Amish Village | Bellefont
| Bloom | Bucklin
| Dodge City | Ford
| Howell |
Kingsdown | Lasker
Mexican Village | Spearville
| Windthorst | Wright
Homesteading in Ford County
Spearville
The town site of Spearville was named
for Alden Speare, the president of the Santa Fe Land Company.
It was platted in March 1873 and is located 16 miles east of Dodge
City. By 1885, there was a lively business district consisting
of supply stores, grocery stores, a bank and several other services.
Spearville was close to the German
community of Windthorst and after a railroad venture to Windthorst
failed, the Germans shopped and worked in Spearville.
Asa Soule, a New York millionaire,
financed the Soule Canal which was to be an irrigation ditch that
would provide water from the Arkansas River to Gray and Edwards
Counties, as well as Ford County. Building for the canal began
in 1884, and by 1887, as the construction came near Spearville
it was starting to be a failure due to other projects upstream
and the drought. By 1890, the Eureka Irrigation Canal was no longer
a viable way to use the Arkansas River water.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Ford County Historical Society.
Dodge City and Ford County, Kansas 1870-1920: Pioneer Histories
and Stories.
Dodge City, KS, 1996.
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