The LHS Newsletter Archive

Volume Ten, Issue Number 1

Originally Published in Lecompton, Kansas : Spring 1984 Digitally Archived August 2006

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VOL. 10 NO.-1 lECOMPTON, KANSAS SPR ING .' L984

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U B C HU RC H, BIG S P RIN G S, ERE C T Eb I8 5 6 ..

BIG SPRINGSUNITEDBRETHRENCIURCH

Big Springs is an unincorporated city in territory was in the midst of civil strife, with~he northwestern part of Douglas County almost daily battles between the Free-In Lecompton township. It is about half state and Pro-slavery residents. Rev.way between Topeka and Lawrence on Cardwell and his family arrived in aHighway #40. In early history, this covered wagon at an area called Bighighway was call the CaNfornia road. Springs, so-called because of three large

The first settlers there were William springs near-by. Because of the longHarper and John Chamberlain who came journey,. the family found themselvesin the fall of 1854. Emphraim Banning of penniless, homeless and almostBig Springs, George W. Zinn of friendless. They settled into a shack andLecompton and William A Cardwell were Rev. Cardwell began a survey of theappointed Trustees of the Big Springs people of the locality. It was on June 10,City Company, who surveyed the city of 1855,that he preached his first sermon inBig Springs, which contained two quarter a log house belonging to Emphraimsections. Banning.

It was in 1855,that Rev. William A On June 15, 1856, the first UnitedCardwell, a United Brethren missionary, Breth~en church in Kansas Territory wascame to the Kansas Territory. The organized by Cardwell at Big Springs with

13 members. A cornerstone for a stonechurch was laid October 13, 1856. Thischurch was built of native stone. There isa good description .of this church inHorace D. Herr's book, "Harvey Vonore,The Making of a Minister." This book is abiography of his life as a United Brethrenminister in Kansas, who started as acircuit rider for Big Springs, Richland, andseveral other churches. He came toKansas about 1877 and the following isthe way he saw the Big Springs church,on his first Sunday with the congregation.

"The building was a medium sized,barn-like structure. The masonry was ofstones, spaulds, gravel and cement. Theoutside was rough, and a dull, grey color,variegated with streaks of iron-rust whichthe rain had caused to ooze out of thedirty brown pieces of sandstone, seenhere and there on the face of the walls.There was neither tower or steeple, andthe church grounds were not enclosed.Near the front of the building, instead of atits rear, extended a rude and in someplaces, broken, hitching rack, to whichseveral teams, harnessed to farmwagons, were tied.

There had been no service for sometime, and since public buildings werescarce in those days, the church, in themeantime, had been used for schoolpurposes. The seats, they could not evenby courtesy be called pews, if not many,were at least varied. Some were simplyrough trestles, standing like long, lowslender horses stabled in a church andcapable of bearing as many as could beseated upon them. Others were longunpainted, pine seats, with a single stripextending the length of the bench at theproper height, to furnish a rest for thebacks of the worshipers, but many ofthese had lost that back strip.

The rest of the interior was in keepingwith the benches. The rude school boys

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had kicked out one of the lower panels ofthe door, leaving a hole large enough fora coyote to enter. The loose windowsashes responded to the breezes with anirregular tatto far removed from the musicof an Aeolian harp. A big bloated andrust-bleared stove stood like a big brownbuffalo in the center aisle, as if to confrontthe pulpit in silence defiance. The wallswere dingy and destitute of fresco orpaper.

But the pulpit! It represented the centraland architectural climax of the churchinterior. It was a great, clumsy, unpainteddesk, about five feet broad and three anda half feet high. It was dented andscarred like a blockade-runner gunboat.It was engraved with a skill that wouldhave startled a Swiss wood-carver. Noone could decipher the symbols, initialsand hieroglyphics which contained therecord of the local juvenile civilization.The pulpit chair was simply a short bench.

Behind the pulpit, the wall had beentransformed into a blackboard upon whichwere the white chalk records ofmathematical battles, together withdissected members of grammatical or un-grammatical sentences; also pictures ofprehistoric animals."

This stone church with constantimprovements served the community untilOctober 29, 1892, when it burned. It isthen thought that a period of time thecongregation met in the GreenwoodValley schoolhouse.

Not until 1898was another church setup, this one was an abandoned churchfrom Whiting, Kansas, which was movedto Big Spring in sections, and thenreassembled. The building was finishedand dedicated September 26, 1898, on asite across the road from the stonechurch. A fund for a modern structure wasstarted in 1922 and by 1932 enoughmoney was accumulated to build a large,

:-:100e::! b.--::d<church and parsonage~"'"lder~ :eadership of Rev. Arthur WardCt."'!ca cr--dZcP.board composed of William::I- i-i.er_)~.0. ''/:. Swecker, Gus Hartman,Sa."'" 8a.1<. ";r. and Michael Zeeb. TheGt;zch \~"asdedicated May 29, 1932,andthe parsonage a year later. At the time oftf',e dedication, there was one descendantof the charter members of the churchpresent, Mrs. Wilma Morris of Lecompton.Some of these charter members includedBenjamin Moore, William Harper, JohnChamberlain, Ephraim. Banning, and ofcourse others from which there is noavailable record.

Not only did Rev. Cardwell organizethe first United Brethren Church inKansas, but he also is thought to havedelivered the first prohibition speech inthe state. About the time the church wasstarted, a Missourian set up a saloon inBig Springs. The drinking and carousingcaused Cardwell to call together a groupof citizens. He mounted a whiskey barreland made such a stirring speech, that thesettlers seized the barrel of whiskey andpoured its contents into the saloonkeeper's yard. The Missourian fledtoward Lecomptonand was never seen inBig Springsagain. This event started theprohibition movement in that part ofKansas. Big Springswas one of the firstFree-Statecities in that time.Ref: Topeka Capital: April 14, 1956,Aug.24, 1947& May 7, 1956Ruth Rankin-BigSpringsHistoryHerr, Horace D.: "Harvey Vonore, TheMaking of a Minister," Geddes PrintingCo. Fort Myers,Fla.,/934.

ST. PETERS CATHOLIC CHURCH

St. Peters Catholic church parish beganin 1859 in an old frame building inLecompton, Kansas. It was destroyed byfire, and parishioners met once a year in

homes. A church was built north of thepresent site in Big Springs. It was in needof repairs, so in 1878, Amos Custard gavefive acres of land west of town to thechurch. Mr. Wallenbush, a stone mason,built the entire church for one hundreddollars. It was completed in 1879 andmass was celebrated there once a month.After twenty-six years, the church was toosmall. In 1905, it was torn down and thepresent church was built at a cost of$3,390.93. The following article wastaken from the newspaper at Lecompton.

"The new Catholic church at Big Springswill be dedicated Monday, April 23, at10:30a.m. Bishop Lillis, of Kansas City,Bishop of this diocese, assisted by tenpriest will have charge of the ceremonies.

One of the features for the day will bethe confirmation of a class of thirty.

The day of the dedication will be thegreatest that Big Springs has known sincethe constitutional convention met there in1857.

Father Patrick Smith made plans forthe new church. The building committeewas: Theodore Kreipe, John Engleke,William Fitzpatrick, Dr. J. P. Gergan andWilliam Anderson.

A beautiful laid-out cemetery lays southand west of the church. The oldest gravethere is that of Ann Geelan, daughter of P.H. & S. S. Geelan, who died August 13,1871,one year old.

Though this church building isunoccupied today, its bells are silent, butits picturesque presence still dominatesthe area. The local Catholic churchorganization asked the LecomptonHistorical Society if they could preservetheir sacred statues, which are now in theArt room at the Lane University Museumand also the windows are inset in the upstairs windows of the museum.

CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The Big Springs Christian Church wasorganized by Elder Campbell in 1859. Heserved as pastor from 1862to 1869. Thiswas the oldest Christian church in thestate. It held its first revival with ElderHutchinson officiating. In 1870,a churchwas build by Mr. Anderson, which Frank,Oliver and Clum Spencer helped inbuilding it.

They had a membership of 200, withFrank Spencer, as an elder. Mr. and Mrs.Frank Spencer were among the chartermembers of the church.

The church was served by thefollowing ministers: Pardue Butler, A. J.Butler, Henry Painter, Justus McCoy, D.W. Johnston, Bro. Robinson, Solomon G.Brown, Bro. Ireland and J. M. Sheppard.At one time the church tried to establisheda college in Big Springs.

This church building was laterconverted into an implement store, with astorage room being built on the northside. Oscar Webber was the owner andoperator of the implement store, with hisson Wayne. The church building is now aresidence and makes a nice comfortablehome.

PRESIDENT'S NOTESA new tradition was started at ourDecember meeting. The suggestion wasmade by Howard Duncan that a yearlygroup picture be made of the members.So, Mary Nelle Lasswell took a picture inthe chapel of all of those attending theDecember meeting. After all, we will behistory sometime in the future, and thiswill be a good record for the nextgeneration to study (We will remember toidentify people in the photos for themNOW) and they will be happy that today'shistory was preserved in this way.

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Dorothy Shaner has presented theHistorical Society with two beautiful handmade candelabras as a part of thememorial to her husband, Les Shaner.They have been placed on the stage inthe chapel. William J. Reynolds made thecandelabras for her from walnut lumberthat Les had preserved to use forsomething special. The white candleswere donated by Bill Reynolds. Weappreciate this fine addition to the chapel.

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James Douglas Howard was baptized inthe Lane University Chapel on November25, 1983. He is the newborn son of Philand Catherine Wright Howard of Muncie,Indiana. Charles and Sally Wright ofLecompton are the proud grandparents. Itwas a beautiful ceremony, and the firstbaptismal service held in the restoredLane University Chapel. .

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The Museum has recently received a slabcut from the historic cottonwood treelocated on the State Capitol grounds inTopeka. Several years ago, a windstormcaused a limb to break from this tree andslices of that limb were made available assouvenirs. Thanks to Dorothy Shaner, wenow have a nice piece of this historic treeto display.

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Thanks to Joe Stauffer who used histractor to smooth out the gravel adjacentto the new driveway at the west entranceto Lane. He also cleared the snow onseveral occasions, and that wasappreciated by all of us.

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lona Spencer would like to receivecopies of obituaries of any of yourrelatives, neighbors, friends oracquaintances who were buried in theLecompton or Big Springs Cemeteries.She plans to publish a book on the historyof area cemeteries, and when this book is

cc::;~-etec. :t ...::~~be a valuable record fore\'er; "O:'~ to see. lona is a dedicatedgerea;~t ~"'!d would also appreciatecc'::fes c! any marriages, births anddeams t:'.at you m{ght have a record of.?"ease check your scrapbooks andcEppmgcollections for items of this type.

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A...~otherDouglas County Quilt Show willbe held on April29th through May 20th atthe Watkins Museum in Lawrence. Wehave been invited to participate again thisyear, and if you have an interesting quiltto display, please get in touch withElizabeth Johnson. Many beautiful andunique quilts were shown last year andour local quilters enjoy having theopportunity to display their handiwork, orthe work of their ancestors.

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We are looking forward to anotherexciting year for our fast-becoming-famous Lane UniverisityMuseum in thehistoric Lecompton community. We willhave some new displays and items foryou to see while visiting here thissummer. Ifyou are interested in a specialtour, contact Sara Walterat 887-6267andshe willhelp make arrangements

1984began with the Lecompton HistoricalSociety participating in the first annualTravel Industry Show at the MunicipalAuditorium in Topeka; Jan. 7th, 8th and9th. We were thrilled to be a part of thissuccessful event -as it gave our town andits history a special credibility by being apart of this group of 51 boothsrepresenting tourist attractions and citiesacross Kansas. We distributed ourbrochures and were proud toenthusiastically promote Lane UniversityMuseum, the historic town of Lecomptonand the surrounding area.

The focal point of our display was the

painting of "Senator James Lane atConstitution Hall" which was done byEllen Duncan. The James Lanemannequin (top hat and all) draped withthe Confederate Flag added his own bit ofcolor to the exhibit. David Paslay andGeorge Simmons heard lots of curiouscomments from bystanders when theywere caring "old James" in and out of theMunicipal Auditorium. (The LecomptonHistorical Society members always createa special interest wherever they go!) OpalGoodrick made appropriate colorfulbanners for the booth.

lona Spencer 0utfitted more little pioneerdolls which we offered for sale along withother items from our gift shop. A drawingwas held for a Lecompton souvenir plate,and it was won by Mrs. Ann Marley, wifeof the Oakland United Methodist minister.

We thank all the following people whohelped operate the booth during theShow: Dorothy Shaner, Opal Goodrick,Rich and Karen McConnell, Ross &Margaret Wulfkuhle, Jason Dexter, JoyceDexter, George & Arloene Simmons,Daryl and Joyce Colton, Charles & DonnaVausbinder, Jack Pruett, Howard Duncan,Malcolm & Karen Smith, David andDarlene Paslay, Doris Matney,' WilmaTibbs, Marguerite Bowman, Sally Wright,Julia Springer & Paul Bahnmaier. Thiswas a positive experience for our societyand we appreciate everyone's help somuch. One good result, so far, has beenmaking arrangements for the LegislativeWives organization to tour Lecomptonand Lane Museum on March 22nd.

The Lane University Library is open thefirst and third Wednesdays from I p.m. to 3p.m. Sara Walter, Elda Flowers and LydiaLong would be most pleased to help youselect some interesting reading material,

or you might enjoy looking at some Frank Logan-Lecompton & Louise Berger-scrapbooks or old pictures. Burlingame.

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Future meetings of the Lecomptonhistorical group will be March 8th, April12thand May 10th-thesecond Thursday ofeach month. A covered dish supper startsat 6:30 p.m. followed by a businessmeeting and program at 7:30 p.m.Everyone is welcome to come and be apart of this dedicated group.

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Territorial Day will be on June 30th thisyear, and you might want to start thinkingabout making plans to be here for thishomecoming celebration. Its anopportunity for old friends to get togetherto do some reminiscing and just have agood time being back. home again. Also,neighbors can visit with neighbors whodon't see each other so often nowadays.

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I have the following marriage licenses oncouples that lived in Lecompton and weremarried in or secured their license inShawnee County. These are duplicatemarriage licenses on hand at the CountyCourt house and to preserve them, theywere given to a genealogist to see if shecould find someone who wanted them. Ifyou would like any of these licenses orknow of someone who does, please sendme a stamped, self-addressed businessenvelope and I will see that you get them.Write to lona Spencer, R. R. #I-Box 54,Lecompton, Ks 66050

J. D. Peace-No Topeka & Eunice Owen-Lecompton

Ernest L. Hollar-Lecompton & Ethel H. Kafton-Lecompton.

G. W. Williams-Coatsville, Ind. & Maggie McCollum-Grover.

Archie McNillin-Big Springs & Mabel McAtee-Fairview.

Nelson Thompson-Big Springs & Ethel Hastings-Topeka.

Wm. A. Smith-Lawrence & Alma R. Masterson-Lecompton.

William Sulzen-Lecompton & Josephine Lux-Topeka

N. N. Van Dyke-Topeka & Lauretta Fuller-Lecompton.

Edward W. Cleland-Alma & Susan Nickell-Grover.

Harry Shafer-Topeka & Grace Larison-Lecompton

Gariield Mair-LecomptonLecompton.

Lois Johnson-&

John S. King-Big Springs & Wilhelmina Rausch-BigSprings.

Fred Gems-Spencer & Ida Speilman-Topeka

Goo. H. Jeffers-Big Springs & Mrs. Flora Christian-Grover.

George Christian-Topeka & Lillie Farris-Big Springs.

Wm. H. Long-Kingman, Ks. & Emma J. Troll- James A. Thomas-Topeka & Anna Johnson-BigLecompton. Springs.

Henry McDowell-Topeka, & Ida Lewis-Lake View Oscar Kuehne-Topeka & Stella M. Liggett-Grover.

Lee H. Hogan-Lecompton & Ellen M. Mitchell- Theodore Sulzen-LecomptonRitchey, Mo. Crittenden-Topeka.

& Maggie

Charles G. Miller-Topeka & Hattie F. Connell,Lecompton

Robert W. Poston-Shawnee Co. & Mary E. Burns-Douglas Co.

Wm. G. Barker-Lecompten & Mary E. Greer- William D. England-Topeka & Harriet E. Smith-Oakland LecomptonCal'1fn A"britten-Lecompton & Alice Ellott-Leco:'1j)ton. D. L. Doub-Lecompton & Edna Hush-Cloud Co.

!w~X:ha.eiShelley-Lawrence & Maude E. Hetrick- Leroy W. Holley-Madison, Wis. & Lula Steele-St.La..':rence' Joe,Mo.

Edward Edwards-Topeka & Lydia Stoneburner- Wm. Warner-BigSprigs & Ethel R. Custard-BigLecompton. Springs

Charles Duncan-Lecompton & Rosa Geelan- John H. Johns-Topeka & Joicy Ballard-LecomptonLecompton.

Fred Eberhart-Douglas Co. & Bertha Eller-Shawnee County.

Cyril P. Holcomb-Soldier Twp. & E. Stella Hart-Lecompton

Nathan H. James-Rock Creek & N. Jane Harms-BigSprings.

L. M. laDuke-Shawnee Co. & Addie Dugarthy-Shawnee Co.

Ernest Winsor-Big Springs & Esther Giese-Carlton,Ks.

Richard McCann-Maple Hill & Margaret A.Cummings-LecomptonArchie W. Coffman-Topeka & Leona K. Wilson-Lecompton

G. C. Bailey-Shawnee Co. & Nora Masterson-Shawnee Co. Everett E. Gray-Lawrence & Isabella W. Banks-

Lawrence.William Swecker-Lecompton & Anna Durow

MEMORIAL LIFE MEMBERSL. A. Pease-Lawrence & Ola I. Atkinson-

Lecompton John M and Etta S. (Lutz) Taylor-This memorial wasgiven by their daughter Hazelle (Taylor) Dyer. Frank

Charles Walrod-Lecompton & Evaline Warner- Taylor their son is also a member of the LecomptonMeriden Historical Society.

'NIB LECOMPTONHISTORICAL SUCIETY, Lecompton, Kansas 66050 is a non-profi t .corporation for the pres'ervation of Historic 8i te's. We are ea"..2r for con-ti'nued membership and new members!

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Individual membership is '$2.50 per year, from December to De,.cember. Lifemembership is $50 per individual. Contributions are tax deductible. Checksshould be made payable to the Lecompton Historical Society, and mailed toMrs. Iona Spencer, R.R. # I, Lecompton, Kansas 66050.

(Please clip and mail with your check)

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$2.50 Annual Individual Member $50 Indi-vidual 1ife member

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Other Contribution

AddressName

CityNote:

State Zip

If your name or address is not correct as shown on this copy of yourBald Eagle, please let us know.

Doren Glenn Herschell, 70. passed awayNovember 27. 1983. the son of George C. andBessie Glenn Herschell. He was a Life Member ofthe Historical Society and enjoyed visiting theMuseum and our meetings whenever he was in thearea. He is survived by his wife Evelyn and adaughter Sheryl. Also 2 sisters; lona Spencer.Lecompton, and Sararene Moore. Portland, Or. 3brothers; William & Norbert Herschell of Tecumseh;George, of Cato, Wisc. Services were held in PortHueneme, Ca. Burialashes at sea.Gladys V. Holloway, 87. passed away January30, 1984,the daughter of Samuel L. and Mary D.Dick Dark. She was a Life Member of theLecompton Historical Society and was also aneffective and interested worker for the Lecomptoncommunity. having served as the City Treasurer formany years. She was a former teacher. andhomemaker. Survivors include three daughters.Doris Sindt, Pittsburg, and Mrs. Lura McAle~ander Iand Mrs. Geraldine Harrell of Lecomptm~grandchildren & 4 great grandchildren. Her Ihusband, Gerald, and a son, Eugene Harding, aWW11 casualty. preceded her in death. Alsosurviving are 2 brothers; Elton "Bill" Dark and HarleyM. Dark, both of Lecompton. Services were held atthe United Methodist Church in Lecompton withburial in Maple Grove Cemetery.Goldie F. McCall, 81.passed away Jan. 30, 1984,the daughter of Robert and Caroline Goepfert Gray.She was a 1922 graduate of Lecompton HighSchool and was married to Harry McCall in 1922 atLecompton. She has lived in Fort Walton Beach,Fla., since 1967 to be near her son. Harry, whosurvives. Also surviving are a sister, Mrs. GraceDark, Lecompton and a brother Robert Gray ofWagoner. Okla. Services were held at the UnitedMethodist Church in Lecompton. with burial inMaple Grove Cemetery.

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Doren Glenn Herschell-Doren was a member of oursociety who passed away Nov. 25, 1983. Thismemorial was given byhis brothers; William, Norbert& George E. Herschell, his sisters; Sararene Mooreand lona Spencer and his Aunt: Wilma Glenn Tibbs.

LIFE MEMBERSHIPSCandace (Schott) Sellon Ronald RobbWilbur M. Hildenbrand Martha (Perkins)RobbHelenJ. (Frye) Hildenbrand PhilipH. LewisDavidF. Bartlett Nellie(Worthington)GlennMartha L (Bartlett) Letcher Hazelle(Taylor) Dyer

Katie (Hart) ArmitageWe now have a total of 219Life Memberships and527 paid memberships. I would grant to say, wehave the largest membership in the United States.

President-Paul BahnmaierEditor-Ellen DuncanGenealogical Writer-Iona SpencerHistoricalWriter-SaraWalter

We are saddened to report the deaths of fourhistorical society members recently. All fourexemplify the loyalty and dedication people havefor Lecompton, whether they live here or manymiles away.Louis E. Lasswell,74, passed away November18,1983,the son of George R. and Bama Lasswell.Louis graduated from Lecompton High School in1929where he was very active in athletics. He issurvived by his wife the former Emilie Reynolds.and a daughter, Carol Werdon. A son, Dale.preceded him in death. He is also survived by sixgrandchildren and a brother, Cecil, of Ottawa.Burial was in the Fort Snelling National Cemetery inMinneapolis, Minn.

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