Jewell County, one of the northern tier, is the
second county west of the 6th principal meridian. It contains 900 square miles and is divided into 25 civil townships,
each of which is a Congressional township. It is bounded on the north by the State of Nebraska; on the east
by Republic and Cloud counties; on the south by Mitchell, and on the west by Smith. Jewell was one of the counties
on the line of the historic Pawnee road, and also one of the counties crossed by Lieut. Pike in 1806. The surface
is rolling prairie gradually rising to table lands in the central portion. The branches of the Republican and Solomon
form its water system.
This county was named in honor of Lewis R. Jewell,
lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Kansas cavalry, who died of wounds received in the battle of Cane Hill, Ark. The
earliest known settlement was made by William Harshberger and wife on White Rock creek in 1862. They were driven
out by the Indians and no other attempt to settle the county was made until 1866, when a number of families, including
those of William Knapp, John Rice and Nicholas Ward, settled on White Rock creek. Two raids by the Cheyennes, one
in Aug., 1866, and the other in April, 1867, broke up the settlement. Many were killed, including the Ward
family, and the others were driven away. In the spring of 1868 another attempt at settlement was broken up by Indians
and again in October of the same year the extension of the Scandinavian colony up White Rock creek from Republic
county was driven back. In May, 1869, the Excelsior colony (q. v.) from New York, numbering about 100 people, took
claims along White Rock creek and built a blockhouse at a point 8 miles north of the present town of Mankato. By
June, 1869, they were all driven out, and the county was in the hands of the Indians. In the fall of 1869 a number
of land entries were made and the next year the flood of immigration coming into Kansas extended into Jewell county
in spite of the dangers. In the early part of May, 1870, great excitement prevailed over the news that the Cheyennes
were on the warpath. On the 13th the settlers met at "Hoffer's Shanty" to devise means of protection.
A company of 28 men, known as the "Buffalo Militia," was organized with William D. Street as captain;
Charles Lew, first lieutenant; Louis A. Dapron, second lieutenant; James A. Scarborough, orderly sergeant. The
personnel of the company was as follows: L. J. Calvin, F. A. May, W. M. Jones, Samuel Krape, Louis A. Dapron, C.
L. Seeley, J. A. Scarborough, Cyrus Richart, Chris. Bender, J. H. Worick, David J. Rockey, James W. Hall, Richard
D. Fardy, Charles J. Lewis, C. A. Belknap, A. J. Wise, John Hoffer, William Cox, S. R. Worick, Allen Lightner,
James F. Queen, J. F. Fogel, J. A. Sorick, R. F. Hudson-piller, I. A. Swain, Henry Sorick, William D. Street and
John R. Wilson.
A fort was built where Jewell City now stands,
and was held by the "Buffalo Militia" for about a month, when the Third U. S. mounted artillery took
possession and relieved the settlers. No more attacks were made, and from that time Jewell county has been free
from hostile Indians.
Some time during this year the ruins of what is supposed to have been an old Spanish fort were discovered, which
seemed to be a landmark of some former occupation of the country by white men. It was located on the claim of Oliver
Smith 2 miles east of Fort Jewell, and is described as an "irregular inclosure containing some 2 or 3 acres
of ground. At that time it was overgrown with sod and was 2 feet high and 4 feet thick, its origin is not known.
A number of settlements were made in 1870. William Friend, C. J. Jones, O. F. Johnson, M. Hofiveimer, Lewis Spiegle
and Silas Mann settled the Marsh creek district, and at Burr Oak the settlers were A. W. Mann, Zack Norman, Lee
M. Tingley, Richard Comstock, Frank Gilbert, A. J. Godfrey, D. H. Godfrey, Allen Ives, John E. Faidley and E. E.
Blake. A claim was preempted by Jack Mango at Jewell Center (Mankato); A. N. Cole homesteaded near the present
town of Ionia in 1869; and in 1871 H. M. George and H. L. Browning started a steam sawmill on the freight road
between Cawker City and Hastings, Neb., where Salem now stands.
In July, 1870, Col. E. Barker and Orville McClurg
petitioned Gov. Harvey for county organization and on July 14 the governor appointed C. L. Seeley, E, T. Gandy
and A. I. Davis county commissioners, and James A. Scarborough, county clerk. The first meeting of the commissioners
was held at Jewell City on Aug. 22. On Sept. 27 an election was held, at which Jewell City was chosen the county
seat, and the following county officers were elected: Dennis Taylor, Thomas Coverdale and Samuel C. Bowles, commissioners;
James A. Scarborough, clerk; Henry Sorick, treasurer; N. H. Billings, surveyor; S. O. Carman, register of deeds;
Charles L. Sully, probate judge; A. J. Davis, sheriff; R. S. Worick, county superintendent. At the November election
Felix T. Candy was elected the first representative in the legislature. The population of the county at that time
was 207.
The first marriage was that of a couple from Cloud
county, the ceremony being performed by O. F. Johnson, justice of the peace, Jan. 2, 1871. The first marriage of
residents was between Lawton McCord and Evaline Davis of Highland township, Feb. 22, 1872. The first birth occurred
in Aug., 1870, on the Buffalo creek, the child being Jewell Rittenhonse. He was presented with a lot by the town
company of Jewell City. The first regular mail was established in July, 1870, weekly from Sibley, John Hoffer,
carrier. The first postoffices were Amity, Highland township, 1872, James Mitchell postmaster; Burr Oak, Burr Oak
township, James McCormack, postmaster; Jewell Center, Center township, 1872, J. D. Vance, postmaster; Johnsonville,
Vicksburg township, 1872, P. F. Johnson postmaster.
Before 1873 the following towns had been established:
Jewell City, Jewell Center, Burr Oak. Salem, Ionia and Holmwood, and the county had six newspapers. By 1886 Randall,
Omia, Gregory and Rubens had been added to the list of towns. Some of these towns have ceased to exist and the
present list is as follows: Athens, Burr Oak, Dentonia, Esbon, Formosa, Gregory, Harrison, Ionia, Jewell, Lovewell,
Mankato, Mayview, Montrose, North Branch, Otego, Randall, Rubens, Salem, Stenben and Webber.
The townships of Jewell county are: Allen, Athens,
Brown Creek, Burr Oak, Buffalo, Calvin, Center, Erving, Ebson, Grant, Harrison, Highland, Sinclair, Vicksburg,
Walnut, Washington, White Mound, Holmwood, Ionia, Jackson, Limestone, Montana, Odessa, Prairie and Richland.
Schools were established in several of the townships
in 1872. Five years later the number of organized districts was 133; the total number of school houses, 60; value
of school property, $21,412; and the school population, 4,561. In 1910 the population was 18,148, and the assessed
valuation of property was $38,625,285. (Cyclopedia of Kansas, Frank W. Blackmar, A. M., Ph. D., Volume 2, 1912,
Pages 29-31)
Jewell, an incorporated city of Jewell county, is located in Buffalo
township, on the Missouri Pacific R. R. and on Buffalo creek, 8 miles south of Mankato, the county seat. It has
banking facilities, flour mills, grain elevators, electric lights, weekly newspapers, telegraph and express offices,
and a money order postoffice with five rural routes. The population in 1910 was 839. The railroad name is Jewell
City.
Jewell is one of the older settled communities
in the county. Among the first settlers were W. D. Street, Benjamin Lewis, Charles Lewis and L. M. Stultz in 1869,
and James A. Scarborough, Henry Sorrick, A. J. Davis and H. Burnett in 1870. The first store was opened by James
A. Scarborough in June, 1870, with a stock that invoiced $130. In the fall John D. Robertson of Lake Sibley opened
a general store. The firm of Scarborough & Street handled most of the real estate. The town was incorporated
as a city of the third class in 1880, with H. C. Jennings as the first mayor. (Cyclopedia of Kansas, Frank W.
Blackmar, A. M., Ph. D., Volume 2, 1912, Page 29)
