Basil / Gage | Belmont
| Cleveland | Cunningham
| Kingman |
Murdock | Nashville | Norwich
| Penalosa | Rago
| Spivey | Waterloo
| Willowdale |
Zenda
Homesteading in Kingman County
Kingman
A man from Reno County, J. H. Fical,
moved his house from there to the north side of the Ninnescah
River in Kingman County. Sherman was the name of the town that
was started at that site, and it was later changed to Kingman.
The town was laid out in 1874 by J. H. Fical and his brother.
The Sherman Hotel was built in 1874, and a store, a school and
some houses were also built in that time frame.
By 1878, a town had been started on
the south side of the river, and many Kingman residents and the
post had moved there. Rivalry between the two towns prompted many
hard feelings, but after about a year of dealing with the unfavorable
conditions, buildings were moved back to the north side.
The first railroad came through in
June 1884. After rock salt was discovered in 1887, the town grew
to accommodate the new residents of the boom-town.
There was a period of hard times because
of weather (drought) and an invasion of grasshoppers. The people
hung in there during these times, and the situation became much
better in the early 1900's. Kingman is the county seat.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
"Kingman County History:
Kingman County, Kansas and Its People." Kingman, KS: Kingman
County Historical Society, 1984.
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