Sedan, Kansas – Chautauqua County Seat

Sedan is the county seat and the largest city in Chautauqua County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,000 and a total land area of 0.81 square miles. It is located near the county’s geographical center in Sedan Township, in the Middle Caney River.

The place was settled in 1865. In 1870, Thomas Scurr came into the valley with a load of lumber to build a store. He thought the area looked like his home in Sedan, France, so he named it Sedan.

The town of Sedan was founded in 1871, and a post office was established on April 5, 1871, with James Dasher appointed postmaster. A trading post and mill were established the same year.

As early as 1872, a district school was established, and a school building was constructed on what would later be designated as the townsite.

On February 7, 1873, Sedan’s post office was discontinued due to a lack of patronage and moved to Ross City, about eight miles west of Sedan. That year, Captain Ferris established a small store, which proved unprofitable and was discontinued. He was followed by M.C. Webb and C. Tiffin, who started a general merchandise business.

The post office was reestablished in Sedan on June 23, 1874.

The property upon which the town was founded belonged to F.G. Bowers. A town company, of which L.L. Turner was president, was formed for the building of the town. The leading lights in this organization were Mr. Hewins, Titus Donaldson, Turner, and Boweres.

The county seat was established in Sedan in 1875. As a means of hastening the progress of the place, lots were donated to anyone who would build upon them. After the laying off of a town, the first business house was established by L.G. Getman in the fall of 1875. Before long, the town boasted a store, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a district school, and a few residences. Afterward, more people moved to Sedan from other towns, and tradesmen and professionals arrived in large numbers, resulting in a rapid population growth to several hundred within a short time.

The first news journal established in the town was the Wide Awake, which began its issue in June 1874, by Joseph Mount. However, the newspaper was short-lived, having run only for over a year, when it expired in September 1875.

Sedan became a city of the third class in 1876, and at the election held April 3 of that year, the following officers were chosen: Mayor, A.H. King; clerk, F.P. Addleman; treasurer, J.I. Crouse; attorney, W.H. Tibbits; police judge, G.W. Mullinix; marshal, W.D. Jolley; councilmen, R.S. Turner, J.P. Rhoades, J.W. Sitton, C.S. Tiffin, and J.I. Crouse.

That year, H.B. Kelly completed the new two-story stone county courthouse, and J.I. Crouse started a general store.  The Chautauqua Journal, owned by Kelly and Turner, moved from Elk Falls to Sedan. Mr. Kelly was largely instrumental in securing the county seat and promoting the construction of a courthouse at the expense of those who wished to donate to the cause. The town was platted by a town company of which L.L. Turner was president.

The Methodists were the earliest to establish a church in the town. This was effected in the fall of 1876 by “O Father Record,” a local preacher. The denomination began weak and halting, with only six members, but the few were faithful and kept together, securing sessions as quickly as the possibilities allowed. The first services were held in the school building, where they remained until their church edifice was erected.

The county jail was built in 1877 on the corner of the courthouse square. Until this time, the first school building had served the town for school purposes, but the increasing school population required enlarged accommodations. With this, a two-story addition was appended to the old house, affording it the advantages of three apartments.

The Methodist Church was incorporated on April 22, 1878, at which time immediate steps were taken to erect a church. The effort proved successful, and during the summer of 1878, the building, costing $1,600, was completed ready for occupancy. During the fall, Reverend D.P. Mitchell dedicated the church, and before long, the congregation had grown to 50 members.

The Sedan Times, a six-column folio owned by P.H. Albright, was established in May 1878.

The United Brethren Church was established in Sedan in the summer of 1878 by the Reverend J.B. McCue. Services were initially conducted in the schoolhouse.

In 1878, Sedan had United Brethren, Methodist, and Christian Church organizations, three general stores, a furniture store, a tinner, a flour and saw mill run by steam, a druggist, a livery, a blacksmith, a building company, a bank, four hotels, a livery, a harnessmaker, a restaurant, a book store, a graded school and two primary schools, and was a depot for a branch of the Adams Express Company, from which daily mail was delivered to A.H. King, the postmaster. Professionals included three doctors and three attorneys. The town shipped wheat, hogs, and cattle from the nearest railroad station, which was in Independence, 30 miles away. Its population was about 500.

The Presbyterian Church was organized with ten members in the early spring of 1880, under the direction of Reverend A.H. Lackey of Peabody. Several of the town’s ladies, however, were the prime movers in the work, chief among whom were Mrs. E.A. Merrill and Mrs. M.E. Mathews. The place of organization was the courtroom, where services have been held since then. These services are now conducted by Reverend Reubin Hahn, the congregation numbering 17 members.

The United Brethren Church was built for $2,000 the same year. It was a neat one-story brick building measuring 45 feet in length by 28 feet in width, finished with a towering spire. Reverend John Blake was in charge of the church, which had a membership of 24.

By 1879, Sedan’s population had grown to around 1,400. The wealth of area farmers and ranchers, combined with the arrival of the railroad, prompted Sedan to develop its commercial district; stone and brick buildings rose at an impressive rate throughout the 1880s.

On July 1, 1880, the Sedan Times was sold to A.D. Dunn, who changed its name to the Chautauqua Times on March 1, 1881. The paper soon became a seven-column folio. Initially, it was Democratic in politics but later changed its sentiment, becoming an advocate of Republicanism. It had a circulation of 675 copies.

By the fall of 1880, school enrollment had reached 354 students. At that time, Professor J.B. Sands graded the school, which comprised two primary, two intermediate, and a grammar school department. The instruction afforded was generally regarded as most excellent and efficient under Professor J.B. Sands as Principal, Miss Ada Wellington, teacher of the first primary, Miss Anna Taylor, teacher of the second primary, Miss Belle Taylor, teacher of the first intermediate, and T.W. Tout, teacher of the second intermediate departments.

By the early 1880s, Sedan had a graded school and a steam flour mill operated by M. Liebenburg and Co., with a capital of $3,000.

The Baptist Church was organized in April 1882. This was also chiefly the work of several ladies zealous in the cause, the chief of whom were Mrs. Albright and Mrs. L. Kilmer. The congregation, which is numbered twenty, holds services regularly in the courtroom on the second Sabbath of each month, conducted by Reverend F.L. Walker.

Between 1875 and 1882, the town expanded from a minor country trading post to a city of 100 inhabitants. Large business houses supplied the demands of a wide, extended, and flourishing trade. Substantial brick and stone business blocks adorn the streets, while numerous tasteful residences embellish the outskirts and backyards. An air of neatness, thrift, and enterprise is everywhere; everything speaks favorably for the future of the city.

The Baptist Church was organized in April 1882. This was also chiefly the work of several ladies zealous in the cause, the chief of whom were Mrs. Albright and Mrs. L. Kilmer. The congregation, which is numbered twenty, holds services regularly in the courtroom on the second Sabbath of each month, conducted by Reverend F.L. Walker.

Sedan suffered a setback in 1885 when a flood surrounded the town with water, wiping away many of the outlying houses and farms, and destroying the trading post and mill. The citizens rebuilt, however, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad finally reached Sedan in 1886.

In 1903, oil and gas were discovered near Sedan, prompting another boom.

Soon, forward-looking entrepreneurs recognized the need for accommodations for visitors to the area. The Sedan Commercial Club met in March of 1904 to discuss the possibility of a new hotel in Sedan.

The newspaper account of the meeting also noted:

“Without a good hotel, the town cannot expect anything from the traveling public, and with the rush of the people into the oil fields here this spring, the present accommodations will not be anything like adequate. Every man favored the proposition, and most of them expressed their willingness to help support it.”

This location at the northwest corner of Main and Chautauqua Streets was formally announced as the site of the new hotel in the April 1, 1904, edition of The Sedan Lance.

Soon, the building committee hired contractor A.J. Denick, who had bid $17,600 to design and erect the three-story, U-shaped, two-part commercial block. He agreed to have the building completed in four months from the time the foundation was finished. A.J. Denick had earlier managed the construction of the new opera house. Work on the foundation was subcontracted to Tot Smith for $600. The hotel was erected throughout the closing months of 1904 and officially opened in March of 1905.  The building initially housed a 38-room hotel with a lobby, dining area, and kitchen. There was a small parking area in the rear.

During its 70 years in operation, businessmen and workers associated with the oil, gas, and cattle industries, which have been integral to the local economy, frequented the hotel. The lobby was also used as a bus station for many years. The old hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2007. It is located at 102 N. Chautauqua Street.

“One hundred thirty-five people from Sedan and the neighboring counties attended a banquet hosted by the hotel’s managers, Mr. and Mrs. Brenner. Several businessmen and dignitaries spoke about Sedan and the new hotel. State Senator W. S. Fitzpatrick toasted to the future of Chautauqua County and spoke of the oil interests: ‘I believe the oil field west of Sedan will eclipse the oil field east of Sedan,’ and laughed at the idea of the Standard Oil Company abandoning Kansas saying, ‘Whoever heard of the Standard leaving a thing as good as Kansas?'”

— The Sedan Lance

The same year, the stone opera house at 200 E. Main Street, which had been destroyed by fire, was also rebuilt.

A petition was presented to the city council on May 6, 1904, requesting that they consider installing a sanitary sewer system. At that time, a water works petition was also circulated. On June 10, 1904, a special election was held to issue bonds for the construction of a waterworks and sewer system. The water works system cost $18,000, and the sewer system cost $12,000. The original waterworks system featured a pump station located at the foot of Douglas Street, near the river, and a reservoir situated on Heimbaugh Hill.

When the water system was completed in 1905, it was only used for domestic purposes, not for drinking water. Most homes had wells and cisterns at that time.

The commercial district expanded west of the original downtown area.

In 1905, Sedan made numerous improvements for its citizens. A new water system and new sewers were implemented, and gas service was introduced for heating and cooking.

In 1906, a library and city hall were constructed in town.

 

In 1910, Sedan was still located on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. At that time, it had a weekly newspaper called the Times-Star, two banks, an ice and cold storage plant, a foundry, machine shops, a cigar factory, natural gas for lighting, heating, and commercial purposes, all lines of mercantile endeavor, express and telegraph offices, and an international money order postoffice with three rural routes. Its population was 1,211.

Growth slowed slightly during the 1910s. However, the Wall Building was built in 1914, and the second Chautauqua County Courthouse was built from 1917 to 1918. Designed by George P Washburn & Sons of Ottawa, Kansas, and built by L.F. Nebelong, it was built in the Classical Revival style. The two-story rectangular red brick, limestone, and concrete structure is accompanied by a large portico supported by four high Ionic columns. The building houses the County District Court of the 14th Judicial District. On the west side is a three-story addition. It is situated on spacious, landscaped grounds in the heart of Sedan, at 215 North Chautauqua Street.

During World War I, it was decided to modernize the rooms of the Bradford Hotel with modern plumbing, but materials were not generally available. The owners bought whatever they could get, such as a joint of pipe or connections. By the end of the war, they had acquired enough supplies to complete one floor. However, they had to wait another year to gather enough materials to complete another floor.

By 1920, Sedan’s economy had picked up, and its population peaked that year at 1,885. The Fish Building was constructed in 1921, and the city paved its roads in 1922. Paving the main thoroughfares was necessary because dirt streets could not be maintained or kept in decent condition under heavy traffic.

The Great Depression of the 1930s slowed growth again, but oil, gas, cattle, and hogs kept the area going through World War II and into the latter half of the 20th century.

This old water system was in use until 1935, when the lake was constructed. Lead pipes carried water to a new filter plant, and a water tower was built. The sewer system was constructed concurrently with the water system.

The Bradford Hotel was owned and operated by the Huffman family from the late 1920s through 1941. During this time, the building was known as the Huffman Hotel. The hotel continued to operate until 1974. Throughout its nearly 70 years as a hotel, many groups have stayed at the Bradford Hotel, including men who built pipelines, oil industry workers, military personnel, watershed project personnel, state highway employees, and insurance agents. Several people even made the hotel their home for many years.

Parts of the first-floor offices were used as a dentist’s office and barbershop for several years in the 1950s and 1960s.

After the hotel closed in 1974, a restaurant, a retail shoe shop, and a candy manufacturing shop all operated on the first floor until about 1985. As a result, some interior changes were made to the first floor, including the addition of partition walls and the installation of a heat and air-conditioning system.

In 2001, the Sedan Area Foundation acquired the property with the intention of renovating it into a 32-room hotel with a dining area, lobby, elevator, and gift shop. However, it appears that this work was never completed.

Today, the community is served by the Chautauqua County USD 286 public school district, and its Sedan Jr/Sr High School is located in Sedan. Schools in Chautauqua County were consolidated through school unification.

The buildings along Main Street represent Sedan’s boom age from 1880 through the 1920s.

While in the area, visitors can check out Butcher Falls on Pool Creek, where various cascades begin the drop to the main waterfall before plunging 14 feet over a blocky rock ledge into a large, punchbowl-shaped waterfall. It is approximately five miles northwest of Sedan, located on Road 14.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, June 2025.

 

Also See:

Chautaugua County, Kansas

Chautauqua County Photo Gallery

Cities & Towns of Kansas

Kansas Destinations

Sources:

1878 Gazetteer and Business Directory, R. L. Polk & Co.
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
City of Sedan
Cutler, William G.; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.
National Register of Historic Places
Wikipedia