Bedford
| Hudson | St. John
Homesteading in Stafford County
Hudson
Hayes Township was settled mainly by German families. Some of the families had been farming north of Stafford in the Bedford Township, but moved to the sandy region of Sandago for better farming opportunities. Sandago was comprised of the Hayes, Byron, and Seward Townships.
The German settlers founded two churches-the Salem German Methodist Episcopal Church in 1884 and the German Evangelical Peace Church in 1885. The congregation in Salem did not last very long, and the building was eventually moved to Hudson. The Peach Church was the only church in the township until 1914, when members of the congregation living in Hudson formed their own church which was called the Trinity United Church of Christ.
Sources
History Book Committee. Stafford County, Kansas, 1870-1990. Stafford, KS: Stafford County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1990.