Eminence
Eminence had its beginnings as a post office
named Cuyler in 1883, then it was relocated 2 miles east on the
Pawnee River in 1886. The name was changed to Creole, but due
to another town with that name, it was officially named Eminence
on June 3, 1887.
Another town in Garfield County, Ravanna, had
been named the temporary county seat, and in November 1887, an
election was held with the winner being Ravanna. Later an investigation
found that the ballot boxes had been stuffed with names of deceased
voters.
On December 11, 1888, Eminence was officially
the county seat. Ravanna challenged it in the state Supreme Court,
but it upheld the decision and Eminence remained the county seat.
Ravanna citizens once again went to court; this time they challenged
the legality of Garfield County because it contained less than
the 432 square miles that was required by Kansas statutes. Garfield
County was annexed to Finney County, and Eminence began its decline.
Today there is not much to show there was a town in that place
at one time.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Blanchard, Leola Howard. Conquest
of Southwest Kansas: A History and Thrilling Stories of Frontier
Life in the State of Kansas. Wichita, KS: Wichita Eagle Press,
1931
Finney County Historical Society.
History of Finney County. Garden City, KS: 1950.
Lindner, F. Claudine. History
of Garfield County, Kansas. Masters Thesis, University of Wyoming,
1949.
