Alden | Chase
| Geneseo | Little
RIver | Lyons | Raymond
| Sterling
Homesteading in Rice County
Lyons
Atlanta was laid out in December 1870,
and construction of the buildings began the following spring.
In April 1876, Atlanta, Peace (now Sterling), and an area in the
exact geographical center which was just prairie vied for the
county seat in an election. The bare prairie, located a mile and
a half north of Atlanta, won the majority of votes! So the folks
at Atlanta moved their buildings to the land which had previously
belonged to "Hod" Williston who sold it to Truman J.
Lyon. Mr. Lyon started the town site and sold lots in the new
county seat which was now called Lyons.
The Atlanta Post Office was moved on
July 1, 1876 and the town started seeing growth in that first
year. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad finally arrived
in Lyons in June 1880.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Jones, Horace. "The Story
of Early Rice County." Wichita, KS: Wichita Eagle Press,
1928.
"Rice County Centennial:
Land of Quivira." Rice County Centennial Committee, 1971.
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