News Stories for Reno County, Kansas

MYSTERY SURROUNDS GRAVESTONE

An ancient mystery uncovered by Gas Service Co. workers two weeks ago will make genealogists and mystery lovers drool.

While digging for a gas line in South Hutchinson last week in an area a short distance south of the Frank Hart Crossing on Kansas Avenue, workers uncovered a tombstone and base in remarkably good condition, considering the stone dates back to 1889.

The stone carries the name of Zenobia McDaniel, wife of J. S. McDaniel, who was born April 4, 1857 and died Dec. 14, 1889. Several mysteries exist in the finding. First, county and cemetery records as well as the present grave at Fairview Cemetery near Elmer indicated that Mrs. McDaniel was born April 4, 1855.

The other mystery is: how did the tombstone arrive at the location in South Hutchinson?

According to City Coordinator Ralph Cox, original city plats indicate there has never been a dedicated cemetery in South Hutchinson. As Cox points out, that doesn't mean people weren't buried in various locations throughout the county.

However, records at the public library indicate that the Fairview Cemetery came into existence in 1873, when the son of Warren White, the owner of the land, was buried. White himself was buried there in 1880.

Hutchinson National Bank is the trustee of the cemetery. Trust Officer Dean Kennedy said according to records, J. S. McDaniel purchased the lot at Fairview April 14, 1890. Then, where was she buried until April 14?

Cox and local historian Jim Glass both have a possible explanation as to how the stone found its way just north of Bickel Liquor Store.

Glass said he remembers a monument works that once operated in South Hutchinson. Although Cox found no record of the business ever existing, he agreed with Glass that there was a monument works in the city, but he said they made only concrete stones. The uncovered stone is marble.

Large amounts of rock were being uncovered by the gas company workers as they made their way down North Poplar. Cox said the stone could have been retrieved from the monument works and used with other rock for fill, but he wasn't certain.

Cox is sure of one thing. His father operated a service station from 1930 to 1934 at the now-vacant lot where the stone is located.

No one knows for sure if there are any more gravestones or graves at the location of where Zenobia McDaniels' grave marker was found, but Cox said when Poplar is ripped up next year to make way for a four-lane street, they'll know for sure.

A granddaughter of Zenobia McDaniels, Mrs. Russell Haines of rural Haven, said the whole thing is a mystery to her. Mrs. Haines never met her grandmother, as her mother was only seven when Zenobia died.

Mrs. Haines said her mother and grandfather used to tell her about her grandmother. She said they told her Zenobia died of tuberculosis when she was young, but she doesn't remember much else about her.

Mrs. Haines said the Reno County Historical Society has asked her if they could store the tombstone in the proposed new museum. She said she has no objection to them keeping it.
(Hutchinson News ~ December 21, 1984 ~ Submitted by Lori DeWinkler)