[Excerpt from Dodge City and Ford County, Kansas 1870-1920 Pioneer Histories and Stories. Copyright Ford County Historical Society, Inc. All Rights reserved.]
By 1884, early settlers had begun a migration to vast prairies of mid-America to stake claims and prove up land of their own. Many came by emigrant trains to Dodge City and then rented or bought wagons to haul supplies to their claims. Sod houses or dugouts generally were the first living quarters.
Among early settlers in the Bucklin area were four Gresham brothers, Frank, George, John and Tom; Mr. and Mrs. James Dellinger, James and George Emmons, Thomas Blankenbaker, the Gosslee family, James E. Fishback, Dan Fisher, I.K. Miller, William Snyder, Dr. Keefauver, J.S. Clar, Mr. and Mrs. Tarbox, Mr. Kemp and the Ham family.
When hearing rumors of a railroad coming through the area, several groups hurriedly started new towns, hoping their site would be selected. But when the Rock Island division, Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska made a survey in the spring of 1887, they passed up these smaller towns, Corbitt and Concord [sic]*, and announced a new town named Bucklin, after one of their civil engineers. This was May 10, 1887, and Bucklin was to be a division point, with outlets to the northwest and southwest.
This followed a terrible blizzard in January 1886, when so much ranch land was devastated of its cattle, and so news of the railroad coming in was welcome. Investors in the original town sites were given free lots in Bucklin, to move their stores to the new town. The first baby born in Bucklin was also awarded a free lot: Glen Bucklin Sparks.
Buildings were moved in by wagon almost before the plat was recorded, so there was an instant town of 18 or 20 buildings. Fonda, Rio and Eugina were also moved across the prairie to become a part of Bucklin. By late June that year, the railroad grade was being worked on and in July 1887, the citizens met to organize a school and levied a two mill tax to support it. The Bucklin and Ashland Stage Line made its first stop, and by October 17, the C.K. & N. Railway made its first run to Bucklin. In 1888, the line was completed to Dodge City, thus connecting the new town to main lines. A two-story depot was erected and a roundhouse built in 1901.
At 10 weeks, the town had 31 buildings that housed two general merchandise stores, two grocery stores, a hardware and implement dealer, three boarding houses, a lumber and implement business, a blacksmith, building contractors, livery stables, and the Enterprise Investment Company, father of the town. Dr. Richardson looked after ills and T.G. Hunter loaned money. A 27-room hotel, the St. Charles, was the most impressive new structure, the depot was near completion by late summer, and two newspapers were established. The post office became official with J.E. Fishback, first postmaster.
A well was dug by hand on Main Street to serve the public. It was over 140 feet deep, and water was obtained by the bucket. Two years later a pump was put in and then a windmill, the very first in town. A bridge over the Arkansas River was completed in February 1888. A.D. Aulls, of New York, started the Western Banking Co., and a mill was moved from Ashland and provided farmers a local market for products. The veterans of the Union Army (GAR) set up a post.
Money for a waterworks was raised by soup suppers and ice cream socials to supply the mill and homes with running water. Bad times arrived by 1893, with lack of rain and poor crops. Corn sold for eight cents a bushel, wheat for 30 cents and cattle two to three cents a pound. Since no one had money, city and school districts paid by script, with little hope of redemption. Some people were discouraged and left businesses and homes behind.
Times were better by 1900 and new people moved in along with new businesses. Some nice homes were built and wooden sidewalks installed in front of stores. There were three churches, Methodist, 1902; Free Methodist, 1901; and Presbyterian, 1907. Societies of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of American and the Royal Neighbors were organized with ladies’ auxiliary groups. Boom years followed, with plenty of construction of homes and civic buildings, including a City Opera House, still standing and known as the Odd Fellows Hall or Senior Center.
About 25 railroad crews were working out of Bucklin in 1902, according to an article, in the Topeka State Journal in April, that extolled the prosperity of the town. A creamery and butter factory joined the many other enterprises. School enrollment in 1903 was 150 with three teachers. A three-story hotel called Hotel Bucklin built by A.W. Padgitt was the largest building in the town. It opened in 1903. A fire destroyed several businesses that year.
In 1904, Frank Gresham ordered two phones from Indiana and strung the wire on barbed wire fences between his farm and the Trager Store, so his wife and her sister could visit. It worked and others wanted to try the new technology. So he ordered 13 more and installed a switchboard in the Trager store, the beginning of the Northwestern Telephone Co.
A major fire causing $50,000 worth of damage in June 1904, destroyed an entire block of buildings, including the St. Charles Hotel where it had started. The wooden buildings were replaced by brick. The roundhouse business was thriving. Approximately 140 tons of coal were handled at the chutes per day. Automobiles were coming in and the telephone company, by now expanded to Mullinville and Kingsdown, had 170 phones in Bucklin. Graphophones, disc or cylinder, were on sale at the Fannon Drug. Population was 835. But then the railroad moved its division center to Pratt, a disaster for the upcoming town. By 1907, the population had dropped to 600.
A public library was organized in 1908 and many stores and firms were still conducting fine business. The bank established by Aulls remained one of the strongest in Ford County. In 1909, incorporation proceedings began and an election was held.
The restored Opera House seated 1,000 and was said to be one of the finest west of Hutchinson, on the Rock Island line. It was known as the Majestic Theater and was managed by Dr. Fannon. First city ordinances were published May 6, 1909. It was decreed that chickens, turkeys or other fowl could run at large all year except in gardening season. Severe penalties were mandatory for those manufacturing and abusing intoxicating beverages and in 1914, the speed limit for cars was raised from 12 to 15 miles per hour.
In January 1911, the light system began operation. Fire also caused havoc those first years when the Majestic Theater (Opera House) burned again. That same year, another fire destroyed several stores, a real estate firm and the Bucklin Hotel. The loss figured at $30,000. Most of the new buildings were built of brick.
After a fierce campaign, a bond election was held and a new school built. An “Airdome Theater” served for entertainment until the Opera House was rebuilt. By 1916, the population was 865 and there were 90 students in the high school.
Local men enlisted in the Army in 1917 and the Spanish influenza hit in 1918, year of the Armistice. School was closed for two months that spring. In 1922, Bucklin had an undefeated basketball season and the next fall an undefeated football team. The Ku Klux Klan was active in these years. A new barbershop featured three chairs and three booths for baths. In 1924, a new fire siren was mounted on the fire department building and hooked up to the telephone exchange. By 1927 there were 1,000 residents in a modern city of brick buildings, fine residences, graveled street, modem schools, churches, city water and lights.
The ’30s began with optimistic plans with organization of a Co-op and booming construction until farm prices dropped and the depression was underway. Despite the drought and dust, a number of improvements were made in those 10 years. The Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line supplied natural gas to the town, a new city park was opened with a formal ceremony, a livestock sale barn opened, a new lake at Kingsdown, nearby, provided fishing and recreation, a new city well was dug, and a community building of native stone constructed. Many were built with WPA labor. An ice and coal supply house with rental lockers was established, an elevator replaced, and curb and guttering completed through the town. A Standard gas station was erected in 1939.
Again, fires brought loss to the community, this time with a loss of life. The S.D. Aull house on Main burned and Mrs. Aull and her grandson, Lawrence Day, perished. The Brown and Fletcher Livestock Pavilion burned to the ground.
The ’40s started out well. A new sales barn, Bucklin Livestock Co., Inc. was built in 1941, with local stockholders as owners. The war brought hardships and tragic loss of young lives. Early on, memorial services were held for Harry Jones, lost at Pearl Harbor and Lawrence Heikes, in the Philippines. Later services were held for these servicemen killed in action: Ralph Hagenbuch, William Ellis, Leroy Anderson, and Edmund Nash. Many local men and women were called into service. At home, folks saved scrap iron and rubber, bought war bonds and obeyed food ration laws and restrictions on gas usage.
The Bucklin Tractor Company opened and the depot was remodeled. The huge Rock Island water tower was moved in 1945 and a gas explosion wrecked the Post Office. The telephone system was modernized in 1945 and grain elevators built huge storage tanks.
The 1950s started out with the opening of Minnis Mortuary. A new Lutheran Church was dedicated and a landmark of the town destroyed when the Rock Island Roundhouse burned.
A $275,000 bond issue was successful and a new grade school building was built as well as a community library. A new hospital was constructed and dedicated in 1954. Three years later, 25 beds. were added. A swimming pool opened on Memorial Day 1958, with 7,000 swimmers recorded in the first month. Street markers were up and in September 1959, the last Rock Island train ran from Bucklin to Dodge City.
The 1960s started with a vote to build a new high school and gymnasium at the cost of $207,900. The underpass was widened and improved. A new post office was built. Dr. Randle, who replaced Dr. Rink, built a new clinic and the telephone company converted to the dial system. Fires destroyed the Hotel Bucklin and the old Mills Elevator during this decade. School unification brought Ford and Kingsdown school to the Bucklin High School. In June 1966, Hill Top House, a rest home, was dedicated. Bucklin’s cross country team took the state championship, a first state title for the school. The band marched in the Indianapolis 500 Parade for 1965 and the Rose Bowl Parade in 1967. The football team was undefeated in 1965 and 1968.
Marine Marlin Phillips died from war wounds in Vietnam. Kathy Berger was chosen Miss Kansas Wheat Queen in 1970. Vern Birney was elected county commissioner and Ford left the school district to join with Dodge City. In 1972, the Golden Age Senior Citizen Center was organized. Dr. Roy Lane opened a chiropractic center and in 1975, Eddie Sutton was voted the UPI coach of the year. Many businesses closed but others opened. The Liberty School was moved to the Front Street Replica on Boot Hill in Dodge City. Mayor Clyde Voshell retired as mayor, giving up his gavel after 24 years of service.
In 1978, a PRIDE committee was established and the Bucklin State Bank began construction on a new building. Van’s IGA closed, one of the longest-running businesses in Bucklin, in the Van Voorhis family since 1900.
In 1980, the Southern Pacific or Cotton Belt Railroad took over the Rock Island Railroad. Kelli White was Kansas Wheat Queen and Merilee McCaustland crowned second runner-up in the Miss Kansas Pageant.
Another fire in 1981 destroyed the schools’ storage shed, new driver’s education car, and other equipment. A new library was built in 1984 and a community band was organized. A senior housing project was finished and open for business named for Elsie Hagenbuch, land donor. Mike Strodtman won the top honors in 1986 National 4-H land judging contest. Charles Wolfe retired as superintendent of the school district after 31 years service.
Plans began in 1984 for Bucklin’s Centennial celebration for Memorial weekend, 1987. A Centennial mini-park was created and a gala day of activities, reunions, and festivities marked the 100 year history of the prairie town.
The people of Bucklin, like their forebears, have adapted to the changes and the demands of the times with ingenuity and enterprise over the years. New businesses have replaced some once-thriving firms, and have become known across the land, as have many of their citizens. The Kirk Brothers Auctioneers, two-generations, are known and called upon throughout the area for their skills at selling on the block; The Pickle Place owned by Shirley and Barry Stimpert, has raised the lowly cucumber to a gourmet status in spots such as Harrod’s of London and Bloomingdale of New York, as they sought to diversify and make their farming profitable; and a number of their citizens have reached star status in coaching, athletics, education and theater.
In the Century of Stars, Centennial Book epilogue, Cyndi Christopher wrote “…if those sleeping on the hill could see what we are now, what we have become, surely they would smile and murmur, ‘Well done.'”
Evelyn Steimel
Adapted from Century of Stars, A Centennial Book
*Note: The town of Concord mentioned above is correctly spelled Colcord (later Newkirk).
Dodge City and Ford County, Kansas 1870-1920 Pioneer Histories and Stories is available for purchase from the Ford County Historical Society.