This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Abilene and Wichita Railroad Charter Filed
J R Burton and Dal Valentine filed a charter for the Omaha Abilene Wichita Railway Company to build from Omaha to Wichita through Washington Clay Dickinson Marion Harvey Butler and Sedgwick counties with business in Wichita. Fourth of July in Abilene featured a large fair crowd, relief corps tables, speeches, Emancipation Proclamation reading, a baseball game 9 to 0, rain ended the day, and plans for a future lawn festival with fireworks. A pleasant visit of Miss M E Griswold’s art class from Junction City included tea, exhibits and carriage rides, with Abilene residents hosting and planning future exchanges. There was a late parade and speeches, a rain scare, a drama at the Opera House, and progress on a new elevator, with local shoppers noting cheap produce.