Homesteading in Saline County

Saline County was organized in the year 1859. Saline County was named after the Saline River that resided within this territory. Settlers who tamed this territory before it became Saline County were P.B. Plumb, Major Pierce, and a man by the name of Mr. Hunter. They set up a town called Mariposa in 1856 at the mouth of the Saline River. This town was very small and did not last a year. In 1858, two brothers named John and Goothart Schipple moved into the territory that had formerly been the site of Mariposa. In the same year Dr. Graw, a German, arrived within this territory from Illinois. Many more settlers came to live within this territory, and these settlers had some form of German, Scandinavian, or French ancestries. By 1895, there were 17,473 residents of Saline County, and Saline County settlements grew stronger as a result with each passing year.

Contact Us:

Smoky Hill Museum
211 W. Iron Ave.
P.O. Box 101
Salina, KS 67402
(785) 309-5776
Smoky Hill Museum email  
www.smokyhillmuseum.org

Sources  

William G. Cutler’s History of the State of Kansas first published in 1883 by A.T.
Andreas, Chicago, IL.

Prentis, Noble L. A History of Kansas. Topeka: Caroline E. Prentis, 1904.