Codell | Cresson
| Damar | Motor
| Palco | Plainville
| Stockton | Webster
| Webster Dam | Woodston
| Zurich | Rooks
County Courthouse
Homesteading In Rooks County
Zurich
In 1877 or 1878, a group of French
Canadian settlers came to western Kansas and homesteaded in Logan
Township of Rooks County. It was soon identified as "The
French Settlement".
In 1880, President Rutherford Hayes
granted this settlement its own post office. Mrs. Armenda Webb
was appointed the first postmaster. Mrs. Webb was asked to submit
a name for the community before the Proclamation would become
official. Since she and her husband, John Webb, were born in Zurich,
Switzerland, they submitted this namesake as the name for the
settlement. The first post office was in the home of the Webb's
located at the west edge of Zurich.
The Union Pacific Railroad came to
Zurich in 1887 and, with four trains daily, became one of the
most prosperous trading points in Rooks County. Zurich was formerly
known as "The Gateway to the Northwest Wheat Belt of Kansas".
The town of Zurich once had three grocery
stores, two grain elevators, a bank, telephone office, a medical
doctor, drug store, implement dealer, two car dealerships, lumber
yard, hardware store, hatchery, three gas stations, creamery,
barber shop, real-estate office, blacksmith, auctioneer service,
and a cafe. Fire destroyed several of the businesses and they
were never rebuilt.
In 1882, a new Catholic Church was
built in Zurich with Fr. M. B. Pujoz as pastor. At one time, a
Catholic Convent was built in the northeast part of Zurich where
classes were held by the nuns. This school was dissolved before
1892.
The present St. Ann's Roman Catholic
Church was completed in 1950 on the site of the original church
built in 1886. The parish hall that is adjacent to the church
was originally intended to be the supporting foundation and basement
of the new church. However, the basement, which came to be known
as the "Catacombs", was found to be too weak to support
the super-structure of the new church. Plans were then put in
place to build the new church on its present site. The parish
hall now serves as a reminder of the original plans.
The Zurich School was built in 1930
and has had several additions added to the original structure.
School unification brought an end to the use of the school building
for Zurich students who are now bused to nearby schools. The building
continues to be used for meetings and various family activities.
The Zurich Township Hall was built
in 1914 and is one of the oldest structures in town. No longer
used as it once was, the building stands as a testament to the
hard-working people who once made Zurich a bustling community
along the Union Pacific Railroad.
Sources
Information from Roger Hrabe,
Rooks County Economic Development Director.
