Courthouse History

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#999933" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="040006e0ddwnfv.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Raile Family</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Raile Family"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Courthouse History</B>   |   <A HREF="id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Francis Today"><U>St. Francis - Today</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Francis, Kansas An Outsiders Opinio"><U>St. Francis, Kansas - An Outsider's Opinion</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Misc. St. Franics"><U>Misc. St. Franics</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" background="041bec00esnpes.png"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="2f38d630.png" border=0 width="141" height="99" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>The first Courthouse in Cheyenne County was located in the present day Sawhill Park</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id115.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Francis, Kansas Yesterday"><U><B>St. Francis - Yesterday</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Courthouse History"><U><B>Courthouse History</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Francis Today"><U><B>St. Francis Today</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Francis, Kansas An Outsiders Opinio"><U><B>An Outsider's Opinion</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Courthouse History</div> <bR> <div> <B>Cheyenne County Courthouse</B></div> <div> <B>County Seat: St. Francis, Kansas</B></div> <div> <B>Founded: 1886</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><IMG SRC="2fafab10.png" border=0 width="250" height="177" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Cheyenne County Courthouse in 1886.</I></div> <bR> <div> Cheyenne County was officially organized in April 1886.  In November  of 1886, a building owned by D.W. Cave, Benjamin Bird and Charles I. Kerndt was leased for $75 per month.  The final election for the permanent location of the county seat was held February 26, 1889 and soon afterwards plans were made to construct a courthouse in St. Francis.  The building was to be forty feet by sixty feet by twenty feet high and built by Kincaid Eaton for $2,465.  By October 1889, the finishing touches were made and the courthouse was ready.  The building stood in the park east of the present courthouse.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2fefabf0.png" border=0 width="250" height="191" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>Cheyenne County Courthouse Dedication, July 7, 1925</I></div> <bR> <div> On May 8, 1924, the cornerstone for the present day county courthouse was laid.  Robert Good, State Business Manager, spoke on Good Citizenship.  More than 2,500  were present.  The courthouse was dedicated April 7, 1925, with 5,000 in attendance.  Judge Simmons and Attorney General C.B. Griffith made inspiring addresses.  The new structure cost $163,921.39</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="2fffa9e0.png" border=0 width="250" height="158" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>Cheyenne County Courthouse Dedication, July 7, 1925</I></div> <bR> <div> Thomas W. Williamson and Co. of Topeka, Kansas were the architects and Thomas S. Hoard of Hutchinson was the General Contractor.</div> <bR> <div> <I><IMG SRC="3000c8f0.png" border=0 width="268" height="143" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Present day Cheyenne County courthouse in St. Francis, Kansas</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>"People come, people go, but the treasures of a county courthouse linger on for generations.  Its mere presence can be a reassurance that the present and the future will somehow be linked to the past.  The ambiance of sifting through dusty boxes and files in a dimly-lit back room of a courthouse is enough to conjure up images of the past: legal matters involving early settlers; who went bankrupt; who was considered a lunatic; how much your great grandfather paid for his 160 acres.  It is a genealogist's dream, or if not well organized, a nightmare."         by Bob Shilland</I></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>