Our Past Is Present November 7, 2018

November 7, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            Today’s story is about the brief existence of Army City.  Our story begins when the United States declared war against Germany on April 6, 1917. Immediately the whole country was mobilized and massive war preparations were begun.  One of the major areas to be developed was at Fort Riley where the large meadow along the Kansas River east of the Main Post was designated as the site for the largest of three mobilization centers planned for the nation’s heartland. 

            It was named “Camp Funston” after General Frederick Funston, a Kansan who had gained fame during the Spanish American War.  The cantonment was started in July and completed by December of 1917.  It became home for over 60,000 doughboys of the American Expeditionary Force’s 89^th Division.

            Arthur D. Jellison was a financier from Wilson, Kansas, who had become the new owner and president of Central National bank.  He set out to acquire lots in Ogden and other regions near Fort Riley. 

            Camp Funston was located in the Ogden Flats.  A group of local businessmen met to form a town company and plat the town into streets and lots.  It was to be called Kellyville after the former owner of the land, but within days the newspapers informed the public that the official name would be Army City.

            Two theaters which would seat 1,200 and 3,000 people respectively, eateries, banks, and services were built up as both Army City and Camp Funston simultaneously grew.  Soldiers came and went and so did Army City.  There were various epidemics and related quarantines, training and deployments, which made it difficult to anticipate or predict business patronage. 

            By August of 1918 the Army City businesses were barely making ends meet.  The 89^th Division had shipped out, the war was drawing to a close and sweethearts, wives and others were going home.  There were flash floods and even a devastating fire, which wiped out portions of the business district in August of 1920.  It was announced by the government in 1921 that Camp Funston would be closed and dismantled. 

            In 1922, after only five years, Army City surrendered its charter as a city and passed out of existence.    And… that’s today’s story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.