Cain City | Ellsworth
| Holyrood | Lorraine
| Wilson | Essick
Piece on Ellsworth County
Homesteading in Ellsworth County
Prentice, Noble Lovely. "History of
Kansas". Winfield, KS: E. P. Greer, 1899.
Several roads were built in the area
comprising of what is now Ellsworth County to accomodate travelers
that were going through the region and to assist military troops
in getting to where they needed to be during a time of Indian
troubles. The first such road was built in 1854 by the War Department
from Fort Riley to the mouth of the Walnut Creek. Another road,
built in 1860, became a major route during the Pikes Peak Gold
Rush.
The first settlement was made as early
as 1860 by a group of gentlemen from New York, Michigan, Germany
and Mexico.
A fort was established in 1864 to protect
the railroad workers and settlers from Indian attacks. The site
of the fort was on the north bank of the Smoky Hill River where
the road from Fort Riley crossed it. General Curtis selected the
name of Fort Ellsworth to honor its commander, Lieutenant Allen
Ellsworth. A new site for the fort was selected in 1866, and it
was a mile northeast of Fort Ellsworth and was on higher ground.
The name was changed to Fort Harker on November 17, 1866 in honor
of Brigadier General Charles Harker who was killed on June 27,
1864 at the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain. The old fort's buildings
were abandoned and torn down.
The town site for Ellsworth was laid
out on January 23, 1867, and the State Legislature defined the
county's bounderies on March 3, 1867. Later in the year, on May
8, the plat was filed in Saline County. Ellsworth County was attached
to Saline County for judicial and municial purposes. A flood wiped
out the town site on June 8, so a new town site located two miles
northwest of the old site was laid out. It is the location of
the current town.
In May 1874, a caravan of wagons carrying
Bohemians who were under the leadership of Francis Swehla came
to Ellsworth County. They set up a Bohemian settlement in the
Bosland (later Wilson) area. Other Bohemian families came to the
area in response to Swehla's articles in Bohemian-American papers.
Jan Charvat built the first Bohemian Hall in May 1880 in Wilson.
Holyrood was founded by Canadians of
Irish descent. Cain City was also founded by the Canadians. The
Bohemians established Palacky in June 1876 north of Cain City,
but it never became a town.
German Baptists settled in the area
around what is now Lorraine.
Sources
"A History of Ellsworth
County, Kansas". Compiled by Francis L. Wilson. Ellsworth,
KS: Ellsworth County Historical Society, 1982.
Choitz, John F. "A History
of Ellsworth County: 1854-1885." Masters Thesis, Fort Hays
Kansas State College. 1967
