August 7, 2017
This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
Many of us are
aware of the Farmer’s Market which is held every Thursday in the Geary
Community Hospital’s parking lot. Local
farmers sell fresh produce and other products at that weekly event.
In the early
days of Junction City and the surrounding counties there was a sort of “trading
post on wheels.” Eggs, chickens, cream,
milk and butter were traded for sugar, flour, molasses and other staples. The wagon was equipped with chicken crates
which were usually on the back of the vehicle as well as containers to protect
the eggs, cream and milk. This “trading
post on wheels” made it convenient for those who lived in rural areas and
didn’t often travel to town. As our town grew, more people bought their
supplies in town and the “trading post on wheels” began to disappear.
Credit for
establishing the first store IN Junction City was J.B. Dickerson. He had a trading post here as early as August
1, 1855. In 1858, John Wiley opened the
first general store in the new town, and in August of 1860 Streeter and
Stickler bought out the stock of William Leamer and had an imposing store for
the time and place. In addition to local
trade, this firm was a heavy contracting business freighting and furnishing
supplies throughout the plains area as far away as the Rocky Mountains. It reached every government post in that
region. Hundreds of men living on the
plains were employed by this first “chain department store” in our town.
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