Burdett | Garfield
| Larned | Rozel
Homesteading in Pawnee County
Garfield
Workmen for the Santa Fe Railroad established
a supply station in the late summer of 1872 and named it Camp
Criley for Capt. J. D. Criley who was the superintendent overseeing
the construction. Members of an Ohio colony arrived at the camp
after the workmen had moved on down the line.
An advance team of members of an Ohio
colony had been sent to examine prospective properties in Kansas
and Nebraska, and they decided on Camp Criley. These men filed
on about 30 pieces land in January 1873, and the first settlers
from the Ohio colony arrived at the camp site on March 15, 1873.
The name of the town was changed to Garfield in honor of their
congressman from their district in Ohio, James A. Garfield. Congressman
Garfield later became President of the United States.
In the mid-1880's a colony of 65 Swedish
families settled in Garfield.
By 1895, the population had grown to
450.
Sources
"Panorama of Progress: Pawnee
County, 1872-1972". Supplement to The Tiller & Toiler.
Larned, KS: The Tiller & Toiler, 1972.
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