Edson | Eustis
| Gandy | Goodland
| Itasca | Kanorado
| Ruleton | Sherman
Center | Voltaire
Homesteading in Sherman County
Gandy
Considered to be the first town in
Sherman County, Gandy was founded in June 1885. It was named for
Dr. J. L. Gandy of Humboldt, Nebraska. He was a land dealer in
Nebraska, but his methods of acquiring land were questionable,
and he was not very popular as he started buying land in Sherman
County. The town of Gandy did not survive, and this may have been
a contributing factor.
The Gandy Post Office was established
on September 4, 1885. Gandy was also the home of the first newspaper
in Sherman County, "The New Tecumseh", which began publishing
on November 11, 1885. The first school in Sherman County was also
in Gandy. But by early 1886, the town was beginning to decline.
The newspaper was moved to Leonard (Itasca) in March, and in the
fall the postmaster received permission to change the site of
the Gandy Post Office to a new location which happened to be the
new town of Sherman Center. The post office remained named Gandy
and was the only post office Sherman Center ever had. The town
of Gandy ceased to exist.
The ethnicity of its settlers is not
known.
Sources
"They Came to Stay".
Sherman County Historical Society, 1980.
Olson, Daryl A. "A History of Sherman County, 1880-1960".
Masters Thesis, Fort Hays Kansas State College, 1966
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