OLDEST STRUCTURES.

WINFIELD.

The Old Log Store. The “Old Log Store” was built by C. M. Wood for E. C. Manning’s partner, T. H. Baker, who made arrangements to pay him for his work. The 14 by 22 ft. log house was thirty rods south of Wood’s cabin. Manning at that time was with his family at Manhattan, Kansas. He arrived in mid-December 1869 and at once took charge of his claim and store.

From the Centennial Edition...

Winfield Courier, January 6, 1876.

E. C. Manning built his claim house in January, 1870, and moved his family into it March 10th, 1870. It is the house just north of the stage stable in block 108 and is the oldest house in the city. What afterwards became the Winfield town site was then known as his claim.

Cowley County Democrat, Winfield, Kansas, Thursday, July 13, 1876.

HISTORY OF COWLEY COUNTY. By Wirt W. Walton.

Read at the Centennial Celebration, July 4th, 1876, at Winfield, Kansas.

The oldest house in Winfield is the one immediately north of the stage barn, in block 108. It was built by E. C. Manning in January, 1870, and first occupied by himself and family as a claim house, on the 10th day of March, following.

The Winfield Town Company was organized January 13, 1870, “with power to lay out a town site upon the open prairie, east of the Walnut River and south of Dutch Creek, in Cowley County, Kansas.” E. C. Manning was its President; W. W. Andrews, Vice President; C. M. Wood, Treasurer; W. G. Graham, Secretary; and E. C. Manning, J. H. Land, A. A. Jackson, W. G. Graham, and J. C. Monforte, Directors.

Within the next four months, following the organization, forty acres of Manning’s claim was converted into lots, blocks, streets, and alleys. The old log store was built by Manning, which was occupied, in part, by Dr. Mansfield as a drug store, and by Baker and Manning with their goods. Soon Max Shoeb arrived, built a log cabin where Read’s bank now stands, and opened a blacksmith shop. On August 20th J. C. Fuller and D. A. Millington bought A. A. Jackson’s claim and proceeded, with Manning, to lay out that part of the town lying east of Main street. July 4, 1870, was a glorious day for Winfield. The first celebration in the county was held on that day, under an arbor in the rear of the old log store. Prof. E. P. Hickok was the orator of the occasion.

Continuation of Centennial Edition...

Winfield Courier, January 6, 1876.

The Winfield Town Company was organized Jan. 13th, 1872 [1870], with E. C. Manning, president; W. W. Andrews, vice president; C. M. Wood, treasurer; W. G. Graham, secretary; E. C. Manning, J. H. Land, A. A. Jackson, W. G. Graham, and J. C. Monforte, directors, and the foregoing named persons with T. H. Baker, S. S. Prouty, Thos. Moonlight, and H. C. Loomis, corporators; and that the object of this corporation was “to lay out a town site on the rolling prairie east of the Walnut River and south of Dutch Creek, the same being in Cowley County and embracing the particular forty acres of land on which the residence of E. C. Manning is situated, with the privilege of increasing the area of the town site as soon as practicable.”

In the course of the next four months after the organization, Manning, with the aid of the town company, had surveyed 20 acres of “the particular 40 acres” of his claim into the six blocks along Main street from 5th to 9th streets, and had built the old log store, now occupied by the Post Office and COURIER office, and had moved his stock of goods into it. Dr. Mansfield opened a small drug store in one corner of the Log Store May 1st, and shortly after erected a small drug store where the present store stands.

In June of that year Max Shoeb appeared and erected an open log structure where Read’s bank now stands, and plied his hammer and anvil therein.

July 4th, 1870, was a great day for Winfield. The first celebration in the county of our national birth day was held under a large bower in the rear of the Old Log Store, and Prof. E. P. Hickok was the orator of the occasion. Soon after this G. W. Green built and moved his family into a little house near where Mr. Gordon now lives, and Max Shoeb moved his family into the nucleus of the house he now lives in. Manning’s family had moved into his claim house before this on the 10th of March.

Continuation of Centennial edition...

Though this country was practically open for settlement on the passage of the act of Congress of July 15th, 1870, in relation thereto; yet no one knew where his claim lines would run, because there had been no government survey. This survey did not occur until January, 1871. Immediately after the survey D. A. Millington, who was the first engineer and surveyor, surveyed and laid out into town lots and blocks, all the west half of Fuller’s claim and east half of Manning’s claim (not already laid out), and platted the whole as the town site of Winfield. Settlers continued to locate in Winfield until on the 10th day of July, 1871, there were 72 lots improved with 80 buildings. On that day the town site was entered by the Probate Judge, T. B. Ross.

From The Winfield Courier Supplemental Edition, March 14, 1901.

HISTORY OF COWLEY COUNTY, KANSAS.

By D. A. Millington up to 1882 and brought down to January 1^st 1901 by E. P. Greer.

Look at Page 7...

According to D. A. Millington, the Winfield Town Company agreed to build for E. C. Manning a two-story log building for a store, the upper story to be used for public purposes, in order to pay for the 40 acres of Manning’s claim. It was occupied by E. C. Manning as a store and post office. This structure was situated on the ground where the Odd Fellows hall later stood. Max Shoeb built a log blacksmith shop on the lot south of where the Winfield National Bank became located. W. Q. Mansfield commenced building a small drug store just north of the log store; Frank Hunt commenced building a hardware store adjoining the drug store. The structures, with Manning’s claim house, were all of the buildings existing in Winfield in April 1870.

Following information came from Cowley County Democrat...

1870. On the 9th day of January, a party of 15 men under the lead of Thomas Coats took claims along the Grouse Valley. Their names were John Coats, Wm. Coats, Joseph Reynolds, Gilbert Branson, Henry Branson, Newton Phenis, I. H. Phenis, H. Haywood, L. B. Bullington, J. T. Raybell, D. T. Walters, S. S. Severson, John Nichols, and C. J. Phenis.

About the 10^th day of January, 1870, the initiatory steps were taken for the organization of a town company, and the starting of a town on the claim of E. C. Manning, which lay adjoining C. M. Wood on the south.

[Article goes on to say that Norton and party did not stay, but went south to Arkansas City.]