What is it? An Object From the Harvey County Courthouse

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Our exhibit, 50 Years of Service: the Harvey County Courthouse will open on Saturday, March 21, 2015. Although this exhibit has a lot of photos, it was really difficult to find actual objects to include.

We did find a few, and the photo below is a detail of one of the objects in the exhibit. It looks like  some sort of animal devouring something. It is metal and very heavy.

Detail of Harvey County District Court Seal, ca. 1906.  HCHM Collection

Detail of Harvey County District Court Seal, ca. 1906. HCHM Collection.

 

Harvey County District Seal, ca. 1906.  HCHM Collection.

Harvey County District Seal, ca. 1906. HCHM Collection.

This seal would have been used on official District Court documents.

 

Imprint from the Harvey County District Court Seal.

Imprint from the Harvey County District Court Seal.

 

To read more about Harvey County Courthouses see,  https://hchm.org/courthouse1888/ and watch for future posts.

The exhibit, on-line exhibit and oral histories are funded in part by a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council, a non-profit cultural organization promoting understanding of the history, traditions, and ideas that shape our lives and build community.

The Most Complete and Convenient Court House in the State: Harvey County’s First Courthouse

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

The current Harvey County Courthouse is 50 years old in 2015-2016. To mark the occasion, our exhibit, Fifty Years of Service: The Harvey County Courthouse will open March 21, 2015. This blog post will highlight some of the other buildings that have served as a courthouse over the years.

spacer-2

Do you know where the first Harvey County courthouse was located?

For most of us, the picture that comes to mind is of the 1906 structure, but before that . . . where was the courthouse located?

There have actually been several courthouse locations.  The first place to house the “County Offices” was the Johnson Building located at the corner of Main and Broadway, but by 1873 the the offices were located in a building owned by B.C.Arnold on Main Street.  From 1875-1880, the offices were located on the second floor of the Hamill Building at 513 Main.    In the 1885 and 1887 City Directories, the “County Offices” were located at the corner of east Broadway and north Main in the Masonic Building.  The County Jail was on Main between 7th and 8th.

The Masonic Building, 700 N. Main, housed the courthouse from 1880-1888 and 1897-1906. Photo ca. 1880

The Masonic Building, 700 N. Main, housed the courthouse from 1880-1888 and 1897-1906. Photo ca. 1880

A push was made to construct a courthouse in 1887. In November 1887, the bond issue for a new courthouse for Harvey County failed to pass.

The Bretch brothers, Samuel, William and John, were successful businessmen in Harvey County and later Sedgwick County. They proposed a solution to the need for a courthouse.   They would construct a three story building that would serve as a courthouse.

bretchheadline 001

The Newton Evening Kansan praised them for “coming to the rescue with a proposition to erect a suitable building which the county should lease for a courthouse for five years.”

Bretch Building Drawing Newton Evening Kansan, 28 July 1888

The new building was designed by architect Willliam L. Ross.

A newspaper article from the July 28, 1888 Newton Evening Kansan described the new Harvey County Courthouse as “one of the most complete and convenient courthouses in the state.”  The building cost around $30,000 and was “one of the best arranged buildings of its kind in the state.”

The first floor housed the treasurer’s office, the county clerk and the commissioners’ offices  and a “double vault” on the left.  On the right were the offices of the sheriff, register and probate judge.

Layout of first floor of Bretch Building.

Layout of first floor of Bretch Building.

A courtroom and related offices were located on the second floor.

Layout of second floor of Bretch Building.

Layout of second floor of Bretch Building.

For several years the “handsome building,” a “monument to the industry and enterprise of . . . two young men,” served as a courthouse for Harvey County.

Bretch Building,  811 Main, Newton, 1910.

Bretch Building, 811 Main, Newton, 1910.

The Bretch Building was the county courthouse until 1896.  The offices then moved back to the second floor of the Masonic Building at the corner of Main & Broadway.

The Bretch Brothers continued to operate a wholesale and retail grocery business at the 811 location.

Bretch Brothers Advertisement from the Newton Kansan, 1888

Bretch Brothers Advertisement from the Newton Kansan, 1888

Bretch Brothers Wholesale & Retail Grocery , 811-813 Main, opened in 1881 from the Western Journal of Commerce, 1901.

Bretch Brothers Wholesale & Retail Grocery , 811-813 Main, opened in 1881 from the Western Journal of Commerce, 1901.

Bethel Commercial College

The Bethel Commercial College was located on the third floor of the Bretch Building beginning in about 1913.  Charles N. Parsons was the superintendent.

Newton Business College

In 1917, Parsons is listed as the principal of the Newton Business College located on the third floor of the Bretch Building, 811 Main, Newton.

Newton Business College, Newton Buick Agency, Goodrich Tires, Nicodemus Garage, 811 -813 Main, Newton, 1917.

Newton Business College, Newton Buick Agency, Goodrich Tires, Nicodemus Garage, 811 -813 Main, Newton, 1917.

Parsons Apartments

The upper levels of the building were converted to apartments in the early 1920s.  C.N. Parsons was the manager.

parsonsapartment-1

Bretch Building, 811-813 N. Main, Newton, 1993

Bretch Building, 811-813 N. Main, Newton, 1993

Sadly, this structure was found to be unsafe in the early 1990s  and was torn down.

Demolition of Bretch Building, 811-813 N. Main, Newton,1994

Demolition of Bretch Building, 811-813 N. Main, Newton,1994

Sources:

  • Newton Evening Kansan, 28 July 1888, “Harvey County’s Handsome New Court House.
  • Evening Kansan Republican 15 Feb. 1905, “Mrs. William L. Ross,” p. 4.
  • Evening Kansan Republican 9 Feb. 1911, “William L Ross Passes Beyond,” p. 1
  • Western Journal of Commerce, 1901.
  • 50th Anniversary Ed. of the Newton Kansan 22 August 1922.
  • Newton City Directories, 1885, 1887, 1902-1903.
  • Voter Registration Book, 1882-1902, HCHM Archives.
  • Western Journal of Commerce: Souvenir Edition, Newton Kansas,1901.
  • Newton Kansan 50th Anniversary Edition, 22 August 1922.
  • United States Federal Census: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910.

Beyond a Little Strife – A New County Was Created

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Late in August of 1870, Judge R.W.P Muse left from Topeka, Ks and traveled west and south with several others. He later described some the journey through the vast prairie.  On August 28, the group followed the Chisholm Trail

 “down on the west side of Sand Creek as far as the mouth of  the creek, where we found Dr. T.S. Floyd, with whom we staid all night. . . . After traveling over thirty miles, we had seen no human habitation or sign of civilization, our way being through high prairie grass, often  standing above the height of our wagon wheels . . . When we first visited the county, large herds of buffalo were found in the western portion . . . especially where Burrton now stands, and between the two Arkansas Rivers.”

The town of Sedgwick already “did fair business” in 1870 according the Judge Muse in History of Harvey County, 1871-1881.  He also noted that “some enterprising and hardy pioneers . . . located in parts of the county as early as 1869.”  

E. Griffin & Son, Selz Shoes, Elmon & John Griffin's Store, Sedgwick, Ks, ca. 1890.

E. Griffin & Son, Selz Shoes, Elmon & John Griffin’s Store, Sedgwick, Ks, ca. 1890.

With the arrival of the cattle trade and the railroad in the summer of 1871, the city of Newton grew rapidly and gained a reputation as wild and lawless. Muse, however, saw opportunity in the rough town and decided to stay.

After the shockingly violent summer of 1871 Muse reported that in the fall of 1871,

“the best citizens of the city and county . . . desired law and order to take the place of the disorder and moral confusion.  They began to consult for their own protection and the public good and resolved to organize . . . to establish a city and county government.”

Forming a New County

The way to a new county was not without difficulty as ten of the townships were part of Sedgwick County and the others part of Marion and McPherson Counties. Several meetings took place at the law office of C.S. Bowman in Newton to devise a way to create a new county.  The final push for a new county came after the Republican County Convention in Wichita. Seven delegates from Newton attended to nominate a county ticket for Sedgwick County.  Much their dismay, the Newton delegation was cut to three, and

after considerable debate and bad temper, all the Newton delegates, headed by the writer, [Muse] withdrew from the convention. . . The strife resulted in the nomination of two tickets, and most of the regular ticket was defeated.  This added to the feeling for a new county.” 

A meeting to establish a new county was held on December 13, 1871 in the office of Muse & Spivy, in Newton.  The group was able to get the support of Capt. David Payne, the representative in the Kansas legislature.  Several worked on completing the necessary paperwork including C.S. Bowman and Dr. Gaston Boyd. The new county would consist of sixteen townships, ten from Sedgwick, three from McPherson, and three from Marion.

Office of Judge RWP Muse and Capt. Spivey, Newton 1872.  Spivey is sitting at the desk, Judge Muse is behind the counter and the man in front of the counter is identified as Capt. Bunker.  Fourth man is undientified.

Office of Judge RWP Muse and Capt. Spivey, Newton 1872. Spivey is sitting at the desk, Judge Muse is behind the counter and the man in front of the counter is identified as Capt. Bunker. Fourth man is undientified.

Harvey County organized by Act of Kansas legislature on 29  February 1872. The new county was named in honor of James M. Harvey, who was the governor of Kansas at the time.

1882harvacountymap

A County Seat

Newton was designated as the county seat, but not without controversy.  A vote was held on May 20, 1872 for county officers and county seat. and there were some irregularities.

Judge Muse reported the following:

“The poll books of Sedgwick township showing up on their face an excessive and fraudulent vote, equal to more than double the amount of inhabitants in said township at the taking of the census about the 1st of April 1872, and the poll books of Newton township showing a large and excessive vote. . . The census of Sedgwick township taken and filed just before the election, showed that there were not to exceed one hundred and twenty-five legal voters residing in the township, yet the poll books showed that at the election over seven hundred votes had been cast. . . .It was reported that the names upon the Sedgwick poll books were copied from the Cincinnati Directory, and a colored bootblack who was plying his vocation there on election day, is reported to have . . . voted fourteen times.”

Muse concluded; “At any rate, beyond a little strife in court, no harm resulted and Newton was declared the county seat of Harvey County.”

The  Johnson Building located at the corner of Main and Broadway in Newton was designated as the location of the county offices.  The offices soon moved to a 526 Main.  Two years later, in 1875, the county offices were moved to the second floor of the Hamill Building at 513 Main.

Masonic Building, 700 N. main, Newton, ca. 1880

Masonic Building, 700 N. main, Newton, ca. 1880

In 1880, the county offices were located in the Masonic Building at 700 N. Main.

In his concluding remarks on the history of the county, Muse noted that Harvey County  was

“filled with enterprising people, who take great pride in the thrift and prosperity of their respective towns, and whose public spirit ensures the steady growth of these cities, . . . and renders their success certain.”

*****All quotes are from “History of Harvey County: 1871-1881 by Judge RWP Muse, 1882.

Sources

  • “Death of Judge Muse” Newton Kansan 26 November 1896, p.1.
  • Muse, Judge R.W.P., History of Harvey County: 1871-1881. Newton, Ks: Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives, 2013. Originally published in Edward’s Harvey County Atlas, 1882.
  • Bowman, Mrs. C.S. “Organization of Harvey County” typewritten document dated 7 October 1907, HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks.
  • Mayer, Henry. “Early Days — Newton and Vicinity” typewritten document dated 29 February 1908, HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks.
  • HCHM Photo Archives, Newton, Ks