(late 1700s)
Early history For
millennia, the
Great Plains of
North America were inhabited by
Native Americans. From the 16th to 18th centuries, the
Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the
French and Indian War, France secretly ceded
New France to
Spain, by the
Treaty of Fontainebleau.
19th century In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for
modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile
Louisiana Purchase for 2.83
cents per
acre. In 1848, after the
Mexican–American War, the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Spain brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas. In 1806,
Zebulon Pike led the
Pike Expedition westward from
St Louis, Missouri, of which part of their journey followed the
Cottonwood River through modern Marion County near the current cities of
Florence,
Marion,
Durham. In 1854, the
Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861
Kansas became the 34th
U.S. state. In 1855,
Marion County was established. The first settlers in Marion County located on Doyle Creek, near the present site of
Florence. They were Moses Shane, who came in 1858, and whose death the next year was the first in the county; Patrick Doyle, in 1859, for whom Doyle Creek and Township were named, and a family by the name of Welsh, in which occurred the
first birth in the county in August 1859. The city of Marion Centre was founded in 1860, became the
county seat in 1865, and later the city name was shortened to
Marion. In the spring of 1859, a trading post was established at the "Lost Spring" on the Santa Fe Trail, and in the autumn of the same year, the Moore brothers established a ranch near the present site of
Durham, and the first post office was established at this place. Later in the same year, a post office was established at "Lost Spring" near the current city of
Lost Springs. Previously the nearest post office was
Emporia. From 1867 to 1871, the
Chisholm Trail was routed along the western edge of Marion County. The trail started in
Texas and ended in
Abilene, Kansas, where cattle were shipped eastward by rail. As the railroads were built westward and southward, the trail was truncated from going further north. -type housing in
Gnadenau (
Frank Leslie's Illustrated March 20, 1875) (located southeast of
Hillsboro) Originally, Marion County covered more than a third of the area of Kansas, including all the territory in the state south and west of the present northern and eastern lines of the county. The original location of the county was fixed by legislative act in 1860. It comprised less than the present area. The original boundaries were altered by an increase of territory on the west and a decrease on the south. In 1863, the legislature by special act fixed the boundaries to include all of southwestern Kansas. In June of that year, on petition of the citizens of the county, the governor restored the previous boundaries and ordered a separate organization of the county. The one mile strip of land remains in
Chase County to this day. The present county boundary lines were decided upon in 1872 and contain twenty-four
townships. The first two-story courthouse of stone was built in 1867. The upper floor was used for county court and the first floor was used as a school. A high wall for a place of refuge and defense in the event of an Indian attack surrounded it, but it was never needed for that purpose. An addition was completed in 1879 and part of the original structure was remodeled in 1881. The present three-story native limestone structure was completed in 1907. According to the original
land grant, the railroad was to receive every odd numbered section for on each side of its track, but in eastern Kansas which was largely settled by then, much of this land was not available. The law therefore gave the railroad what was called "in lieu" lands further west. Eventually this worked out to be half the land on a strip on each side of its track from
Emporia nearly out to
Kinsley, which meant that most of Marion County fell within this strip. In 1877, the
Florence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line from
Florence to
El Dorado, in 1881 it was extended to
Douglass, and later to
Arkansas City. The original branch line connected Florence,
Burns,
De Graff,
El Dorado,
Augusta,
Douglass,
Rock,
Akron,
Winfield and
Arkansas City. In 1887,
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a branch line from
Neva (three miles west of
Strong City) to
Superior, Nebraska. This branch line connected
Strong City,
Neva,
Rockland,
Diamond Springs,
Burdick,
Lost Springs,
Jacobs,
Hope,
Navarre,
Enterprise,
Abilene,
Talmage,
Manchester,
Longford,
Oak Hill,
Miltonvale,
Aurora,
Huscher,
Concordia,
Kackley,
Courtland,
Webber and Superior. At some point, the line from Neva to Lost Springs was pulled, but the right of way has not been abandoned. This branch line was originally called "Strong City and Superior line", but later the name was shortened to the "Strong City line". The railway is connected via a switch to allow north-bound "Rock Island" traffic to connect onto the north-west-bound "Santa Fe" tracks. This is the only way for the Santa Fe traffic to travel north-west after removing the tracks to Neva. As early as 1875, city leaders of
Marion held a meeting to consider a branch railroad from Florence. In 1878,
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and parties from Marion County and
McPherson County chartered the
Marion and McPherson Railway Company. In 1879, a branch line was built from Florence to
McPherson; in 1880 it was extended to
Lyons, in 1881 it was extended to
Ellinwood. The line was leased and operated by the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The line from Florence to Marion was abandoned in 1968. In 1992, the line from Marion to McPherson was sold to
Central Kansas Railway. In 1993, after heavy flood damage, the line from Marion to McPherson was abandoned. The original branch line connected Florence,
Oursler, Marion,
Canada,
Hillsboro,
Lehigh,
Canton,
Galva, McPherson,
Conway,
Windom,
Little River,
Mitchell, Lyons,
Chase and
Ellinwood. In 1996, the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merged with
Burlington Northern Railroad and renamed to the current
BNSF Railway. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Santa Fe".
Rock Island Railroad In 1887, the
Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway extended its main line from
Herington to
Pratt. This main line connected Herington,
Ramona,
Tampa,
Durham,
Waldeck,
Canton,
Galva,
McPherson,
Groveland,
Inman,
Medora,
Hutchinson,
Whiteside,
Partridge,
Arlington,
Langdon,
Turon,
Preston,
Natrona and Pratt. In 1888, this main line was extended to
Liberal. Later, this line was extended to
Tucumcari, New Mexico, and
El Paso, Texas. This line is called the "Golden State Limited". In 1887, the
Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a branch line north–south from
Herington to
Caldwell.
20th century The
National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and was routed through
Lehigh,
Hillsboro,
Marion, and
Lost Springs. Peabody, and nearby
Watchorn, experienced an
oil boom from 1918 to 1920. The influence of the petroleum industry remained strong in Peabody, and resulted in the greatest change upon the community in the shortest time. More than 100 residences were constructed in October and November 1919. From 1918 to 1919, the population increased by 75% or more, but later decreased as oil booms in other Kansas areas needed the workers. From 1935 to 1937, the
Marion County Lake was constructed southeast of Marion. From 1964 to 1968, the
Marion Reservoir was constructed northwest of Marion.
21st century (Phase 2) southeast of
Peabody In 2010, the
Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed north to south through Marion County with much controversy over road damage, tax exemption, and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs). In 2022, construction of the 201 megawatt
Sunflower Wind farm was started in Marion County. Warning light and spin testing started in June 2023. This wind farm is located between
Peabody, Aulne, and Florence, and operated by
Ørsted headquartered in
Fredericia,
Denmark. ==Geography==