During the 1850s settlers started arriving on the plains of Kansas’s Flint Hills, thirty miles northeast of Wichita, at a site that would soon become El Dorado.
Early El Dorado Kansans established trading posts along the Walnut River. A 140-acre townsite was platted in 1858. El Dorado was incorporated in 1871.
Early on, what attracted frontiersmen to El Dorado was the Walnut River and the timber belts found alongside the Walnut.
The Walnut River is a 154-mile long tributary of the Arkansas River, formed through a union of Cole Creek and Durechon Creek. Walnut Rover flows southward through Butler and Cowley Counties, passing through El Dorado, Augusta, Winfield and Douglas before joining the Arkansas River in Arkansas City in south-central Kansas, four miles north of the Oklahoma border.
The timber belts frontiersmen found nearby El Dorado ranged from a quarter mile to one mile in width – oak, walnut, hickory, mulberry, sycamore, elm, and hackberry timber belts. River bottom timber was the only lumber supply available on the prairie. El Dorado and the Walnut River provided that lumber supply.
While oak timber belts and Walnut River trading posts represented underpinnings for the early days of El Dorado, it would prove to be neither trading posts nor hickory timber belts which made El Dorado indispensable to President Woodrow Wilson. It was oil.
The first oil development around El Dorado occurred in nearby Augusta. Black gold was discovered in Butler County Kansas in June of 1914, just outside of Augusta.
World War I began that same year, on July 28th.
Less than one year after World War I broke out, on October 5, 1915 wildcatters hit it big when oil started gushing from a massive oilfield located a stone’s throw northwest of El Dorado on North Oil Hill Road. That oilfield was Stapleton No. 1, named after the man on whose land black gold had been discovered, John Stapleton.
That oilfield would go on to become El Dorado Oil Field. El Dorado Oil Field triggered the El Dorado Oil Field boom.
By 1918, El Dorado Oil Field produced 29 million barrels of oil, supplying the United States with 9% of oil consumed by the country.
World War I increased demand for oil. El Dorado Oil Field’s importance grew, as the Butler County oilfield was delivering nearly 13% of all oil consumed in the United States.
El Dorado Oil Field became “the oil field that won World War I.”
Ottawa, Kansas was founded on September 6, 1864 along the Marais des Cygnes River as a reservation for the Ottawa, Kansas tribe. The Marais des Cygnes River runs right through the center of town. The Marais de Cygnes was named by 17th Century visitors to Ottawa – explorers and trappers from France.
Explorers and trappers from France were drawn to Ottawa by prospects arising through the lucrative local fur trade with Native American tribes. By the late 1600s, French explorers known as coureurs des bois – the translation for coureurs des bois is, woodsmen – journeyed throughout eastern Kansas, pursuing beaver and otter pelts. Beavers and otters are native to eastern Kansas. Translated from French to English, Marais des Cygnes River is “Marsh of the Swans.”
The source of the Marais des Cygnes River is found in east-central Kansas in Wabaunsee County, near Eskridge.
The mouth of the 217-mile long Marais des Cygnes touches Little Osage River in western Missouri.
At the point where the Marais des Cygnes River empties into the Little Osage River, the two rivers join to become the Osage River. The reach of Marais des Cygnes River in Ottawa encompasses 9 miles of Midwest riverbanks.
Ottawa’s early settlers envisioned the Marais des Cygnes River as navigable maritime asset which would prove to be useful in transporting agricultural products – such as grain – to outside markets. However, what Ottawa’s first residents soon discovered was that their stream was shallow. At its deepest point in Ottawa, the Marais des Cygnes River measures only four feet deep. And…the steam meanders.
During dry seasons, the water depth of Marais des Cygnes drops significantly. Furthermore, its riverbed consists of a solid rock bottom…exposed during the dry season. In relation to Ottawa’s economy, the river’s purpose went from navigation to powering of mills.
Ottawa’s early mills were built in the latter part of the 20th Century, mostly along Walnut Street, close by North Main Street. Just a stone’s throw from the Marais des Cygnes.
The Ottawa Mill was built in 1867 at the intersection of Main Street and First Street. Forest Mills was constructed in 1872 at the corner of 1st Street and Walnut. Ottawa Oil Mill went up in 1873 on Walnut Street, just north of the Marais des Cygnes. The Excelsior Mill – built in 1881 – was found at the corner of Main and Tecumseh Street.
The Marais des Cygnes River functioned as a reliable energy source for Ottawa’s mills. The mills used water power to turn their heavy mill wheels. Through the utilization of buhrs made of stone, Ottawa mills produced 20,000 pounds of processed grain products, daily.
While the Marais des Cygnes River provided the initial idea upon which Ottawa commerce could be built upon, and while Ottawa was not set up as a railroad town, it ended up being the advent of the railroad which contributed to the town’s growth.
Constructed using limestone extracted from nearby hills, Ottawa’s original depot was built in 1888. The town’s depot was designed by one of Ottawa’s most prominent citizens, George Washburn.
George Washburn was the local architect. And a prominent architect, at that.
After working as a carpenter In Kansas City, George Washburn set foot in Ottawa in 1882, establishing himself as skilled tradesman.
George Washburn was an architect. An architect from Ottawa who would go on to make several noteworthy architectural contributions to Ottawa, and to Kansas, beyond Ottawa.
George Washburn designed nine Carnegie library buildings, as well as 13 county courthouses. Among the Kansas courthouses Washburn designed was the courthouse found in his hometown of Ottawa – Franklin County Courthouse. Washburn’s design for the Franklin County Courthouse integrated a tasteful blending of two styles: 1) Romanesque Revival, and 2) Colonial.
The Ottawa depot design Washburn came up with was part of a larger rail yard, a rail yard which consisted of a 13-stall roundhouse for engine repairs, as well as a freight depot.
You can visit Ottawa’s original depot today – it’s now a museum.
Ottawa’s Old Depot Museum is located at 135 W Tecumseh Street. Old Depot Museum sits at the northernmost trailhead of the Prairie Spirit Trail – a bike and walking trail. The Depot is not far from Forest Park and Haley Park.
You can’t buy Amtrak tickets at the Old Depot Museum. No trains arrive at Old Depot Museum. What you will find at Old Depot Museum is the Model Railroad Room, complete with HO-scale model train layout depicting 1950s rail lines. You will also find a recreation of a 19th Century schoolhouse, a Victorian parlor, a Soda Fountain Room and the General Store.
Using Washburn’s plans, Kansas City, Lawrence, and Southern Kansas Railway – now part of Santa Fe Railroad – built Ottawa’s depot. By the time two additional railroads – Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad and Missouri Pacific Railroad – arrived in Ottawa, the town became a busy transport. Ottawa’s depot was primarily a passenger depot, although adjacent freight-handling structures were soon built next to the depot.
The first train pulled into Ottawa’s depot in 1888. The last train left Ottawa’s depot in 1962. At which time the Sata Fe Railroad donated the Ottawa’s depot to the Franklin County Historical Society.
Within the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, to the southeast Kansas City – a 20-minute drive from Kansas City’s Central Business District – 10 miles outside of Independence, with a land area totaling 10 square miles, bisected by Blue Parkway, we find Raytown.
The origin of Raytown goes back to how significant the Santa Fe Trail was to the opening up of the West to American settlement.
In the 1820’s, Raytown – at that time, a settlement known as Blue Ridge – was a trading post. Established as a stopover along the Santa Fe Trail.
Frontiersmen heading west rested up at this Blue Ridge settlement. Settlers purchased supplies they needed for their long trek west at Blue Ridge. They repaired their wagons. Settlers purchased flour, bacon and coffee at Blue Ridge. Settlers bought shoes for their horses at Blue Ridge. They visited the local Blue Ridge blacksmith. That local Blue Ridge blacksmith, coming to play a most significant role in Raytown’s history.
Attributed to how Blue Ridge has been written into the annals of our American story is the role Blue Ridge took on along the Santa Fe Trail.
Early in the 19th Century, Blue Ridge served as a “refueling depot” for those who confronted the rigors of the Plains as they pursued adventure.
Blue Ridge was a busy post along the Santa Fe. Iron workers, wagon makers and blacksmiths flocked to Blue Ridge. Tradesmen. Tradesmen attracted to opportunities found in Blue Ridge emanating from the ever-growing number of wagon trains traveling the Santa Fe Trail.
This Blue Ridge settlement came to be named for one such tradesman. A tradesman who came from the East. Arriving at Blue Ridge to partake in business opportunities created by Santa Fe Trail traffic. This tradesman was William Ray.
William Ray left his native Ohio, opting to make a new home for himself at Blue Ridge. William Ray built a new life for himself in Missouri. At this settlement along the Santa Fe Trail which would one day be named for him.
William Ray was a tradesman. William Ray was a blacksmith. As a blacksmith along the Santa Fe Trail, the shop William Ray established for himself was located at today what would be the corner of Raytown Road and 63rd Street. In the heart of Raytown.
This settlement of Blue Ridge would later come to be known as Ray’s Town. Ray’s Town…named for our Blue Ridge blacksmith from Ohio, William Ray.
William Ray was born in Butler County, Ohio in 1808. William Ray arrived in Missouri in 1848. Purchasing seven acres of land where today 63rd Street meets Raytown Road. In Raytown.
That acreage acquired by William Ray along the Santa Fe Trail was located at a junction where several trade routes met.
With his blacksmith shop – and his seven acres -situated at the heart of those Blue Ridge trade routes, William Ray’s address positioned him at the nucleus of where locals were clamoring for better roads to be built in Blue Ridge. The construction of new and improved roads – I.e.: local trade routes – which would connect Blue Ridge to the local, larger nearby markets of Independence and Kansas City.
William Ray’s blacksmith shop was located where those new roads would emanate from. Through William Ray’s geographical relevance, Blue Ridge locals started referring to Blue Ridge as “Ray’s Town.” Because planned growth for Blue Ridge involved the building of new roads which were to have beginning points at what today is the intersection of 63rd Street and Raytown Road. William Ray’s seven acres. William Ray’s blacksmith shop.
Within the American story there is an inescapability one encounters in the forever-association between the Santa Fe Trail and Blue Ridge. I.e.: Ray’s Town. I.e.: Raytown.
In Raytown today, the path Blue Ridge Boulevard follows is the path of the original Santa Fe Trail. Yet there is no “blue ridge” in Raytown. There never was a blue ridge in Raytown.
The Blue Ridge Mountains…
Blue Ridge Parkway in Raytown was named after a mountain range – the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Frontiersmen arriving at what would be, first, Blue Ridge, then later, Ray’s Town, then later, Raytown were taken back by how the wooded ridges they encountered in Missouri reminded them of the high wooded ridges familiar to them in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A mountain range located where their expedition west – to Missouri – began.
William Ray’s contribution to Raytown proved to be long lasting. Although William Ray’s residence in Raytown was nothing of the sort.
William Ray resided in Blue Ridge for only five years. Leaving Blue Ridge in 1853.
The story of William Ray leaving Blue Ridge – as well as the story of William Ray arriving in Blue Ridge – are each interwoven with famous American trails heading west.
William Ray left Blue Ridge for Oregon in 1853. To live near his children. William Ray’s children lived in Oregon.
The beginning point for the Oregon Trail is found in Missouri. In Independence, Missouri.
The beginning point for the Oregon Trail – the trail which took William Ray’s children west, from Missouri to Oregon – is located ten miles from where William Ray had his blacksmith shop. At the corner of today what would be 63rd Street and Raytown Road. In Raytown.
