The LHS Newsletter Archive

Volume Sixteen, Issue Number 1

Originally Published in Lecompton, Kansas : Spring 1990 Digitally Archived August 2006

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UfI£1) ~fle£~VOL. 16 NO. 1 SPRING1990LECOMPTON, KANSAS

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OL-O STONE: LHURCH AT STULL

The Deer Creek community, later namedStull, was settled principally by people ofGerman ancestry. In 1857, si x of thesefami 1i es were 1i vi ng in the area. Two ofthe families were those of Isaac Stulls andJacob Hildenbrands. Some of theirdescendants still 1i ve there. Others ofthe group were from the Pennsylvania Dutchand some had fl ed Germany for more freedomand to escape military duty.

The community is located on CountyRoad 442, and is midway between Lawrenceand Topeka, about 10 miles south ofLecompton. It was apparently call ed DeerCreek after a small stream that meanderedthrough the area. In 1899, when a United

~ States post offi ce was to be opened there,the government asked for a list of suitablenames for the office. The Post OfficeDepartment chose to name it after the newly

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OURNEIGHBORINGCOMMUNITY

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Stullchosen postmaster, Sylvester Stull.Thereafter the settlement was known asStull. The office was closed in 1903. Themail was then pi cked up at the LecomptonPost Office and delivered over a twenty-sixmi1e route of di rt roads with a team ofhorses, which was later replaced with carsand the roads became graveled and pavedhighways.

The fi rst busi ness in Stull wasstarted about 1899 when J.E. Louk opened agenera 1 store in hi s 1i vi ng room of hi shome which was where the United Methodi stChurch is now located. Later a telephoneswitchboard was placed in the back of thehouse, and the post office was also housedin this building. In 1904 the John Kraftfami ly became Louk's busi ness partner andsome months 1ater bought hi s share of thestore.

H.C. Swadley built a store across theroad to the west which was later sold toKraft who moved his store into it. Dr.Calvin Maust practiced one day a week thereand Albert Deister opened a barber shop,which was used for some years. About 1910Eli Hogan and J. L Louk- buil t a store onthe north side of the road. One year laterit burned with all the contents. In 1914Sylvester Stull replaced it with a twostory building with living quarters on the

second floor. The following merchantsoccupied that store at various times:Sylvester Stull, Mr. Coffman, AlbertDeister, and A.B. Mitchell of Lawrence. In1923 Chri s Kraft purchased that bui 1di ngand moved across the road to the northside. He operated it for 15 years and thenso 1d out to Charles Houk in 1938. Houkoperated it until his death in 1955. Thatwas the last grocery store in Stull.

Other businesses included blacksmithshops, a sorghum mill operated by HenryStull, a flour mill and cider press run byEd Deister, and a mi11i nery shop owned byLillie Boehringer.

The Stull people were interested ineducation, so two schools had operated inthe community pri or to Kansas becoming astate. One was about one and one-halfmi1es south of Stull on a farm owned byAugust Kampschroeder. The other, dated1860, was two and one-half miles southeastof Stull, near a rock quarry on the formerAugust Walter farm, now owned by DanRockhill. It was a two-room log cabin on abluff, at the foot of which was a well. Itwas a community project, which was taughtby a parent or teacher pai d bysUbscription. Children came to it frommiles around; church and Sunday school were

a1so he1d there with a Mr. Brown doi ng thepreaching.

The next schoolhouse was a framebuilding located about one-half mile west \...Jand one mil e north of Stull on thesoutheast corner of what most know as theWm.Henry, Jr. farm. It was built by PeterEberhart, Sr., for the use of his ownchildren, with a teacher hired and paid byhim. A year or so later, John DammSr.,and Jacob Hi1denbrand offered to pay partof the expenses if thei r chi 1dren coulda1so attend. Other parents asked for thesame privilege and the enrollment thusincreased. This school operated for aboutfive years.

On August 1, 1879, LS. and LucindaLane deeded to the board of School DistrictNo. 48, one and one-fourth acres of 1andabout one and one-half mi1es west on theroad that ran west from Stull. Mr.Eberhart's school was then purchased andmoved to the new location, where it wouldbe more centrally located. The move wasaccomplished with a stump-puller andhorses. The bui 1di ng had to be anchoredevery fifty to one-hundred feet, winchedforward as far as it would go, then \..Jre-anchored further on and the processrepeated as many times as necessary to getthe job done. The task took two weeks.

When set on the new site, theschoolhouse faced the east, and wasfurnished with walnut benches having atleast three pupils to each one. It waspainted brown on the outside and named"Brown Jug". However the building waslater painted white and re-named "DeerCreek", for the little creek nearby.

In 1895, ten feet were added to thelength of the schoolhouse, making it's sizeabout twenty feet by forty feet. Thi swould accommodate the fi fty students thenenro 11ed as more benches were needed, aswell as accommodation for. the large woodenbuckets of drinking water. The schoolhousewas used by the Lutheran congregati on forchurch servi ces on Sunday morni ngs and bythe United Brethren in the afternoon.

At this time, the district boardconsisted of A.J. Osborn, D.W. Dews and ~W.O. Slusser, and they decided to hire anexperienced teacher for the first time.They also decided to dig a well. The work

was done by C.L. Cantrell and cost $257.78.Prior to this, the larger boys carried thedrinking water in the wooden buckets from aneighbor's well, consuming as much time as

"-.-/ they cou1d when doi ng it, wi thout bri ngi ngdown the wrath of the teacher on theirheads.

In the 1897-1898 report Sy1vesterStull and A.E. Wilson were the board, andEva Bates the teacher with 53 students.Some other board members over the yearswere George Hildenbrand, Chas. Nichols, RayBaldwin, W.F. Wu1fkuh1e, L.E. Wilson, FredWulfkuh1e, W.P. Henry, Albert Hildenbrand,Wm. Henry, Jr., Roland Kraft, and GlenO'Connor. Some of the teachers includeNorah Gee1an, Raymond Hoffsommer, MildredWilson, Jessie Glenn, Carrie Hanna,Rosemary Schei er, Nadine Trowbri dge, EdnaMae Hays, and Florence Demeritt. Thedistrict was disorganized May 21, 1963,when part of it was added to LecomptonSchool District No. 36.

Many happy times had been spent atDeer Creek School. There, pupils andparents took part in lyceum debates, votedin general elections, held box suppers and

~ presented programs. Especially delightfulto the youngsters were the 1ast day ofschool dinners that ended the school term.Up until the time of consolidation, 7th and8th grade students had to take county examsbefore they could leave the 7th grade andgraduate from the 8th grade to enter hi ghschool.

Lane's (or Deister's) grove which wasjust south of Stull and north of Deer Creekwas one of the favorite gathering places ofthe area. There they held camp meeti ngs,picnics and Harvest Home fairs. Conteststo determi ned the best horseshoe pi tcher,wood chopper, or nail driver were held.The ladies displayed their cooking andsewing talents, and the childrenteeter-tottered, or swung on rope swi ngsattached to the trees. Organi zed baseballwas also a popular sport played against six

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1oca1 teams: Watson, Tecumseh, Lecompton,C1i nton, Bel voi r, and Lone Star. Thesegames were primarily played when the fieldswere too wet to till.

Stull early felt the need for achurch. For a few months the people met ineach other I s homes, or the schoolhouse.In 1859, a number of settlers organized theEvangelical Emmanuel church. Among themwere Bahnmaier, Hei1, Fricker, Zebb,Ro11er , Nuffer, Gress, and Eberhart. ARev. C. Berner wrote a report that he hadheld a few meetings there during the winterthat were quite successful.

In 1867, the church members voted toconstruct a building where they could holdchurch services. Jacob Hildenbrand donatedthe land on which the church and a cemeterywere 10cat~d. The congregation receiveddonations and built the church for $2,000.The church was constructed of nati velimestone and was known as the EvangelicalEmmanuel and Deer Creek Mission. It also,was referred to as the German church.George Michael and Caroline WezsteinBahnmaier mortgaged their farm to give $100toward the bui 1di ng. The hi 11 upon whi chit was built was named Emmanuel Hill. Thefollowing folks have been visited by theauthors and they recall their childhoodattendance at the old church: *ElizabethBahnmaier, Amelia Wulfkuh1e Nichols, HelenBahnmaier Wu1fkuh1e, *Edwin Hildenbrand,Florence Bahnamaier Mitchell, Ernest andFrances Bahnmaier Wulfkuhle. Those with an* in front of thei r names are members ofthe Lecompton Historical Society. EdwinHi 1denbrand recall ed names of a few moreliving people who attended there when achi 1d: Dorothy Hi 1denbrand Moss, *NaomiHildenbrand Nelson Adair, *MargaretBahnmaier Dark, Arthur and Pearl BoehringerWu1fkuhle, Mabel Zeeb Damm, *RaymondHoffsommer, *Pau1 Hoffsommer, Esther UngerSwallow, Irene Hoffsommer Wu1fkuh1e,*Katherine Brass Johanning, *ClydeKampschroeder, Irene Kampschroeder Kennedy,Violet Kampschroeder Kennedy, AnnKampschroeder Bond, and Harvey Houk. Thereare others, but this is all we could nameat this time. Ernest Wulfkuhle said thatit was George Houk, who used to go up earlyand start the fires in the two wood burningstoves, one on each side.

The remains of the church still stand

proudly on the hill. A rock wall surroundsthe church, and along thi s wall hi tchi ngposts were provi ded for horses and teams.The oldest section of the cemetery is atthe bottom of the hill under a hugh Scotchpi ne tree. The tree is over one hundredyears old, and it is believed to be theoldest specimen of its kind in the state.The trunk is twelve feet, fi ve inches inci rcumference. Atone ti me a smalltombstone was embedded in the base of thetrunk. The inscription on the stone reads:Bettie and Frankie Thomas who both died in1879. The stone has been broken off andremoved by vandals. Twisted, thickbranches are entwined in the tree'sfoliage. Some of the branches are the sizeof a thirty year old tree.

The cemetery is divided into twosections; the main cemetery at the bottomof the hill and a small family cemetery onthe hilltop. Esther Wulfkuhle who is thegreat granddaughter of Jacob Hi1denbrand,the cemetery land donor, said he decided tostart a small Hi1denbrand fami ly cemeterythere at the top of the hi 11 when hi s sondi ed. The 1and on the east si de of theroad leading to the church still belonged

to Jacob Hildenbrand and this is stilltheir cemetery today.

The stone church near the top of thehill, had a foot-wide plaster arch vaultedover the pul pi t at the north end of thesanctuary, with space provided on theplatform in the northeast corner for achoi r. Closets on ei ther end of the archwere used for storing hymnals and religiousliterature. Standing near the road, withits doors always unlocked, it offeredtempting shelter to weary travelers, andmany are sa i d to have used its peacefulinterior for a brief respite.

This church at first conducted itsmeetings in the German language. Later themeetings were cut down to one Sunday amonth. Mary Ho11oway Richardson recall sthat when she was a child that Hanna Lena(Wezstein) Noe would walk from her home,which is the present home of David andMargaret Noe, her great grandson, to Stullto the church each of those Sundays, justbecause the servi ce was in German. Thedistance was over three miles, quite adistance for a womanin her 80's.

In it was evident a larger1921,

church was needed so James Brass, GeorgeHildenbrand, A. Hoffsommer, J. Unger, andA. Walter solicited funds for a larger newbuilding. They raised over $11,000 inpledges and the next year the church was '--/built on a corner across the road from thecemetery, which was purchased from AdamandBelle Scheer. The church was dedicated inJune 1922 with a total cost of $20,000. In1923 the church conference gave permi ssi onto change its name from Deer Creek to StullEvangelical church. In 1946, it mergedwith the United Brethren church and wascalled the Evangelical United BrethrenChurch. In 1968 it merged again to beknown as the United Methodist Zion Church.

The Church of Christ at Stull wasstarted in the Mound schoolhouse in 1906through the efforts of John E. and VinaleeRake. By 1912, the membership reachedforty, enough to warrant erecti ng abuilding. Some of the early members wereRake, Denewiler, Moore, Deister, Downs,Hume, Roberts, Roll er, and Montfoort. In1913 a frame building was erectedone-quarter mile west of Stull with lumberhauled from the J.W. Kreider lumberyard atLecompton. In 1974 this church buildingwas. purchased by the Army Corps ofEngineers as part of Clinton Reservoir. ~The church then constructed a new buildingacross the road from the Stull cemetery,which was dedi cated in June 1975. Churchand other meetings are regularly held inthis building.

Deer Creek had many uses, but one ofthem was the baptismal rites for people inthe Stull and Big Springs communities.Iona Spencer tells that her grandfather Wm.B. Herschell, was baptised in that creek inan area south of Stull. It was wintertimeand an inch coating of ice had to be brokenbefore he and the preacher could enter it.He was fully immersed! Members of the BigSprings United Brethren church stood bywith heavy blankets to wrap around him andthe mini ster as soon as they came out ofthe water. There were many baptisms by theChurch of Christ in the creek right behindthe first church building.

Stull has a long history, but part ofit was unfortunately contrived foramusement and contains no truth. Severa 1 ""/unusual tales have been circulated aboutthe area, relating that the cemetery ishaunted. A stable boy was supposed to have

killed the Stull mayor there in the 1850's.The tales note that if a murder happens ina cemetery, accordi ng to folk lore, demonshav~ access to its i nhabi tants. Thecemetery wasn't there in the 1850' s, and

' / the pl ace was never organi zed as a town sothere was never a Mayor. A1so, there areinane eye witness accounts about witches,ghosts, werewolfs, ghostly voices andfootsteps. All these tales make greatghost stories for gullible people, butsound ridiculous to the local inhabitantswho have never had such experiences norheard of them from their ancestors.

Most of these stori es have beencirculated by nearby college and universitystudents, who used tbese absurdities as anexcuse to come to the cemetery to holdparties and leave debris. Some stones havebeen knocked over, and the one in the treestolen. This causes resentment on the partof the townspeople toward the intruders.The Stull people would very much like to1ay these ri di cul ous tales to rest. Theyhave put a barbed wire fence around the oldstone church, and the sheriff and hisdeputi es keep a sharp watch on any ni ghtacti vi ty there. Some of the townspeoplealso watch the cemetery and report any

'-/ thing unusual. People can be picked up fortrespassing and jailed or fined.

Today Stull cannot be called a town;in fact it is barely a hamlet. The Postoffice and general store are long sincegone. The community consists of a fewhouses, a machine shop, two churches and avolunteer fire department. Some people ofthe area would like to restore the oldstone church and make it an historicalsymbol of a past era. It had great impacton the early community, and would gi ve thepresent generation a feeling of permanenceand promote interest in their past.

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The people who settled on the fertile1and near Deer Creek were mostly farmers.They brought with them a ri ch heri tage

which has been imparted to the presentgenerati on 1i vi ng there . All generati onshave been aware that the Deer Creek - Stullarea is a beautiful, peaceful, and ki ndplace to live.

Iona Spencer and Sara WalterSee map on page 10 for location of Deer Creekand other communities some of which are nolonger in exis~ence.

REFERENCES:

Armstrong, Ula Bates, Chegwyn, LavinaBates, Bahnmaier Genealogy, 1982Douglas County Genealogical Society, ThePioneer, Vol. VIII No.2, Ded. 1984Daniels, Goldie Piper, Rural Schools andSchoolhouses of Douglas County, KansasParker, Martha; Laird, Betty, Soi 1 of OurSouls, Coronado Press, Lawrence, Ks. 1976Stull E.U.B. Church Centennial, 1867-1967The History of Stull, Stull Extensi onHomemakers Unit, Stull, Kansas 1976Topeka Daily Capital, Topeka, KansasLawrence Journal World, Lawrence, Kansas

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THANKS!Thanks to the following people for

these artifacts recently placed in themuseum:1. Tel escope used by Phil Sehon duri ngW.W.I. by Curt Sehon and Phyliss Martin.2. Lyons School programs by Romona Hei1Phill ips.3. 1961 Centenni a1 papers and programs byEarl Sanford.4. Thomas Lee Hardware Plate fromLecompton by Betty Traxler.5. Lane University Articles by HaroldBigsby. His grandparents Rosa Marti nandCharles Richards attended Lane.6. Denzil Gibbens for a 1940 KansasUniversity football program that lists fourindividuals from Lecompton: Denzil, ChesterGibbens, Floyd and Lloyd Svoboda.7. Gas light by Dorothy Rake.8. Betty 0' Conner for a crochetted tablecloth.9. Also thanks to: Mae Holderman forpreparing the budget; Sara Walter andEl i zabeth Johnson for hosti ng severa 1tours; Sally Wright for making severalspeeches to organizations about Lecompton;and the curators David and Darlene Paslay,Opa1 Goodri ck, Dorothy Shaner, and Georgeand Arloene Simmons for thei r work on newdisplays this year.

Paul Bahnmaier

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CHRISTMAS VESPERSThe Christmas Vespers at Lane

University were attended by a capacitycrowd of over 220 people. The LecomptonHistori ca1 Soci ety wou1d 1i ke to thank thefollowing for making this such a successfulevent: Cindy Daniels and Frances Sanfordprovi ded the pi ano and organ music; vocalselections by Rev. Don and Joy F1anner; andthe Lecompton Methodist Church choir whichwas under the direction of Kim MorrisStewart. Members of the choir were: MaxineDark, Ruth Stauffer, Kri sti Powell, NancyMorris Howard, Carol Morris Kibbee, Bob andMary Lou Salisbury Morris, MarleneHackathorn, Judy Kibbee, Brenda KibbeeHastert, Carol Higgi nbotham, Mary SueMorris Christman, Gary Merritt, Gina BanksClement, Steve Higginbotham, Rhonda andDavid Howard, Mike Stewart, and PaulBahnmaier. Thanks also to Opal Goodrickfor the programs, and Karen McConnell andDiane Meir for the recepti on. Thanks alsoto Sara Walter for the tree and JeffGoodrick for taking the group photo.

The fo 11owing people helped decoratethe building for the Christmas season:George and Ar10ene Simmons, David andDarlene Paslay, Iona Spencer, Maxine Dark,Marie Traxler, Ron and Diane Meir, Rich andKaren McConnell, Mae and Wally Holderman,Opa1 Goodri ck, Dorothy Shaner, Denzi 1Gibbens, Ralph Davis, and Louie McElhaney.

Paul Bahnmaier

L.n.s. ALUMNI BANQUETDon't forget the Lecompton High School

Alumni Banquet on May 26th 1990. If youknow the addresses for former teachers theAlumni Association would like to inivitethem to thi s event. The c1asses of 1940and 1970 wi11 be honored. Thi s speci a1event will be called a Celebration ofExce11ence. Committee members are GregHoward, Roy Paslay, Paul Bahnmaier, JeffGoodrick, Sam Smith, and Kenny Smith.Teenie Oldham and Judy Sanford are incharge of address changes. KimStewart andBrenda Hastert the program.

Paul Bahnmaier

EAGLE FLIES AGAINA beautiful hand carved Bald Eagle in

front of the American Shield has beencreated and donated to the City of ',---,Lecompton by Ellen Duncan. Thisoutstanding pi€ce of art will be installedon the fr.ont of City Hall. It willcertai n1y be somethi ng you won't want tomiss when you vi si t. Thanks Ell en for ajob far beyond the ordinary.

Paul Bahnmaier

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MEMBERSHIP REPORT

We want to thank our members who haverenewed thei r membership. We feel si nceour Winter issue was mailed out early andwith the rush of the holiday season, thatsome have overlooked renewing theirmembewrships. If you have not renewed, youwill find a notice in this newsletter.

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We want to welcome the 32 new membersto our society. Life Memberships: ClarenceTransmeier, Dorotha IIDottiell Hershey,Clifford R. Hartman, Deann K. (In10es)Bartell, Richard D. McConnell (present fromwife Karen), Georgia R. (Simmons) Teets, *Vera (McAlexander) By1aska (by parents Johnand Lura), * Janice McAlexander (by parentsJohn and Lura), * Norma J. (Svoboda)Hamrick, * Helen (Atkisson) Pettibone, *Deborah D. Wells, Elmer E. Goodrich, and E.Nadine (Mill er) Goodri ch. The * denotesnew 1i fe members who are also new to theHistorical Society.

lona Spencer

Ray GlesemanRemembered Lecompton

The Estate of Ray Gieseman gave to theLecompton Historical Society a fabulouscollection of maps, pamphlets, books and ' /

other terri tori a1 arti facts. He alsobequest to the Lecompton Historical Societyhi s fami ly farm of 212 acres. Ray was a

true historian and spent many yearsresearching information about Lecompton.His generosity to this organization and

\..-Itown was far beyond the ordi nary and wi11long be remembered.

WORK ON CONSTITUTIONHALL TO BEGIN

Work on Constitution Hall should beginaround Apri 1 1st. Four si gns have beenplaced in front of the building describingthe history of the building; different usesand owners; info~mation of thearcheological dig completed in 1988 and howthe building will look when restored.

Information from the KansasLegislative Research Department indicated$194#383 has been appropri ated for work onthe building. As of July 1# 1989 $40#025had been spent on the project.

ROADSIDE PARKTO BE UPGRADED

Thanks to concerned citizens Denzil~Gibbens# Ralph Davis# Opal Goodrick# Nancy

Howard # Mayor Bill Reynolds # and CityCouncilmembers Dorothy Shaner# DenzilHackathorn# Carl Bahnmaier# Harold Williamsand Scott Campbell; the State of Kansas hasagreed to preserve and improve the historicroadside park at the junction of U.S.hi ghway 40 and the Robert Stee 1e Road(County Road 1029 which is the paved roadinto Lecompton from the south).

Paul Bahnmaier

EISENHOWERCELEBRA TION

The Eisenhower Celebration is nearlyhere. 100 barrel s were donated by DenzilGibbens to be used for flowers. Thefollowing individuals helped with thepainting: Denzil Gibbens# Mae & WallyHo1derman# Opal Goodrick# Chet Gibbens#Ralph Davis# Dorothy Shaner# Marie Traxler#Ron Meir# David Paslay# Charlie Paslay#Maxine Dark# Bruce Beresford# and RichMcConnell. Twelve welcome flags have been

" /purchased by the City of Lecompton. OpalGoodrick# Vicki Roberts and Maxine Darkhelped sew on the letters. On June 8th the1-70 Association is sponsoring a tour of

Lecompton. Howard Duncan has wri tten atwo-act play about the Eisenhowers thatwi11 be presented that day. The UnitedMethodist Church will serve a lunch to thetourists. Paul Bahnmaier

IDA"

"Ida" a two-act play about DwightEisenhower's parents# Ida Stover and DavidEisenhower# has been written by HowardDuncan. I t wi11 be presented with 1oca1talent at Lane University on threeoccasi ons. The fi rst presentati on will beat the May 10 regular membership meeting onThursday eveni ng. The second perfor,mancewill be at 2:00 pm Sunday afternoon# May27th # when the general pub1i cis greatlyencouraged to attend. The finalperformance will be Friday morning# June 8#as part of the Eisenhower celebration tour.

This play is presented in two acts: thefirst taking place in 1885 when Ida andDavi d were students at Lane Universi ty inLecompton# and the second in 1940 at their,Abilene home when they both were in theirlate seventies. It reviews their veryinteresting histories which started withsome first-hand memories of the Civil War.

BATTLE OF FORT TITUSAGAIN TO BE REENACTED

The Missouri Civil War ReenactorsAssociation will reenact the battle of FortTitus again for our Territorial Daycelebration June 23 and 24. Plan to attendthis interesting event.

Paul Bahnmaier

DON'T FORGETTERRITORIIAL DAYON JUNE23RD

Obituaries

Joe Foley passed away December4, 1990at Lawrence. He was a contractor with Listand Clark Construction and laterestablished Foley Construction Company,Inc. He was born August 13, 1913 atTonganoxie. He married Dorothy Hol1oday.She died April 9, 1989. Survivors includea son Francis (Sonny), four sisters MaryHughes, Mildred Lawrence, Margaret Ke11urnand Louise Girair, three brothers Gene,James and Jerome, six grandchildren andthree great grandch il dren. Buri a1 was inHubbe1 Hill Cemetery in Tonganoxie.

Evelyn M. Sheldon passed away January13, 1990. She was Assistant Manager of theYarn Barn in Lawrence. She was born May 6,1908 in A1tamont, Missouri. She received abachelor's degree in home economics fromK.S.U. She was a volunteer with the GirlScouts. She was a member of the UnitedMethodist Church in Lawrence. She marriedMartin Hollister Sheldon at Oska1oosa.Survi vors i ncl ude two daughters SusanBateman and Paula Kahn, a brother Merle andtwo stepgrandchi 1dren. Buri a1 was inWinchester cemetery.

J. Russell Mig1iario, 80, passed awayJanuary 11, 1990 at Little Rock, Arkansas.He was born November 5, 1909 at Wellington,Kansas, the son of Joseph and LillieMigliario. He lived in Mt. Hope most of

his life and was a retired farmer. He wasa 33rd degree mason, member of Albert PikeA.F.& A.M. lodge and Midian Shrine in~Wichita. He was survived by severalstep-children and two cousins, Lee Brunkowand Ronald Jones. Burial was at Mt. Hope,Kansas.

Barbara J. Michal, 65, of Lawrencepassed away November 18, 1990 at home. Shewas Executive Assistant to the ViceChancellor of Academic Affairs at theUniversity of Kansas. She retired in 1986.She was born June 12, 1924 at Salina, thedaughter of Glenn M. and Irma LantisGarri son. She was marri ed to Robert B.Michal April 19, 1943 at Madison,Wisconsi n. He survi ves. Other survi vorsi nc1ude two daughters Jeanett Micha 1 andSandra Mai, two sons John D. and Larry E.Michal, her mother Irma Garrison, fourgrandchildren. Burial was in Pioneercemetery at Lawrence.

Elmer J. Petesch passed away October15,1989. He was born March 13, 1913 atPotter. He was a farmer and stockman inthe area. He was a member of Corpus~Christi Catholic Church, Knights ofColumbus and Moose Lodge. He marriedMathilda Sieve April 30, 1940 at ValleyFalls. She survives. He maintained abeautiful yard after retirement. Survivorsinclude five brothers Earl, Andrew,Francis, Leo and Raymond, three sistersIrene Newell, Evelyn Schramek and IrmaMoriarty. Buri a1 was in Mount CalvaryCemetery in Topeka.

Dorothy L. Kapp passed away January23, 1990 in Kansas City. She was bornFeburary 1929 in Kansas City. Shegraduated from K.S.U. with a degree inchild development. She received a master'sdegree from the University of Wisconsin andhad studied at Yale University. She workedfor the Kansas State Scool for the Deaf inOlathe and was an instructor at K.U. Shewas a member of many professionalorganizations and had had many articlespublished on child development. Shemarri ed Paul H. Kapp. He survi ves. Othersurvi vors i ncl ude a brother John and fourstepsons Paul, Kenneth, John and James. ~She always maintained a strong interest inLecompton.

Paul Bahnmaier

\..JCITY OF LECOMPTON, KANSAS

POPULATION

800

700 ---.......-.-...--..-..-.........-....-.-....--..-

600

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1888 1900 1903 1910 1921 1931 1941 1980 1960 1972 1978 1989YEAR

It is fairly commonlocal knowledge that the City of Lecomptonhit its populationpeak of an estimated 5500 persons in about 1856 when it was the newly founded Capital ofKansas Terri tory. It fast turned into a town with many vacant lots and underusedbui 1di ngs when the ti de of terri tori a1 power changed. Records on popul ati on seemed to

~e well hi dden unti 1 about 1888. The general trend si nce that time is shown in theabove graph. Howard Duncan

THE LECOMPTONHISTORICAL SOCIETY, Lecompton, Kansas 66050 is anon-profit corporation for the preservation of historical sites. We areeager for continued membership and new members!

Individual membership is $3 per year, from December to December, whilecouples membership is $5. Life membership is $50 per individual.Contri buti ons are tax deducti b1e. Checks shoul d be made payable to theLecompton Historical Society, and mailed to Mrs. Iona Spencer, R.R. #1,Lecompton, Kansas 66050.

* * * * * * * * * Please Clip And Mail With Your Check * * * * * * * *

$3 Annual Individual Membership

$5 Annual Household Membership

$50 Individual Life or Memorial Membership

Other Contribution $

0Name Address

Zip CodeCity State

1856 MAPOF '-/EASTERNKANSAS

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Stull is added to this map circa 1856 by LB. Whitman and A.D. Searl, General LandAgents at Lawrence, from "Map of Eastern Kansas". As it was call ed in 1857 it is herealso called Deer Creek. .

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President - PAUL BAHNMAIERHistorical Writer - SARAWALTERTypesetter - HOWARD DUNCAN

Editor - ELLEN DUNCAN

Genealogical Writer - IONASPENCERIllustrator - ELLEN DUNCAN

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IPublished byThe Lecompton Historical SocietyLECOMPTON,KANSAS66050

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S.POSTAGE PAID

Lecompton, KansasPermit No.1

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