July 31, 2017
You are reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
Yesterday’s story was about the early days of Junction City. Perhaps many of our listeners do not know how and why Junction City got its name. So… in today’s story those questions will be answered.
Junction City got its name because of its position at the junction of two rivers – the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers. In 1854, Andrew J. Mead from New York, the Cincinnati-Manhattan Company and Free Staters with a connection to the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company, planned a community at what is now Junction City. They were going to call it Manhattan. There was even some discussion about calling it New Cincinnati. However, when the steamship, Hartford, which was delivering the immigrants, could not reach the community because of low water on the Kansas River, the Free Staters settled 20 miles west in what is today Manhattan. The new community, which is now Junction City, was renamed Millard City for Captain Millard of the Hartford steamship on October 3, 1855. Then it was briefly renamed Humboldt in 1857 by local farmers and renamed yet again later that year – Junction City. Junction City was incorporated in 1859. If you haven’t had time to visit our Museum yet this summer, we hope you will do so as soon as you can. Our Museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays between the hours of 1 and 4 in the afternoon. Admission is free and the air conditioners work really well for the protection of our artifacts and your comfort. The Museum is located at the corner of Sixth and Adams. Thanks for reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
You are reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
Yesterday’s story was about the early days of Junction City. Perhaps many of our listeners do not know how and why Junction City got its name. So… in today’s story those questions will be answered.
Junction City got its name because of its position at the junction of two rivers – the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers. In 1854, Andrew J. Mead from New York, the Cincinnati-Manhattan Company and Free Staters with a connection to the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company, planned a community at what is now Junction City. They were going to call it Manhattan. There was even some discussion about calling it New Cincinnati. However, when the steamship, Hartford, which was delivering the immigrants, could not reach the community because of low water on the Kansas River, the Free Staters settled 20 miles west in what is today Manhattan. The new community, which is now Junction City, was renamed Millard City for Captain Millard of the Hartford steamship on October 3, 1855. Then it was briefly renamed Humboldt in 1857 by local farmers and renamed yet again later that year – Junction City. Junction City was incorporated in 1859. If you haven’t had time to visit our Museum yet this summer, we hope you will do so as soon as you can. Our Museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays between the hours of 1 and 4 in the afternoon. Admission is free and the air conditioners work really well for the protection of our artifacts and your comfort. The Museum is located at the corner of Sixth and Adams. Thanks for reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.
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