Seward County

The Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (to nowhere)

By Mrs H E Malin

   Railroads have always played a major role in the development of the West. The main lines cross the Great Plains from East to West, Shorter ''feeder lines'' have criss-crossed the major lines, usually in a northerly-southerly direction. The chief function of the short lines which connected the larger railroads was to transport freight and produce and to move grain from the little towns and outlying communities not serviced by the main lines, That was before the time of ''piggy backs,'' big transports, and fine paved highways. Hauling grain livestock, and so forth to Liberal from the surrounding area was a major operation, as it was in so many places. So when it became noised about that a short railroad line might be built across Seward County, there was great excitement in the outlying communities, no bigger news, economically speaking, could have been heard at this time. Information was received that O.P. Byers of Hutchinson, Kansas   owner and president of the Wichita Northwestern line, was considering establishing a branch railroad which would connect Forgan, Oklahoma with Springfield, Colorado, passing through Liberal, Hugoton, and Richfield, Kansas. There was also talk that eventually it might reach far enough into Colorado to be accessible to the coal fields and thus furnish this much needed commodity to western Kansas and the Panhandle of Oklahoma.

   Mr. Byers was an experienced railroad executive, having successfully operated the line connecting the Rock Island at Pratt and the Santa Fe at Kinsley. The new Kansas and Oklahoma railroad line was to be financed, apparently, by the sale of bonds and shares. Both bonds and shares were sold in Seward County. Construction of the K and O was to begin, not at Forgan, but on the Kansas side of the line, probably due to the difficulties encountered in crossing a state line. But in a letter from O.P. Byers to C.M. Light, Liberal, and dated April 11, 1922, Mr. Byers stated, "I have every confidence we will reach Forgan with the track in time to handle this crop."

   But this was never to be, for the railroad did not cross the state line but beginning on the Kansas side southeast of Liberal, it came into town and crossed Kansas Avenue south of the Rock Island tracks. There it continued west of the present Equity Elevator, went across Clay Street and on west along what is now Locke Street, curving northwest at a point about two hundred yards west of the intersection of Locke and Cain streets. Again it proceeded northwest across the present Western Avenue and out to the country where the first siding and elevator would be located (two mites north and three miles west of Second Street and Kansas Avenue). This station was named Milner. The elevator was built by the J.H. Salley Co. From here the railroad angled on northwest to what later was to be Archer, then Pleasant Valley (two miles farther on northwest), then across the Seward County line into Stevens County ending at Woods, which was about a mile to the west of the Lone Star Church.

   In the letter, previously mentioned, from Mr. Byers to Mr. Light, he also stated, "I have every confidence that we will succeed in ironing out our troubles in Stevens County and get construction westward under way at no distant date." But the troubles in Stevens County were never ironed out, and the railroad line never went further than Woods. Right-of-ways were blocked across some quarters of land, thus ending the dream of a good feeder line connecting two major railroads.

   During the time that financial arrangements were being made, surveying being done, roadbeds being built, and ties and steel laid, plans were also underway as to the location of towns along the route. Meetings were called in the various communities to discuss these matters. The town of Woods was named in honor of C.E. Woods of the First National Bank of Liberal. Archer was given its name by the railroad management. Each of the stations: Milner, Archer, Pleasant Valley, and Woods, which would make up the locations along the K and O had an elevator, since the need for a railroad line stemmed from the need for a better means of transporting grain. This created, also, the necessity for scales, scale house, and water well. The elevator at Archer was built and owned by the Wheaton Grain Co. of Hugoton, Kansas.

   Each station along the route had some other buildings besides the elevator. Archer and Woods each had a general store and a garage besides several dwellings. By June of 1923, the construction crews had finished all they were going to do on the K and O and had moved out. Already the K and O was in financial straits. Eventually the line went into the hands of receivers at Pratt, Kansas, and was later purchased by C.M. Light, at that time owner and operator of the Llght Grain and Milling Co.

   The K and O Railroad met with the same fate as have so many other short lines before and since, with financial backing only one of the problems. Today, most of the short lines have been abandoned, the tracks removed, the grades leveled off, and the right-of-ways returned to the original owners. Such is the case of the track that crossed Seward County land, known during its existence as the Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad.

 

 

About Seward County Historical Society

The Seward County Historical Society provides historic and entertainment opportunities for the local, regional and international visitors to Southwest Kansas. From Dorothy's House to traveling exhibits and a repository of local history from the Spanish exploration of Coronado to current events, SCHS provides a venue and a committed group of staff and volunteers to insure local history is preserved and to reinforce the belief that Kansas truly is a place over the rainbow.

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Address: 567 E. Cedar, Liberal, KS 67901

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The Seward County Historical Society provides historic and entertainment opportunities for the local, regional and international visitors to Southwest Kansas. From Dorothy's House to traveling exhibits and a repository of local history from the Spanish exploration of Coronado to current events, SCHS provides a venue and a committed group of staff and volunteers to insure local history is preserved and to reinforce the belief that Kansas truly is a place over the rainbow.

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