Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, society president
January, when the babe of the new year bids farewell to the old, ushers in a time of resolutions, predictions, hopes and dreams, hoards mysteries of the future, and prompts periods of reflection, personal or otherwise.
A century and a half ago, the Crescent (news), Grasshopper Falls, Kansas territory, January 8, 1859, reflected on Jefferson County and associate towns' growth progress.
Quote: "We have often heard it remarked by those well acquainted with this territory (Kansas) that no inland county within its limits could surpass our own, in the fertility of soil, its general advantages, or the enterprise of its farmers. . . after several jaunts to different points, in no other county do we find as many flourishing towns, as many churches, and schoolhouses, unless it be those bordering on the river.
"Grasshopper Falls, a town well known in the earliest history of this territory and one which bids fair to become one of its largest and thriving towns and which is destined to be the most prominent point in the contemplated railroad, from St. Joseph to Topeka, is situated in the northeastern part of the county and in the most thickly populated portion. It has two mills, lumber and flour, three large stores, one church, and two schools. The ring of the smith's anvil and pounding of the carpenter's hammer daily heard.
"We predict that those who visit Grasshopper Falls five years from today will wonder at the growth as much as those who visit this site today wonder over the unimproved prairie site three years ago.
"Oskaloosa, the present county seat, also a flourishing town, is situated in the southeast part of the county adjoining the Delaware Reservation, will gain additional importance when the reserve is open to settlers. Winchester, Osawkee, Hickory Point, and Fairfield are also thriving rapidly.
"To those who seek for home in the far west, no place offers greater inducements than the territory (Kansas) and no county in it better than this (Jefferson)."
Source: April 1981, Yesteryears.
The society's museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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