Ulysses
Homesteading in Grant County
Ulysses
The Ulysses Town
Company founded the town site of (Old) Ulysses in June 1885 after
government land was available for purchase. George Earp, first
cousin to Wyatt Earp, was an employee of one of the members of
the town company, C. O. Chapman. Mr. Earp oversaw a crew of surveyors
that platted the land where the town would be started, and he
was later elected the town site agent by the town company.
Old Ulysses was located in Hamilton
County at the time it was platted because in 1883, Grant County
disappeared along with 7 other counties that had been established
in 1873 by the Kansas Legislature. Grant County, named in honor
of General Ulysses S. Grant, was re-established and organized
on June 9, 1888.
Governor John Martin appointed Colonel
T. J. Jackson of Newton to take a census of Grant County in 1887
after the Ulysses and Cincinnati newspapers both championed the
cause of becoming the county seat. His census report said that
Ulysses had won by a majority of 144 votes, according to a telegram
sent to George Earp on August 24, 1887.
The Cincinnati citizens charged fraud
in the results of the census. The judge granted a temporary injunction
that kept the governor from acting on Jackson's report.
In December 1887, the towns of Cincinnati
and Surprise consolidated and were determined to keep the fight
for the county seat ongoing. The new town, which was called Appomattox,
was the loser in the election held on October 18, 1888 to Ulysses
by 236 votes.
Once again, the residents of Appomattox
charged fraud, this time in the election, and in May 1890, the
state Supreme Court ruled that another election should be held.
Over 300 votes in the 1888 election were found to be fraudulent.
An election was held on June 17, 1890
and Ulysses won this election with 180 votes to Appomattox's 136
votes. Ulysses became the permanent county seat.
In 1886, residents had voted bonds
for sidewalks and other improvements, and the investors were from
the East. Only a few things were built using the bonds, however,
such as a small courthouse and a school that was built cheaply.
It was also alleged that the bond money was used to finance the
county seat election in 1888.
There was a drought in 1889 and a nationwide
financial panic in 1892. Also these were not good years for the
crops, and the Cherokee Strip opening in 1893 also took a toll
on the town. There was also no bank in Grant County from October
26, 1894 until April of 1907; the county treasurer was in charge
of the banking needs for the citizens of the town.
The population of Ulysses had dropped
to around 100 people in 1908 when the bonds and interest came
due. The bond holders began legal action against the city when
they could not collect the principal and interest. Once the residents
found out that the city would have to levy a tax to be able to
pay for the bonds, they realized that could spell bankruptcy for
the town. Also, some of the citizens felt that they were not responsible
for the debt. The only option that they could come up with was
move the buildings three miles away from the original town site
and out of the school district. This would leave the bond holders
the land, but not the town.
Buildings had been set up on both sides
of a street by late 1909, and the city of New Ulysses was set
up. The post office was established on April 2, and the post office
at (Old) Ulysses was closed on July 15. In November 1909, New
Ulysses won the county seat in an election by a vote of 247 to
34. Shortly thereafter, the New was dropped from the name.
The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.
Sources
Fitzgerald, Daniel. "Ghost Towns of Kansas."
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1988.
Grant County History Commission.
"Grant County Kansas." Ulysses, KS: 1982.
