A settlement named "Erie", later referred to as "Old Erie" and "Beantown USA", was
platted northwest of the present townsite, while another community, known as
Crawfordsville, was started two miles northeast of the current site. In 1866, the proprietors of these two towns made a compromise to abandon the towns and combine with the settlement at the present Erie site. Four men gave 40 acres each, that butted together, out of their 160-acre shares, to create the city plat of Erie. These men were: David Bray, Luther Puckett, John Himmelwright and Peter Walter. In November of that year the
Erie Town Company was formed. Each member of this company donated forty acres of land in the center of Section 32, Township 28, Range 20 east. Each member was to buy city plots and improve them. Erie's first
fire company was established in November 1866; its
charter members were those men who had donated the land on which the community was built. The first log home in Erie was built in 1866, while the first businesses were built in the following year. By 1883, the city had two general stores, two blacksmith shops, one drug store, two hotels, one newspaper office, two churches, and a population of about 300. In 1872, Erie was designated the
county seat of Neosho County, defeating "Osage Mission" (later renamed Saint Paul) in a contentious election. After a lawsuit reached the
Kansas Supreme Court, Erie retained the position of county seat. ==Geography==