On March 7, 1875, the legislature passed
an act fixing the boundaries of Stevens, Seward and Kansas (now
Morton) counties. In 1880, the Beaty Brothers brought in the first
herd of cattle and established a ranch on the Cimarron River with
the headquarters at Point of Rocks in (Kansas) Morton County.
On May 16, 1881, men from McPherson, namely H. B. Kelly and John
Hughes, made an exploration into Stevens County and selected a
town site near the center of the proposed county. After their
return to McPherson, a town company of sixteen persons was formed.
The 1880 census shows two men (possibly
brothers) who were born in Ireland; their names were Patrick and
Michael Quinn. The others living in the area at the time were
from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, New Hamshire and New
York.
The three counties were incorporated
into one county in 1883; it was called Seward County. In July
1885, four years after the town company was formed, some members
of the group came back to the town site and built shanties for
homesteading purposes.
Governor Martin issued a proclamation
for the organization of Stevens County on August 1, 1885, and
the town of Hugo was platted ten days later. Stevens County was
named for statesman Thaddeus Stevens, and Hugo was named after
Victor Hugo. In 1886, the name was changed to Hugoton because
of other post offices with the same name of Hugo. Stevens County
was organized on August 3, 1886, and Hugoton named the temperary
county seat on September 2.
There was a bitter and violent county
seat war between Hugoton and Woodsdale. Hugoton was eventually
named the permanent county seat in 1887. See story on the Woodsdale
page.
Stevens County has always been an integrated
county. Hugoton had many families homestead in the area, and as
the people came west, water wells were drilled, farming was established,
and schools and churches were built. The main agricultural products
are cattle, wheat, milo, corn, soybeans, sunflowers, broomcorn,
millet, and in the 2000 era, cotton and cucumbers were introduced
as crops new to the area.
Natural gas was discovered in 1927
and many wells were drilled by Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company
and others.
The town of Lafayette was founded by
Quakers in 1886.
Sources
Stevens County Gas and Historical
Museum
"The History of Stevens
County and Its People." Hugoton, KS: Stevens County History
Association, 1979.
