Homesteading in Barber County

Sun City

George Walker was among the first business people in the area in 1871, and he established a trading post on Turkey Creek with his brother and an Army office as his partners. The honor of the first settler in Barber County goes to Col. Griffin who settled in the location close to the trading post during the winter of 1871-72.

Platted in 1872 and settled the following year, home to the first residents of Sun City were dugouts. The stories about how it got the name of Sun City are that settlers arrived at sunrise, they arrived at sunset, or that it was named for an Indian whose name was "Sun".

Families began arriving in 1873, and they had to deal with Indian raids. A militia was organized in 1874, and a stockade was built a short time later that same year.

By 1885, the town had three livery barns, a bank, two hotels, and three grocery stores. The Denver, Kansas, and Gulf Railroad came to Sun City in 1906, but plans to go on to Dodge City were put aside.

Sun City is located in the Gyp Hills, and the National Gypsum Company has a mine close by the town.

The ethnicity of its settlers is unknown.

Sources

Barber County History Committee. "The Chosen Land: A History of Barber County, Kansas."
Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Company, 1980.