the east end of the building. This fault was used as the reason for tearing town the old building. The present structure was constructed in 1917. The Reverend J.H. Naismith, the originator of the game of basketball, served as pastor in 1922 and 1923. Mr. Gus Kassebaum served as a Trustee for 39 years, from 1915 to 1954. His wife, Mrs. Lula Kassebaum served most of these years as president of the Ladies Missionary Society. The Rossville Charge was organized in the James School House, three miles west of Rossville in the year 1872 under the leadership of Mr. Paul Strimple, a local lay preacher. Shortly afterwards, another group of Methodists (Southern Methodists) met in Rossville and had services at the school in town. These two groups joined in planning construction of a church. Since the Baptists were the first to build a church, the two Methodist groups shared the building. The Methodist Church was chartered and registered with the Secretary of State, June 13, 1881. The first trustees and signers of the charter were: W.G. Gilbert, Isaac Larrance, Joseph Andrews, J.W. Miller, A.E. Strimple, J.T. Heslet, and T.M. Attebury. Building of the new church began in 1884, and it was dedicated on March 1, 1885. Nine years later the south room was added, and it was used as a dining room and meeting room. The Sunday School addition was added in 1960. The name was changed from Methodist Episcopal to Methodist, October 11, 1939. It was again changed in 1968 to United Methodist when the United Brethren and Methodist merged. The Election Day dinner was first served in 1882 and has become an established tradition. Dinner and supper were served to over 175 persons at a cost of 25 cents per person. Some of the men who took an active part in the life of the church were C.E. Gresser, E.G. Griswold and Frank Strimple. Before St. Stanislaus became a reality, according to Ellen Leonhardt of St. Marys, Kansas, Mass was held monthly sometime before 1894 in the Fritz Hall. She remembers accompanying Father Krier, a Jesuit priest, from St. Marys to Rossville along with other girls to sing in the choir. The first St. Stanislaus Church was built under the auspices of Father John B. Kokenge, S.J., who collected about eleven hundred dollars to procure the ground and put up the structure. It measured 42 x 30 feet with a sanctuary that added twelve feet to its length. The corner stone of this mission church was laid by Bishop Fink on June 18, 1899. Many notables from the St. Marys College were present as well as Reverend H.A. Schapman, S.J., former president of Detroit College. The document placed in the stone contained the following: “Leo XIII being Pope, William McKinley being President of the United States, W.E. Stanley being the Governor of Kansas, Joseph Calvin Bradley being Mayor of the city of Rossville, this church to be erected to the honor of God under the invocation of St. Stanislaus Kastka was begun today when the corner stone was laid this the eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.” The dedication of the completed church took place on October 29, 1899. In 1967, the parish purchased the home across the street from the church, so that the expanding catechetical classes would have a better place to meet. A $20,000 renovation project in 1975-1976 added a brick extension to the front of the church and a full basement. In 1998 Dekat Hall was dedicated and the mortgage was paid off. By 2009 the parish, which encompassed Rossville, Silver Lake, Willard, and Maple Hill, was in need of a bigger building so Don & Kathleen Damon donated a $1.1 million gift for the building of a new church. After raising the additional needed funds, the new worship space for 400 people was built in 2012 near the former church. In the early 1950s a group of believers who met together for weekly Bible Study grew in number so that they were encouraged to secure a property, call a pastor and organize a church. The Stewart property on the corner of Main and Pottawatomie was purchased in June 1952. After renovation, the first services of the Rossville Bible Church were held on September 7, 1952, with Reverend Clarence Swihart as pastor. Reverend Floyd Gee became the second pastor in June 1954. The church purchased a building site from the Hesse family that adjoins the Grade School in August 1960. Reverend Hugh Gardner, Wichita, superintended the construction of a basement to be used for an auditorium. A building was moved from Forbes Air Force Base and set on the basement. June 7, 1970, was a day of rejoicing for the congregation as they had a mortgage-burning service with Reverend Joe Arnedd, Des Moines, Iowa, evangelist, as speaker. Thus is the history of the early churches which no longer exist in the community and the churches which continue to function--though in somewhat different roles than in the early years. Once, the church, as well as the school, was the center of most family activities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The New Parsonage Family at Rossville U.M.C. Description An account of the resource Photo by Belinda Driscoll THE ROSSVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH has a new pastor, the Reverend Gene Damewood. The family is pictured around the pulpit at the church. L-R, front row -- Heather, Tim and Christi. Back row -- Lorene (his wife), Gene and Scott. by Dorothy N. Hoobler “I’m really impressed with the people of Rossville,” exclaimed the Reverend Gene Damewood, newly assigned pastor of the Rossville United Methodist Church. “They’re a very strong people to have endured both the windstorm and the flood of early June so well,” he added. The way people have “bounced back” does, indeed, indicate a strong community. Gene and Lorene Damewood were lucky, they agreed. Because remodeling was being done at the parsonage to accommodate the family, the Damewoods had not yet moved in when swollen Cross Creek went on its rampage. It filled the parsonage basement with only seven feet of water, while the muddy water reached a depth of eight feet in the church basement which serves as the fellowship hall. The Reverend Damewood said no specific decisions had been made yet about the future use and repair of the basement area. Tall and dark-haired, Gene Damewood was born and reared in Clarinda, Ia. He attended St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, and was fully ordained in 1963. Reverend Damewood has served in various churches in Kansas, and came to Rossville from Uniontown, in the southeastern part of the state. Lorene, who grew up in Kansas City, Mo., has an educational background in elementary education and has done substitute teaching. A graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College, Milwaukee, she earned her Master’s degree at University of Kansas City. She’s much too busy now with cooking, sewing, and family activities to be very involved in hobbies. The Damewood children are Christi, 17, who will be a senior at Rossville High School; twins Tim and Scott, 14, who will be freshmen; and ten-year-old Heather, a fifth grade student. “We also have a dog named Robert, a 'mostly mutt’ that half the town already knows from our daily walks with him,” she added with a smile. Scott and Tim will attend Camp Chippewa in August, and Christi is excited about a mission work camp in New Mexico. Held on the Navaho Reservation, Christi and other campers will be teaching Bible School classes. Because of the involvement of their own children, too, the Reverend Damewood is especially interested in the church’s youth program. He also intends to do a lot of pastoral calling. Members of the Rossville United Methodist Church congregation and others in the community interested in meeting the Damewoods are invited to a get- acquainted ice cream social and fellowship time on Sunday evening, July 25. It will begin at 6 p.m. in the Rossville City Park. Can you think of a nicer way to spend a hot July evening? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource St. Marys Star, St. Marys, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 20, 1982 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0530 Rossville United Methodist Church http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/142e819a7f802e6ac42a29ba3cf83e48.jpg 69bb58e0845e8c17a9a8beb0d4a1665c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Churches History Subject The topic of the resource Churches in the Rossville, Kansas, area. Description An account of the resource Among the various cultural developments in Rossville none was more important than the establishment and growth of organized religions. Shortly after the village of Rossville was started in 1871, some of the settlers felt the need for a church. The first known organized church was the Baptist Church started in August 1871 with nine members. A newspaper account, dated May 1879, about the school house in town says, “…at this time the building is used on Sunday by various church denominations as they are not supplied with church buildings. Six denominations have organized: The Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, Methodist, Episcopal, Methodist Southern and Advent. The Baptist have begun to erect a neat frame church building.” The Baptists built a small church on the approximate site of the Joe Navarre home on Spruce Street and dedicated this church on February 29, 1880. For a few years after that the Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist shared this building—each having the use of it one Sunday a month, morning and evening. The Baptist church disbanded in 1910 and was torn down soon afterwards. Organization of the United Brethren was soon followed by the United Brethren Church, also known as the Olive Branch Church. The first church building in the community was built by its members in about 1877. The old landmark, five miles north of Rossville, was torn down about 1952. Some of the farm folk responsible for its organization and erection were Mr. and Mrs. Joe Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Lasswell, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert James and their sons, Robert and James, Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Hook, who donated land for the church. A decline in membership prompted the church officials to sell the building to the Czech Christian organization and it served as a worship center for many years. Other denominations organized early, which have little recorded history, including the Colored Baptist, also called Second Baptist. A news clipping shows the Colored Baptist Church was in existence in 1885 and meetings were held at the old school house. At that time they were endeavoring to raise funds for a structure of their own. It was later erected in the southeast part of town on Orange Street. Their building was repaired in December 1904, but soon after the church disbanded. The only information available about the Cambellites, followers of Alexander Cambell, shows that they gathered regularly early in the city’s history. The Cambellites here and in other localities were the forerunners of the early Christian Church. A church was organized with the name Church of Christ in 1872 with Bennet Swearingen, an elder. In 1879 a group was meeting in the school. Between 1880 and when it was decided to build a church, it is believed the members met in the Baptist Church. A deed was recorded on June 29, 1887, for three lots for which they paid $50.00. The exact date of the erection of the present church is not known. Revered Alex Montgomery was a stone mason and laid the church foundation. Charles Bixby, father of the late Albert Bixby, was a carpenter and supervised the building of the church. Lumber was hauled from Topeka by Alex Nadeau and others. The supplies were purchased from the Thomas Lumber Company at Topeka. The first funeral held in the church was for William Lacock, grandfather of the late Albert Bixby. The oldest Sunday School record is dated September 7, 1884, with May Parker its first secretary. Due to an increase in the Christian Church's membership, in 1949 a large room was added to the north side of the building. Other improvements included new colored glass in the windows, and pews from the old United Brethren Church. In December 1960, another addition to the building was completed. As more settlers moved to this community, those who were of the Presbyterian faith organized their group in 1878 and met in the school in town. Reverend E.P. Sempel was the first pastor. A.C. Sherman, Richard Binns, Daniel Wilt, J.C. Bradley, William Bond, Henry Kassebaum, W.M. Mitchner, Sam Kerr, Dr. H.H. Miller and Isaac Trostle were the founders of the church. Later the Presbyterians met in the Baptist Church. In 1883, the Presbyterian group purchased the land on which the present church stands and began to build. The first church was built of red bricks which were made at a brick kiln located at the east edge of town. As the years passed a crack appeared between the bricks in the east end of the building. This fault was used as the reason for tearing town the old building. The present structure was constructed in 1917. The Reverend J.H. Naismith, the originator of the game of basketball, served as pastor in 1922 and 1923. Mr. Gus Kassebaum served as a Trustee for 39 years, from 1915 to 1954. His wife, Mrs. Lula Kassebaum served most of these years as president of the Ladies Missionary Society. The Rossville Charge was organized in the James School House, three miles west of Rossville in the year 1872 under the leadership of Mr. Paul Strimple, a local lay preacher. Shortly afterwards, another group of Methodists (Southern Methodists) met in Rossville and had services at the school in town. These two groups joined in planning construction of a church. Since the Baptists were the first to build a church, the two Methodist groups shared the building. The Methodist Church was chartered and registered with the Secretary of State, June 13, 1881. The first trustees and signers of the charter were: W.G. Gilbert, Isaac Larrance, Joseph Andrews, J.W. Miller, A.E. Strimple, J.T. Heslet, and T.M. Attebury. Building of the new church began in 1884, and it was dedicated on March 1, 1885. Nine years later the south room was added, and it was used as a dining room and meeting room. The Sunday School addition was added in 1960. The name was changed from Methodist Episcopal to Methodist, October 11, 1939. It was again changed in 1968 to United Methodist when the United Brethren and Methodist merged. The Election Day dinner was first served in 1882 and has become an established tradition. Dinner and supper were served to over 175 persons at a cost of 25 cents per person. Some of the men who took an active part in the life of the church were C.E. Gresser, E.G. Griswold and Frank Strimple. Before St. Stanislaus became a reality, according to Ellen Leonhardt of St. Marys, Kansas, Mass was held monthly sometime before 1894 in the Fritz Hall. She remembers accompanying Father Krier, a Jesuit priest, from St. Marys to Rossville along with other girls to sing in the choir. The first St. Stanislaus Church was built under the auspices of Father John B. Kokenge, S.J., who collected about eleven hundred dollars to procure the ground and put up the structure. It measured 42 x 30 feet with a sanctuary that added twelve feet to its length. The corner stone of this mission church was laid by Bishop Fink on June 18, 1899. Many notables from the St. Marys College were present as well as Reverend H.A. Schapman, S.J., former president of Detroit College. The document placed in the stone contained the following: “Leo XIII being Pope, William McKinley being President of the United States, W.E. Stanley being the Governor of Kansas, Joseph Calvin Bradley being Mayor of the city of Rossville, this church to be erected to the honor of God under the invocation of St. Stanislaus Kastka was begun today when the corner stone was laid this the eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.” The dedication of the completed church took place on October 29, 1899. In 1967, the parish purchased the home across the street from the church, so that the expanding catechetical classes would have a better place to meet. A $20,000 renovation project in 1975-1976 added a brick extension to the front of the church and a full basement. In 1998 Dekat Hall was dedicated and the mortgage was paid off. By 2009 the parish, which encompassed Rossville, Silver Lake, Willard, and Maple Hill, was in need of a bigger building so Don & Kathleen Damon donated a $1.1 million gift for the building of a new church. After raising the additional needed funds, the new worship space for 400 people was built in 2012 near the former church. In the early 1950s a group of believers who met together for weekly Bible Study grew in number so that they were encouraged to secure a property, call a pastor and organize a church. The Stewart property on the corner of Main and Pottawatomie was purchased in June 1952. After renovation, the first services of the Rossville Bible Church were held on September 7, 1952, with Reverend Clarence Swihart as pastor. Reverend Floyd Gee became the second pastor in June 1954. The church purchased a building site from the Hesse family that adjoins the Grade School in August 1960. Reverend Hugh Gardner, Wichita, superintended the construction of a basement to be used for an auditorium. A building was moved from Forbes Air Force Base and set on the basement. June 7, 1970, was a day of rejoicing for the congregation as they had a mortgage-burning service with Reverend Joe Arnedd, Des Moines, Iowa, evangelist, as speaker. Thus is the history of the early churches which no longer exist in the community and the churches which continue to function--though in somewhat different roles than in the early years. Once, the church, as well as the school, was the center of most family activities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville and Silver Lake Share a Methodist Minister Description An account of the resource Rev. and Mrs. Clyde Noyce are pictured during the recent Christmas holiday with their two children, Larry and Tina. They are now settled in their new home at the Silver Lake parsonage. Rossville and Silver Lake Methodist Churches are again sharing a minister. Beginning June 1, with the conference year, Rev. Clyde Noyce will serve Rossville and Silver Lake Methodist churches as joint pastor. He and his family are living in the new parsonage at Silver Lake. Rev. Noyce replaces Don Jones who was part-time pastor at Rossville for 16 years, and Rev. Raymond Muhr who had been part-time pastor at Silver Lake. The last joint minister between the two churches was Rev. Earl O. Harbour who served the two pastorates for three years until 1948. His residence was in Topeka and he preached at the two churches on alternate Sundays. In the early years of the two churches, there were a number of ministers who served on a circuit with the two towns, and a few years when the circuit included three towns in the area. The Methodist church buildings of the two neighboring towns are approximately the same age. Silver Lake church building was dedicated in December 1878 and the Rossville congregation dedicated their building March 1, 1885. The history of the Rossville organization dates back to 1872 when a group of people started a class in the James School House located west of Rossville. Services were conducted in the school house until 1880 when the Baptists at Rossville built a new church on the site of the present Joe Navarre residence on Spruce Street. For two years after that Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations shared this building, each having the use of it one Sunday a month, morning and evening. The Christian and Presbyterian churches had built their own buildings by 1884 so the Methodists and Baptists were sharing the Baptist Church building half time. The Rossville Methodist Church was chartered June 13, 1881 as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Rossville. The work of building on lots purchased on Pearl Street was begun in 1884 and completed the spring of 1885. In the fall of 1894 the south room addition was built, and in 1915 the basement was dug under the whole church. The newest education addition of the church was completed and dedicated on August 20, 1961. Silver Lake organized the society known as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Silver Lake on May 5, 1877. The church building was begun about the first of May 1878, the lots being acquired from C. S. Palmer. The completed building was dedicated in December, 1878. On October 18, 1925, at the regular conference meeting, a motion was made and carried that an addition 40x32 feet be built to the church, with a basement. The new addition was completed May 16, 1926. Last year a new parsonage was completed at Silver Lake, built on the grounds behind the church building, facing the highway. Rev. C. P. Broadfoot served as pastor at Rossville during the 1940s and also did some preaching at Silver Lake. He was the last Rossville minister to live in the old parsonage, which is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilmont Holz on Spruce Street. This parsonage was purchased by the church in 1919 and was sold in 1948 when the present parsonage was purchased. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 24, 1965 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clipping Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0531 Rossville United Methodist Church http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/90b2648cc88864f52bab046b8ba830cc.jpg 0dcb03a7a241d7c31d8f767d34598eb9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Churches History Subject The topic of the resource Churches in the Rossville, Kansas, area. Description An account of the resource Among the various cultural developments in Rossville none was more important than the establishment and growth of organized religions. Shortly after the village of Rossville was started in 1871, some of the settlers felt the need for a church. The first known organized church was the Baptist Church started in August 1871 with nine members. A newspaper account, dated May 1879, about the school house in town says, “…at this time the building is used on Sunday by various church denominations as they are not supplied with church buildings. Six denominations have organized: The Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, Methodist, Episcopal, Methodist Southern and Advent. The Baptist have begun to erect a neat frame church building.” The Baptists built a small church on the approximate site of the Joe Navarre home on Spruce Street and dedicated this church on February 29, 1880. For a few years after that the Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist shared this building—each having the use of it one Sunday a month, morning and evening. The Baptist church disbanded in 1910 and was torn down soon afterwards. Organization of the United Brethren was soon followed by the United Brethren Church, also known as the Olive Branch Church. The first church building in the community was built by its members in about 1877. The old landmark, five miles north of Rossville, was torn down about 1952. Some of the farm folk responsible for its organization and erection were Mr. and Mrs. Joe Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Lasswell, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert James and their sons, Robert and James, Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Hook, who donated land for the church. A decline in membership prompted the church officials to sell the building to the Czech Christian organization and it served as a worship center for many years. Other denominations organized early, which have little recorded history, including the Colored Baptist, also called Second Baptist. A news clipping shows the Colored Baptist Church was in existence in 1885 and meetings were held at the old school house. At that time they were endeavoring to raise funds for a structure of their own. It was later erected in the southeast part of town on Orange Street. Their building was repaired in December 1904, but soon after the church disbanded. The only information available about the Cambellites, followers of Alexander Cambell, shows that they gathered regularly early in the city’s history. The Cambellites here and in other localities were the forerunners of the early Christian Church. A church was organized with the name Church of Christ in 1872 with Bennet Swearingen, an elder. In 1879 a group was meeting in the school. Between 1880 and when it was decided to build a church, it is believed the members met in the Baptist Church. A deed was recorded on June 29, 1887, for three lots for which they paid $50.00. The exact date of the erection of the present church is not known. Revered Alex Montgomery was a stone mason and laid the church foundation. Charles Bixby, father of the late Albert Bixby, was a carpenter and supervised the building of the church. Lumber was hauled from Topeka by Alex Nadeau and others. The supplies were purchased from the Thomas Lumber Company at Topeka. The first funeral held in the church was for William Lacock, grandfather of the late Albert Bixby. The oldest Sunday School record is dated September 7, 1884, with May Parker its first secretary. Due to an increase in the Christian Church's membership, in 1949 a large room was added to the north side of the building. Other improvements included new colored glass in the windows, and pews from the old United Brethren Church. In December 1960, another addition to the building was completed. As more settlers moved to this community, those who were of the Presbyterian faith organized their group in 1878 and met in the school in town. Reverend E.P. Sempel was the first pastor. A.C. Sherman, Richard Binns, Daniel Wilt, J.C. Bradley, William Bond, Henry Kassebaum, W.M. Mitchner, Sam Kerr, Dr. H.H. Miller and Isaac Trostle were the founders of the church. Later the Presbyterians met in the Baptist Church. In 1883, the Presbyterian group purchased the land on which the present church stands and began to build. The first church was built of red bricks which were made at a brick kiln located at the east edge of town. As the years passed a crack appeared between the bricks in the east end of the building. This fault was used as the reason for tearing town the old building. The present structure was constructed in 1917. The Reverend J.H. Naismith, the originator of the game of basketball, served as pastor in 1922 and 1923. Mr. Gus Kassebaum served as a Trustee for 39 years, from 1915 to 1954. His wife, Mrs. Lula Kassebaum served most of these years as president of the Ladies Missionary Society. The Rossville Charge was organized in the James School House, three miles west of Rossville in the year 1872 under the leadership of Mr. Paul Strimple, a local lay preacher. Shortly afterwards, another group of Methodists (Southern Methodists) met in Rossville and had services at the school in town. These two groups joined in planning construction of a church. Since the Baptists were the first to build a church, the two Methodist groups shared the building. The Methodist Church was chartered and registered with the Secretary of State, June 13, 1881. The first trustees and signers of the charter were: W.G. Gilbert, Isaac Larrance, Joseph Andrews, J.W. Miller, A.E. Strimple, J.T. Heslet, and T.M. Attebury. Building of the new church began in 1884, and it was dedicated on March 1, 1885. Nine years later the south room was added, and it was used as a dining room and meeting room. The Sunday School addition was added in 1960. The name was changed from Methodist Episcopal to Methodist, October 11, 1939. It was again changed in 1968 to United Methodist when the United Brethren and Methodist merged. The Election Day dinner was first served in 1882 and has become an established tradition. Dinner and supper were served to over 175 persons at a cost of 25 cents per person. Some of the men who took an active part in the life of the church were C.E. Gresser, E.G. Griswold and Frank Strimple. Before St. Stanislaus became a reality, according to Ellen Leonhardt of St. Marys, Kansas, Mass was held monthly sometime before 1894 in the Fritz Hall. She remembers accompanying Father Krier, a Jesuit priest, from St. Marys to Rossville along with other girls to sing in the choir. The first St. Stanislaus Church was built under the auspices of Father John B. Kokenge, S.J., who collected about eleven hundred dollars to procure the ground and put up the structure. It measured 42 x 30 feet with a sanctuary that added twelve feet to its length. The corner stone of this mission church was laid by Bishop Fink on June 18, 1899. Many notables from the St. Marys College were present as well as Reverend H.A. Schapman, S.J., former president of Detroit College. The document placed in the stone contained the following: “Leo XIII being Pope, William McKinley being President of the United States, W.E. Stanley being the Governor of Kansas, Joseph Calvin Bradley being Mayor of the city of Rossville, this church to be erected to the honor of God under the invocation of St. Stanislaus Kastka was begun today when the corner stone was laid this the eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.” The dedication of the completed church took place on October 29, 1899. In 1967, the parish purchased the home across the street from the church, so that the expanding catechetical classes would have a better place to meet. A $20,000 renovation project in 1975-1976 added a brick extension to the front of the church and a full basement. In 1998 Dekat Hall was dedicated and the mortgage was paid off. By 2009 the parish, which encompassed Rossville, Silver Lake, Willard, and Maple Hill, was in need of a bigger building so Don & Kathleen Damon donated a $1.1 million gift for the building of a new church. After raising the additional needed funds, the new worship space for 400 people was built in 2012 near the former church. In the early 1950s a group of believers who met together for weekly Bible Study grew in number so that they were encouraged to secure a property, call a pastor and organize a church. The Stewart property on the corner of Main and Pottawatomie was purchased in June 1952. After renovation, the first services of the Rossville Bible Church were held on September 7, 1952, with Reverend Clarence Swihart as pastor. Reverend Floyd Gee became the second pastor in June 1954. The church purchased a building site from the Hesse family that adjoins the Grade School in August 1960. Reverend Hugh Gardner, Wichita, superintended the construction of a basement to be used for an auditorium. A building was moved from Forbes Air Force Base and set on the basement. June 7, 1970, was a day of rejoicing for the congregation as they had a mortgage-burning service with Reverend Joe Arnedd, Des Moines, Iowa, evangelist, as speaker. Thus is the history of the early churches which no longer exist in the community and the churches which continue to function--though in somewhat different roles than in the early years. Once, the church, as well as the school, was the center of most family activities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Friendly Circle/Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS) minutes from 1963 Description An account of the resource January 24, 1963: The Friendly Circle Class met Wednesday, January 16th at the home of Mrs. Stella Page with a covered dish luncheon at noon. Mrs. Amy Meade was the assistant hostess. The day was spent quilting. Those present were Georgia Lambert, Iva Stitt, Ethelyn Ferguson, Ida Pauley, Myrtle Colcher, Vida Whitney, Minnie Givens, Bess Conley, Amy Meade, Stella Henderson, Mary House, Mable Bruce, Esther Mansfield, Mildred Page and Roger and Ella Whearty. ------------------------------------ April 4, 1963: The Friendly Circle Class met at the home of Stella Page with Ethelyn Ferguson and Iva Stitt as hostesses. The day was spent quilting. Those present were Ruth Page, Stella Henderson, Bess Conley, Amy Meade, Golda Cottle, Vida Whitney, Esther Mansfield, Linda Barney, Minnie Given, Mildred Page and Roger and Mary House. ------------------------------------ April 25, 1963: The Friendly Circle Class met at the home of Ruth Page. The day was spent quilting. A lovely covered dish luncheon at noon was served to the following; Esther Mansfield, Amy Meade, Minnie Givens, Myrtle Colcher, Mrs. Hickey, Iva Stitts, Myrtle Lillard, Margie Hoobler, Mildred Page and Roger, Helen Herron, Phyllis Keller and Tammy, Stella Page, Bess Conley, Mary House, Stella Henderson and Vida Whitney. ------------------------------------ May 23, 1963: The Friendly Circle Class met at the home of Stella Page on May 15th. Amy Meade was co-hostess and the day was spent quilting. Those present for the meeting was Seba Baird, Myrtle Colcher, Minnie Givens, Stella Henderson, Maude Hickey, Myrtle Lillard, Georgia Lambert, Esther Mansfield, Mable Bruce, Ruth Page, Ethelyn Ferguson, Golda Cottle, Vida Whitney, Mildred Page and Roger, Stella Page and Amy Meade. The next meeting will be at the home of Amy Meade. ------------------------------------ June 27, 1963: Friendly Circle Class met Wednesday, June 19, at the home of Georgia Lambert. A covered dish luncheon was served at noon. Iva Stitt was hostess. The meeting was called to order by the president for the year’s report. The election of officers was held as follows: president, Amy Meade, vice president Stella Page, secretary-treasurer Vida Whitnev, reporter Goldie Cottle. Present were Vida Whitney, Stella Page, Seba Baird, Minnie Given, Ethelyn Ferguson, Bess Conley, Myrtle Lillard, Iva Stitt, Georgia Lambert, Minnie Ellis, Maude Hickey, Opal Terrill, Amy Meade and Mildred Page. ------------------------------------- December 5, 1963: The Friendly Circle Class of the Rossville Methodist Church met at the home of Vida Whitney November 20 for an all-dav meeting. Lucy Anderson was assistant hostess at a covered dish luncheon. Those present were Georgia Lambert, Seba Baird, Myrtle Lillard, Opal Terrill, Stella Page, Ethelyn Ferguson, Mvrtle Colcher, Maude Hickey, Ruth Page, Ella Wheartv, Amy Meade and Stella Henderson. The next meeting will be with Stella Page for the Christmas meeting and gift exchange. Ruth Page will be assistant hostess. ------------------------------------- April 11, 1963: W.S.C.S of the Methodist Church will meet Thursday April 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the home of Ruth Page. Hostesses are Ruth Gresser, Rowena Gannon, Delores Hesse and Lorena Dick. ------------------------------------- December 19, 1963: The WSCS of the Rossville Methodist Church met Thursday, December 12, at the church for the Christmas meeting. The meeting was opened with Christmas carols played by Linda Bush at the piano. The program was given by Ruth Larson, Edna Spears and Eleanor Jones. A Christmas gift exchange followed the program and refreshments were served. Those present were Ruth Larson, Elsie Rasch, Irene Parr, Vina McCoid, Edna Bush, Opal Farrell, Stella Henderson, Mildred Page and Roger, Eleanor Jones, Grace Hartzell, Edna Spears, Bess Conley and Patricia, Theo Enochs and Amy Meade. Mrs. Emma Aushman from Elmont was a visitor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clippings Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0532 Rossville United Methodist Church http://recollectionsks.org/files/original/7fa7e1a584e8608e15aa1f7794e60a30.jpg d8d1045764887b8a5e0196864c39d63e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rossville Churches History Subject The topic of the resource Churches in the Rossville, Kansas, area. Description An account of the resource Among the various cultural developments in Rossville none was more important than the establishment and growth of organized religions. Shortly after the village of Rossville was started in 1871, some of the settlers felt the need for a church. The first known organized church was the Baptist Church started in August 1871 with nine members. A newspaper account, dated May 1879, about the school house in town says, “…at this time the building is used on Sunday by various church denominations as they are not supplied with church buildings. Six denominations have organized: The Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, Methodist, Episcopal, Methodist Southern and Advent. The Baptist have begun to erect a neat frame church building.” The Baptists built a small church on the approximate site of the Joe Navarre home on Spruce Street and dedicated this church on February 29, 1880. For a few years after that the Baptist, Christian, Presbyterian and Methodist shared this building—each having the use of it one Sunday a month, morning and evening. The Baptist church disbanded in 1910 and was torn down soon afterwards. Organization of the United Brethren was soon followed by the United Brethren Church, also known as the Olive Branch Church. The first church building in the community was built by its members in about 1877. The old landmark, five miles north of Rossville, was torn down about 1952. Some of the farm folk responsible for its organization and erection were Mr. and Mrs. Joe Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Lasswell, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert James and their sons, Robert and James, Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Hook, who donated land for the church. A decline in membership prompted the church officials to sell the building to the Czech Christian organization and it served as a worship center for many years. Other denominations organized early, which have little recorded history, including the Colored Baptist, also called Second Baptist. A news clipping shows the Colored Baptist Church was in existence in 1885 and meetings were held at the old school house. At that time they were endeavoring to raise funds for a structure of their own. It was later erected in the southeast part of town on Orange Street. Their building was repaired in December 1904, but soon after the church disbanded. The only information available about the Cambellites, followers of Alexander Cambell, shows that they gathered regularly early in the city’s history. The Cambellites here and in other localities were the forerunners of the early Christian Church. A church was organized with the name Church of Christ in 1872 with Bennet Swearingen, an elder. In 1879 a group was meeting in the school. Between 1880 and when it was decided to build a church, it is believed the members met in the Baptist Church. A deed was recorded on June 29, 1887, for three lots for which they paid $50.00. The exact date of the erection of the present church is not known. Revered Alex Montgomery was a stone mason and laid the church foundation. Charles Bixby, father of the late Albert Bixby, was a carpenter and supervised the building of the church. Lumber was hauled from Topeka by Alex Nadeau and others. The supplies were purchased from the Thomas Lumber Company at Topeka. The first funeral held in the church was for William Lacock, grandfather of the late Albert Bixby. The oldest Sunday School record is dated September 7, 1884, with May Parker its first secretary. Due to an increase in the Christian Church's membership, in 1949 a large room was added to the north side of the building. Other improvements included new colored glass in the windows, and pews from the old United Brethren Church. In December 1960, another addition to the building was completed. As more settlers moved to this community, those who were of the Presbyterian faith organized their group in 1878 and met in the school in town. Reverend E.P. Sempel was the first pastor. A.C. Sherman, Richard Binns, Daniel Wilt, J.C. Bradley, William Bond, Henry Kassebaum, W.M. Mitchner, Sam Kerr, Dr. H.H. Miller and Isaac Trostle were the founders of the church. Later the Presbyterians met in the Baptist Church. In 1883, the Presbyterian group purchased the land on which the present church stands and began to build. The first church was built of red bricks which were made at a brick kiln located at the east edge of town. As the years passed a crack appeared between the bricks in the east end of the building. This fault was used as the reason for tearing town the old building. The present structure was constructed in 1917. The Reverend J.H. Naismith, the originator of the game of basketball, served as pastor in 1922 and 1923. Mr. Gus Kassebaum served as a Trustee for 39 years, from 1915 to 1954. His wife, Mrs. Lula Kassebaum served most of these years as president of the Ladies Missionary Society. The Rossville Charge was organized in the James School House, three miles west of Rossville in the year 1872 under the leadership of Mr. Paul Strimple, a local lay preacher. Shortly afterwards, another group of Methodists (Southern Methodists) met in Rossville and had services at the school in town. These two groups joined in planning construction of a church. Since the Baptists were the first to build a church, the two Methodist groups shared the building. The Methodist Church was chartered and registered with the Secretary of State, June 13, 1881. The first trustees and signers of the charter were: W.G. Gilbert, Isaac Larrance, Joseph Andrews, J.W. Miller, A.E. Strimple, J.T. Heslet, and T.M. Attebury. Building of the new church began in 1884, and it was dedicated on March 1, 1885. Nine years later the south room was added, and it was used as a dining room and meeting room. The Sunday School addition was added in 1960. The name was changed from Methodist Episcopal to Methodist, October 11, 1939. It was again changed in 1968 to United Methodist when the United Brethren and Methodist merged. The Election Day dinner was first served in 1882 and has become an established tradition. Dinner and supper were served to over 175 persons at a cost of 25 cents per person. Some of the men who took an active part in the life of the church were C.E. Gresser, E.G. Griswold and Frank Strimple. Before St. Stanislaus became a reality, according to Ellen Leonhardt of St. Marys, Kansas, Mass was held monthly sometime before 1894 in the Fritz Hall. She remembers accompanying Father Krier, a Jesuit priest, from St. Marys to Rossville along with other girls to sing in the choir. The first St. Stanislaus Church was built under the auspices of Father John B. Kokenge, S.J., who collected about eleven hundred dollars to procure the ground and put up the structure. It measured 42 x 30 feet with a sanctuary that added twelve feet to its length. The corner stone of this mission church was laid by Bishop Fink on June 18, 1899. Many notables from the St. Marys College were present as well as Reverend H.A. Schapman, S.J., former president of Detroit College. The document placed in the stone contained the following: “Leo XIII being Pope, William McKinley being President of the United States, W.E. Stanley being the Governor of Kansas, Joseph Calvin Bradley being Mayor of the city of Rossville, this church to be erected to the honor of God under the invocation of St. Stanislaus Kastka was begun today when the corner stone was laid this the eighteenth day of June in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.” The dedication of the completed church took place on October 29, 1899. In 1967, the parish purchased the home across the street from the church, so that the expanding catechetical classes would have a better place to meet. A $20,000 renovation project in 1975-1976 added a brick extension to the front of the church and a full basement. In 1998 Dekat Hall was dedicated and the mortgage was paid off. By 2009 the parish, which encompassed Rossville, Silver Lake, Willard, and Maple Hill, was in need of a bigger building so Don & Kathleen Damon donated a $1.1 million gift for the building of a new church. After raising the additional needed funds, the new worship space for 400 people was built in 2012 near the former church. In the early 1950s a group of believers who met together for weekly Bible Study grew in number so that they were encouraged to secure a property, call a pastor and organize a church. The Stewart property on the corner of Main and Pottawatomie was purchased in June 1952. After renovation, the first services of the Rossville Bible Church were held on September 7, 1952, with Reverend Clarence Swihart as pastor. Reverend Floyd Gee became the second pastor in June 1954. The church purchased a building site from the Hesse family that adjoins the Grade School in August 1960. Reverend Hugh Gardner, Wichita, superintended the construction of a basement to be used for an auditorium. A building was moved from Forbes Air Force Base and set on the basement. June 7, 1970, was a day of rejoicing for the congregation as they had a mortgage-burning service with Reverend Joe Arnedd, Des Moines, Iowa, evangelist, as speaker. Thus is the history of the early churches which no longer exist in the community and the churches which continue to function--though in somewhat different roles than in the early years. Once, the church, as well as the school, was the center of most family activities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rossville Community Library Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rossville Centennial Booklet, 1971 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain due to copyright expiration. Original narrative content by RCL is available for use by public. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Friendly Circle/Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS) minutes from 1962 Description An account of the resource March 1, 1962: WSCS met at the home of Mrs. Rolland Parr on Thursday afternoon, February 23, The meeting was called to order by the President, Mrs. Ruth Larson. Worship service was given by Beverly Gentry and Betty Dick. The lesson was entitled, "The Mission of the Church of Christ in Latin America.’’ It was a well- prepared and very interesting program. Hostesses for the afternoon were Vina McCoid, Lila Bahner, Georgia Lambert, Stella Henderson, and Irene Campbell. Others present were Betty Dick, Ruth Larson, Beverly Gentry, Irene Parr and Howard, Eleanor Jones, Mildred Page and Roger, Pauline Conley, Amy Meade. The Friendly Circle Class met at the home of Stella Henderson Wednesday, February 21, with an all-day quilting meeting. Those present were Iva Stitt, Seba Baird, Minnie Givens, Daisy Crow, Minnie Ellis, Vida Whitney, Ellie Jones and baby, Stella Page, Mildred Page and Roger, Linda Barney, Bess Conley, Amy Meade, Ethelyn Ferguson, Georgia Lambert, Golda Cottle, and the hostess, Stella Henderson. -------------------- March 29, 1962: WSCS met Thursday, March 22, at the home of Mrs. Luther McClain. The meeting was called to order by the president, Ruth Larson. Worship leaders were Mrs. Stella Henderson and Mrs. Erma Hoobler. Refreshments were served to Vida Whitney, Irene Parr and Howard, Ruth Larson, Eleanor Jones, Pauline Conley, Edna Bush and Cathy, Stella Henderson, Erma Hoobler and Janey, Georgia Lambert, Marjorie Hoobler, Myrtle Lillard and Amy Meade. -------------------- May 24, 1962: The Women’s Society of Christian Service of the Methodist Church met on May 17th at the home of Mildred Page. The meeting was called to order by the vice president, Vina McCoid. Lesson leaders were Pauline Conley, Stella Henderson and Amy Meade who gave the lesson on Americans of Spanish Speaking Background. Hostesses served ice tea and cake and ice cream. Those present were Lila Bahner, Stella Henderson, Ruth Page, Pauline Conley and children, Vina McCoid, Laura Gardner, Amy Meade, Mildred Page and Roger. -------------------- July 5, 1962: WSCS Installs Officers The WSCS of the Methodist Church met at the home of Mrs. Bill Larson on Thursday, June 28, for a covered dish luncheon at noon. Lesson leaders were Esther Sebring and Pauline Conley on “Deaconess and Missionary”. It was a well given lesson and a wonderful discussion. New officers installed for 1962-63 were: Vina McCoid, President; Elsie Rasch, Vice President; Ruth Hesse, Treasurer; Mildred Page, Secretary, and other officers. Those present were Mildred Page and children, Pauline Conley and children, Minnie Ellis, Lila Bahner and Connie, Vina McCoid, Stella Henderson, Esther Sebring, Ruth Hesse, Edna Bush, Vida Whitney, Laura Gardner and daughter, and Amy Meade. -------------------- November 22, 1962: The W.S.C.S. met Thursday, November 12th at the home of Mrs. Rolland Parr. A very interesting lesson was given by Irene Parr, Liz Hesse and Esther Mansfield. Katheryn Gresser and Jelene Kelsey gave a piano duet. Lovely refreshments were served by the committee to the following, Irene Campbell, Liz Hesse and Scottie, Myrtle Lillard, Eleanor Jones and baby, Esther Mansfield, Ruth Hesse, Vina McCoid, Irene Parr, Elsa Rasch, Stella Henderson, Mrs. Bush, Amy Meade and Ruth Larson. A gift exchange of $1.00 was voted for Christmas. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Shawnee County Reporter, Rossville, Kansas Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rossville Community Library Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1962 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This work 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource newspaper clippings Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RCL0533 Rossville United Methodist Church