Hanover, Kansas

 

Hanover, Kansas, is a small town in Washington County. As of the 2020 census, the city’s population was 690, and it had a total area of 0.54 square miles, all land. It is approximately 7.5 miles south of the Nebraska-Kansas state line.

The local area had a significant Native American population. The Pawnee Indians Indians resided west of Hanover; the Kanza Tribe lived to the south; and the Otoe Indians were located to the north.

As early as 1834, the Otoe Tribe relinquished land to the government in fulfillment of a treaty. Although the Otoe were originally located throughout southeastern Nebraska, their main town was once on the Platte River near present-day Plattsmouth in eastern Nebraska. The Moses Merrill Mission was located in this area. When the Nebraska Territory was formed in 1854, the Otoe resigned their remaining land claim, except for a section near the Big Blue River. This became the Otoe Reservation. The Otoe Reservation was a 24-square-mile section straddling the Kansas-Nebraska state line. The majority of the reservation sat in modern-day southeast Jefferson County, Nebraska.

Comprised of 160,000 acres, it extended two miles south of the state line, its full length, into Washington and Marshall Counties, Kansas. In Nebraska, it extended into Jefferson County and Gage County. Altogether, it comprised 250 sections totaling 160,000 acres.

Before the town began, the founders, Gerat H. Hollenberg and Sophia Brockmeyer, settled on a farm originally called “The Cottonwood Ranch” along the Little Blue River in the fall of 1858. Hollenberg had first come to Kansas in the spring of 1854, first settling on the Black Vermillion River in Marshall County at a place later called Bigelow Station. It was here that he met and married Miss Sophia Brockmeyer.

They built their home and ranch on the Fort Kearney Road, where they established a stage depot as a way station, housing nine boarding rooms, a grocery store, a tavern, and an unofficial post office on the Oregon-California Trail.

The region was especially attractive to German speakers and settlers, and when the town was established, Hollenberg continued to draw settlers of German and Czech origin. German settlers often encountered Native American groups such as the Pawnee and Kanza Tribes. Contact between the German settlers and the natives was mainly nonviolent, and few conflicts were reported between the groups. In fact, a substantial amount of trade took place between the settlers and the native groups.

In April 1860, when the Pony Express service was inaugurated, it established a “home station” where riders switched mounts, picked up and delivered mail. Running 2,000 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, it was called “Hollenberg Station”. It was the largest stop along the Pony Express route, and it became an important hub for Pony Express travelers.

The station also served the Butterfield Overland Mail. Hollenberg traded with emigrants on the trails, operated the westernmost Pony Express station in Kansas, and provided relay services for the Overland Mail.

The station operated for only 18 months, closing in October 1861. Amazingly, these young riders carried approximately 35,000 pieces of mail over more than 650,000 miles and only lost one sack of mail during this time.

Its success as a business attracted more people to the area in the decade leading up to the establishment of the nearby town of Hanover.

Hollenberg was still running his ranch during the raids by Indians on travelers and ranchmen in the valley. At this time, he was a Colonel of a Regiment of State Militia and was frequently called upon to lead an expedition against marauding parties of Indians.

In August of 1864, a brutal raid took place when a party of Cheyenne and Arapaho, who were waging war on the whites in western Kansas and Colorado, extended their raids into the valley of the Little Blue River, near a place called Oak Grove, six miles above where Hanover now stands. A family of 10 named Eubanks was murdered and scalped; a man named Kelly was killed at Pawnee Station; Patrick Burk and a man named Butler were killed three miles above Oak Grove, and two other men were killed, and a young lady named Laura Roper was carried into captivity. Colonel Hollenberg and his Regiment of State Militia chased the raiding parties out of the state, toward the head of the Republican River.

Before the Hanover’s establishment in 1868, a school district was formed to educate the children of settlers who continued to arrive in the area.

Hanover gained a post office on January 20, 1868, in Hollenberg’s store, with Gerat Hollenberg’s clerk, George Perkins, serving as the first postmaster.

Hanover was laid out in the spring of 1869 by Gerat Hollenberg, who named it after his hometown in Germany. It was handsomely situated on the north bank of the Little Blue River on an elevated slope overlooking the valley. William Kalhoefer and August Jaedicke were the first to settle upon it, and Jaedicke built the first building, a frame structure, on the south side of what is now the City Park. The building served as living quarters, a general store, and a drug store.

A contemporary of Hollenberg wrote at the time that Hanover represented “just a little bit of Germany” in Kansas Territory.

The Evangelical Association of North America in Hanover was formed in 1870. Meetings had been held in the members’ homes or in the schoolhouse since 1862.

Missionaries had been preaching for a year, but at that time, Jacob Warner and his wife, Jacob Gehring and Conrad Geothring, C. Berner, and others organized the first class in Hanover. All services were held in German. Reverend Mortell, Troyer, P. Fricker, and Schesser had charge from 1870 to 1873.

In 1870, the Herman Brothers and others established a Catholic Church, and the eastern half of the old church was built. Occasional mass was said, but a resident priest did not come until 1874, when Father Weickman took charge.

Additionally, following the relocation of some Native groups to Oklahoma from the nearby Otoe reservation, some land was annexed by Hanover Township, allowing further expansion as more white settlers moved into the area.

In 1870, W. Wendell, Jr., started a blacksmith shop, his uncle having taken a homestead in the spring and returned East for him. In the same year, the Hanover House was built by H. Marguard, Charles Jockers started a brewery, Deviman & Smith started a lumber yard, and other notable improvements were made. The first term of school was also taught this year, which had been erected the previous fall. John Turk was the teacher.

At that time, Hanover had a population of nearly 700 and, besides its business, was blessed with several churches and societies, as well as a weekly newspaper. The Democrat, established by A.B. Bowman, was the first paper published in Hanover. Its first number was issued on November 7, 1871. In January 1872, he removed it to Canon City, Colorado. Baker & Moore started the Caucasian soon after.

In 1871, the St. Joseph & Denver Railroad was extended to Hanover. Up to this time, it had been serviced only by stage.

In 1872, Hanover was made the end of the first division of the St. Joe & Western Railroad, and a round-house and machine shops were erected here. Located at the junction of two railroads, it was an important shipping point. Access to the railroad greatly contributed to Hanover’s economic growth, enabling the expansion of the local grain elevator. The grain elevator’s close connection to the railroad contributed to the town’s growth and initial success.

The Hanover German Society was organized on March 1, 1872, with August Jaedicke, August Neugebauer, William Brandt, W. Wendell, Jr., and H. Marguard as charter members.

In May 1872, Gerat H. Hollenberg purchased the Caucasian newspaper, and it was renamed Enterprise. When P.D. Harman purchased it in August 1872, it became the Western Independent.

Hanover was incorporated as a city of the third class in July 1872.

The German Lutheran Church was organized in 1874 by Reverend Henry Roeoer, William Kalhoefer, and August Jaedicke. In 1875, they began building a church, which was commenced and completed in 1883 for $1,500. Reverend Charles Hawes was the first pastor. The membership was about 30.

In 1874, the Hanover German Society partially built a hall, adding to it and completing it in 1881. It was of brick, and its substantial appearance was an index of the society’s condition. About 30 regular members form the society.

Gerat Hollenberg died on July 1, 1874, at the age of 51 from a hemorrhage of the lungs while on a trip to Germany and was buried at sea. He left $600 to build a city hall, provided the citizens would raise $1,000. The money was secured without difficulty, and the hall was built in 1875. A fire company was organized the same year. Afterward, the Hollenberg was used as a farmstead until 1941.

Under William Kalhoefer’s several administrations as Mayor, the town greatly prospered. It had eight general stores, two hardware stores, three butcher shops, three harness shops, two drug stores, three livery stables, two boot and shoe stores, a jewelry store, a marble yard, a bakery, two restaurants, two hotels, a brewery, two furniture stores, a land office, a barber-shop, an elevator, two lumber-yards, two tailors, two grain buyers, a brick yard, four blacksmith shops, and a paint shop. W.A. Gilson, proprietor of the Washington House, also ran the stage line and carried the mail between Washington and Hanover.

In July 1876, Father John Pichler assumed control of the Catholic Church. Through his energy, a schoolhouse and residence were built during this summer and fall. The school opened in November. In 1877, the old church was enlarged to twice its regular size. Soon, a new fine brick church began to be built. was commenced. The structure was not entirely completed until the fall of 1880, and Bishop Fink of Leavenworth, Kansas, dedicated the building. Father Pichler’s congregation is the strongest in the county, numbering about 250 families.

The Hanover News, established in 1877, reported current events in the Hanover area. It was published weekly for more than 140 years.

In November 1877, E.N. Emmons purchased the Western Independent newspaper and rechristened it the Sun. J.M. Hood came into possession in April 1878 and named his purchase the Democrat. The paper was a neat six-column paper, is of home print, and is well patronized as a local and a county paper.

A new schoolhouse was built in 1878 for $3,000. About 200 students attended it, under Principal J.G. Binder.

In 1879, the Evangelical Church building was erected in Hanover. In 1880, Reverend D.R. Zellner was appointed to the mission, and a parsonage was erected.

That year, a new treaty with the federal government granted the Otoe legal authority to sell the reservation for tribal annuities and relocate to “Indian country” in Oklahoma.

The Methodists had a good society and erected a brick church in 1880. Reverend J.N. McNulty, of Hollenberg, was their pastor. The Baptists also had an organization and worshipped in the Methodist Episcopal Church building.

By the early 1880s, a new schoolhouse was built for $8,000.

In the fall of 1882, the Otoe Reservation was disbanded, and the “undeveloped” land was put for sale. The few remaining Otoe were of mixed backgrounds and quickly integrated with the new settlers, most notably the Barneses, of French and Otoe backgrounds.

On May 31, 1883, 50,000 acres of the Otoe and Missouri Indian Reservation in Kansas and Nebraska were opened for settlement at a public sale.

When the Otoe tribal lands were sold in 1883, the land sold for a record-high average of $12.22 per acre. By comparison, most other Native American tribes in the central and northern Great Plains were paid only 10¢ per acre. Some Otoe Indians were relocated to Red Rock, Oklahoma, while many mixed-race Otoe Indians were integrated into the local German community.

In 1890, Hanover was on the St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad, 127 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri.

In 1910, Hanover, an incorporated city, was at the junction of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and the St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad, which made it an important shipping point for a rich agricultural district. At that time, the city had electric lights, waterworks, public and Catholic schools, two banks, two weekly newspapers — the Democrat-Enterprise and the Herald, an international money order post office with four rural routes, express, telegraph, and telephone facilities, a bottling works, several good mercantile establishments, hotels, and its population peaked at 1,039.

Until World War I, many residents of Hanover and the surrounding area continued to speak their native languages. However, the war abruptly changed the status of the German language. Its use did not die out entirely, but it became socially unacceptable in public, and the community’s youth had little opportunity to practice it.

However, to this day, many German traditions remain an important aspect of the town’s identity.

On a Sunday afternoon in December 1921, Hanover residents listening to their radios were surprised to hear music by local musicians coming through their receiving sets. Investigation disclosed that the program was, in reality, being aired right here in Hanover. William Ellis, manager of the local telephone exchange, had built a radio broadcasting set, and for the next two or three years, Hanover citizens were frequently treated to programs aired in Hanover. Among musicians most often heard were the bands and other ensembles mentioned before, vocalists, O.D. Welch, local photographer, and his son, O.D. Welch, Jr., of Washington; Marvin Koeneke of Bremen, and other local talent. At one time, the set was hooked up in the Evangelical United Brethren Church, and an entire Palm Sunday service and program were broadcast. Records show that this form of local entertainment lasted until 1923.

In 1941, Hollenberg Station was purchased by the state of Kansas. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. In 1963, turned over to the Kansas State Historical Society for maintenance and management. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The site is open between March and October.

The Hollenberg Pony Express Station is the only remaining building along the 2,000-mile route, and it continues to stand one mile northeast of Hanover. The building has never been moved and retains its original dimensions.

The station consists of a one-and-a-half-story rectangular Cottonwood frame building with a gabled roof, a wooden shingled exterior, and a stone foundation. The building is organized into six rooms: four served as the Hollenberg family residence, one as a shop, and the last as a bar and tavern. The loft area served as a sleeping area for riders of the Pony Express and guests. The building was historically accompanied by a stable and a blacksmith’s shop. The Hollenberg Pony Express Station is located about two miles east of Hanover, Kansas, along Kansas Highway 243.

In 1947, Hanover’s only practicing physician collapsed and died of a heart attack. In the next year, citizens of Hanover made unsuccessful attempts to convince a young doctor to move to their community to provide healthcare. In December 1948, the Hanover Business Men’s Club, the town’s commercial organization, held a series of public meetings to discuss possible solutions. They concluded that, to attract a doctor, Hanover needed to establish hospital facilities. As a result, they decided to create a hospital district rather than rely on voluntary investments to fund the construction of modern medical facilities.

A committee of three men was named to investigate all legal and other problems involved in establishing a district. An area extending four miles in each direction from Hanover was laid out. Subcommittees were formed to contact all eligible voters to obtain the necessary signatures on a petition to establish a hospital district. More than 80% of the eligible voters signed the petition. The petition was approved by the County Commissioners of Washington County on March 14, 1949, thereby creating the hospital district to be known as Washington County Hospital District No. 1.

The board of directors successfully persuaded a young doctor to come to town. He was Dr. Daniel S. Roccaforte, age 27, a graduate of the medical school of Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, who had practiced for about two years in the Cornazzo Surgical Clinic in Omaha. He opened his office here on March 1, 1949, and consulted with the board on plans for a clinic.

When the Korean War broke out, Dr. Roccaforte served in the military. During the ensuing months, numerous meetings were held, the first of which was to select a suitable location. Lots were selected, west across the street from the northwest corner of the City Park, and architects and engineers were contacted to determine the type, size, and cost of a suitable building.

On May 14, 1949, a Special Election was held to vote on a bond issue of $35,000.00, which carried by a vote of 448 to 176. Bids for the construction of the building were received in August 1949, ranging from $34,513 to $47,600. The low bidder was C.W. Strand of Marysville, Kansas, who was awarded the contract.

When complete, an Open House was held on March 13, 1950, with nearly 2,000 people inspecting the new building. That day, over $800 was donated to the hospital fund. The building was 38 feet by 59 feet, with a 10-bed hospital unit on the main floor. This included an operating room, two 3-bed surgical and medical wards, one 3-bed obstetrical ward, and a single-bed isolation ward. Additionally, a reception room, business office, nurse station, medical laboratory, nurses’ dressing room, public restroom, and surgeon’s dressing room were provided. On the lower floor were the kitchen, heating plant, offices, examination rooms, X-ray department, reception room for patients, and two dentist operating rooms with an office.

When the Korean War ended in 1953, Dr. Roccaforte returned and served at the hospital, as did other Korean War veterans: Doctors White, Haley, Gerald Mowry, Roger Warren, and Berkley.

In December, 1953, the city voted to build a high school auditorium and add more classrooms.

In August 1958, it was proposed to construct an addition to the Hanover Hospital, measuring 36.5 feet long by 38 feet wide. In addition, a 16.5-wide ambulance driveway would be provided at the south end. The estimated cost of $50,000 would provide all the facilities that the State Board of Health then required.

On November 14, 1958, voters approved the $50,000 Bond Issue by a vote of 321 to 115, and in April 1959, it was announced that the Hospital Addition was scheduled to be completed by August 25, 1959, for $46,636.36 plus architects’ fees of 6%.

On August 6, 1960, Hanover Hospital employed eight people.

More recent improvements include a new post office in 1961, the city swimming pool in 1963, and new buildings built by Bruna Brothers, Sedlacek’s, and the Farmers Co-op Elevator, all of which have altered and improved the business district.

​Another addition occurred in May 1965, when voters approved the issuance of Hospital District bonds for $29,850 by a vote of 211 to 103. This money was to be used to add more facilities to the lower-floor clinic department, including an accident and emergency treatment room and the enlargement and improvement of existing spaces.

On April 18, 1967, voters approved a $198,500 Bond Issue to help finance a 33-bed long-term care addition to the present 12-bed hospital by a vote of 357 to 332. The total cost was $360,000, of which $160,000 in Federal funds would be approved under the Hill-Burton Act and $20,000 in voluntary donations. The new addition increased the hospital’s capacity to 49 beds for acute and long-term patient care.

Late in 1968, the American Legion completed a new hall, and an 18-unit low-cost housing development is now under construction at the east edge of town.

In 1969, as Hanover celebrated her 100th birthday, it boasted a business community of two railroads, a bank, a hospital with two doctors and a dentist; a furniture and two appliance dealers, two electric shops, a barber shop, three beauty shops, a shopping center, which included both groceries and dry goods; a grocery market; a lumber yard, three filling stations, a locker plant, two ceramic shops, two cafes, a grain elevator and a feed and seed store; a sand and gravel company, a laundromat, a cleaning establishment, a plumber, two insurance agencies, five garages, a car wash, a tavern, a liquor store, aconstruction company, a drug store, one newspaper, an implement dealer, two produce dealers, a cabinet maker, three kennels, and a salvage company.

Since 2016, Hanover Hospital has continued to grow and improve its facilities, equipment, and services. On March 1, 2018, Warren Clinic was converted to a Provider-Based Rural Health Clinic while keeping its name.

Today, Hanover Hospital has about 80 on its payroll—from specialists and physicians to registered nurses, nurse anesthetists, office staff, accountants, and anesthesiologists.

Hanover is proud of its Hospital, and of the many people who donated so generously of their time, labor, and financial assistance over the years.

The Hanover News went out of business in 2019.

Today, the community and nearby rural areas are served by the Barnes–Hanover–Linn USD 223 public school district.

Hanover has Weecat Preschool, Hanover Public School (K-12), and St. John’s Catholic School (1-8). Most Hanover children begin their education at the Hanover Weecat Preschool, located in the basement of St. John’s Catholic School. Children attend kindergarten in Hanover Public School. In first grade, the Hanover children are separated into different schools. The predominantly Lutheran population remains in Hanover Public School, while the predominantly Catholic population attends St. John’s Catholic School from first through eighth grade.

After eighth grade, children attend Hanover High School, a small 1A high school with 79 students. Several Hanover High School students compete at the national level in Future Business Leaders of America and at the state level, as well as in other activities such as scholar bowl. The high school also competes well in sports such as basketball, football, and track, and has won many state championships in the Kansas 1A Division 2. Many Hanover students complete dual-credit courses at Cloud County Community College during high school.

Hanover has a small public library located in the basement of the city hall.

Hanover is about 12 miles northeast of Washington, the county seat.

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Almost from the very first, emigration to the new townsite was gratifyingly plentiful. Among the earliest to arrive was a wagon train from Fort Madison, Iowa, headed by Joseph Herynk, a stone mason, his wife, and 8-year-old daughter, Rosina Herynk. Joseph Herynk and Jerry Herynk drove a team of small mules, but all the other covered wagons were drawn by oxen, says Rosa Munger, who is a daughter of the youthful Rosina. Other wagons of the train were driven by Tom Hora, John J. Schwartz, Ignatz Masat, Martin Kemper, John Turk, Wenzel Bestak, and Thomas Klecan.
Twelve families in all made up this first wagon train of settlers, and others followed.

With the coming of the railroad, emigration to the rapidly developing community received a real boost. A Catholic missionary, Father John Pichler, a genius at colonization, wrote letters to friends in the eastern states describing the needs of the infant town–perhaps a carpenter, a miller, a stone mason–whatever requirement appeared imminent, and they came, and many had families. Father Pichler’s letters praised the advantages of the community, its beautiful setting, its fertile land, which could be bought for $2.00 to $3.00 an acre. And emigrants from the east responded by arriving in great numbers.

The railroad also got into the act. On September 14, 1871, it staged one of the biggest, most widely advertized land auctions ever known in this part of the country, running daily excursions to bring people in for the sale.

The editor of the Hanover Independent wrote, “Standing on the platform when the Excursion train came in on Wednesday morning, one would have thought he was in New York City. Some 440 from H. were there.” The “H” presumably stood for Hanover. And the newcomers did buy land. As a result of these promotions, the little town grew rapidly.

Most of these new settlers were German Catholics, and, for many years, only German was spoken, at least in the homes and churches. Linguistically, Hanover Germans remained expert in their mother tongue until the First World War, but in the town proper, they were, to a large extent, bilingual. Most children born after 1890 were taught to speak English and frequently failed to speak German fluently. Dialects from all over Germany were heard, but, since most of those who emigrated to Hanover came from either Hanover or Oldenburg, Germany, low German was more common in everyday intercourse. Some Bohemian was also spoken, but, gradually, English came to be used mostly in business transactions.

 

Scarcely had the new town established its identity as a community when those early settlers turned their attention to the education of their children. A school district was organized in 1868, before the town was even laid out

In 1869, the first school building was built at the north edge of the original town of Hanover, a one-story stone building, and John Turk, one of the Madison, Iowa, wagon train drivers, was the first teacher. Because of two courthouse fires in Washington County, one in 1870 and the other in 1872, the earliest records were destroyed, but most historians think the first term of school was taught in 1870. But due to the rapid growth of the town, the school population soon outgrew the little stone schoolhouse, and, in 1879, another school building was constructed and occupied the following year.
Nor were the religious needs of the community neglected. As early as 1868, a Catholic priest, Rev. Remmele, visited Washington County and found eight Catholic families in the area who banded together to become the nucleus of Hanover’s Catholic church. In 1870, a Catholic church was built. St. John’s church was built in 1879.

 

As early as 1890, there had been agitation for an English-language church, and, as a result, a Methodist congregation built a church in 1895, which was later combined with the Evangelical Society to form the Evangelical United Brethren church.

Many of Hanover’s early settlers were Lutherans, and in 1874, a German Lutheran church was organized. Their building was completed in 1876. It was called Zion Lutheran. Later, both St. John’s Catholic and Zion Lutheran had parochial schools.

In July 1872, Hanover was transformed from a pioneer village to a city of the third class.

With a “population of over 200 and less than 2,000”, it was lawfully eligible to incorporate as a city of the third class, and a majority of the qualified voters of Hanover petitioned the district judge for an order for such incorporation in the early summer of 1872. The order came through, dated July 5, 1872, and signed by Andrew S. Wilson, Judge of the District Court of the 12th Judicial District of the State of Kansas. It was also ordered that the first City Election be held on July 16, and Henry Marquard, John Borgman, and Arnold Niggiman were appointed as election judges.
For some reason, not recorded, the election was delayed until August 20. T.H. Smith was elected Hanover’s first mayor. Councilmen chosen were James Smith, John Winkleman, J. B. Dingman, Henry Hellman, and William Brandt. John Borgman was named city clerk; August Jaedicke, treasurer; William Kalhoefer, police judge; and John Pieper, marshal.
Between 1872 and 1880, city elections were held annually rather than every two years, as they have been since.

G. H. Hollenberg, in his own history of Washington County, wrote:

 

Of Hanover, he wrote:

“Located, as Hanover is, in one of the most densely populated and best agricultural regions, the beautiful, high rolling ground overlooking the grand valley of the Little Blue, it is an inspiring site for a growing and important town. Contiguous to the town on the west runs the clear and rapid waters of the Little Blue, with fall and volume of water sufficient to propel almost any amount of machinery … Our educational advantages are almost as good as can be found anywhere in the state. A fine stone schoolhouse graces one of the town’s beautiful eminences, situated on one of the more prominent natural rises that characterize it. We have a beautiful little Catholic church located on a hill where the spire can be seen over the town, pointing toward heaven. . .”

That first little store building erected by August Jaedicke and William Kalhoefer was only the beginning of Hanover’s business community. The year 1870 saw new businesses springing up around what is now the square, like mushrooms.

W. Wendell started a blacksmith shop; Henry Marquard built an imposing hotel, first called the Hanover House, but later known as the Marquard Hotel; Charley Jokers started a brewery; Deviman & Smith, a lumber yard; Joseph Klecan, a shoe shop; Theodore Stallbories, a meat market; August Neugebauer, Sr., a wagon shop, and Dr. Louis Moll, a drug store.

Milling, too, was an important industry in those early days. As early as 1863, a sawmill was erected, and the following year, a burr was added for the purpose of grinding corn. In 1885, a roller mill was built.

But “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” then as well as now, and those early Hanoverans loved a good time. Many had come out to secure land and get settled, leaving their families to follow later. This could have led to a lonely life. To meet this need, the German Turner Verein was organized to provide a meeting place for men of the new settlement where they might indulge in gymnastics and other social interchange to lighten their leisure hours. In 1874, they built their own Turner Hall, which over the years has been the scene of many forms of entertainment.

Organization of Das Deutsche Maenner Verein is also mentioned as a club where the youth of the community, as well as their elders, might meet socially and learn all phases of correct social behavior.
The first newspaper, the Hanover Ledger, was published in 1871 by W. Bowman. In 1874, August Jaedicke and Louis Moll started a paper which they called the Hanover Pioneer, changing the name two years later to the Hanover Independent.
E.N. Emmons began publication of a paper in 1877, which he named the Washington County Sun, and it continued for just twenty-two weeks before he sold it to J. M. Hood, who called his paper the Hanover Democrat, a name it carried for many years. The next editor was A. B. Campbell, who published the Democrat from 1894 until 1899, when he sold it to James Pontius.

In 1900, Dillie O. Munger, who had previously been associated here with J. M. Hood, came up from Blue Rapids, expecting to make a deal with Pontius for the Democrat. When this transaction fell through, he established his own newspaper, which he called the Hanover Herald. When Mr. Munger died in 1937, Mrs. Munger, her son, Charles, and daughters, Lora and Rosa, formed a corporation and continued publication until 1948, when they sold to B. H. Dieker.

James Pontius continued publishing the Democrat until 1916, when he was followed by H. R. Fulton, then M. C. Peters, and, in 1912, by Frank LaShelle, who sold it to Omar R. Henderson in 1919.

In 1921, B. H. Dieker bought the Democrat and, assisted by his sons, Bill and Leo, published it until his death, when Leo Dieker assumed full control.
When the Mungers sold the Herald to the Diekers in 1948, the two papers were merged, and the name changed to the Hanover News, which was then published by Leo Dieker until July, 1967, when the present owners and publishers, Robert L. and Dora Ann Sand, purchased it, taking possession on August 1, just a few short weeks before Leo Dieker’s death. Thus, it appears that Hanover has been served by at least one newspaper since 1874, and, since 1877, by its present news media.

In 1872, G. H. Hollenberg and another pioneer resident, J. A. Clapp, donated land on which the town of Hollenberg was built.

Two calamitous events marked the year 1874. The one, the grasshopper invasion, affected not only Hanover, but this entire area of the country. The hungry hoppers descended suddenly, darkening the entire landscape and devouring everything in sight–crops, clothing, even the handles of the pitchforks, axes, and other implements. The land, for miles around, was devastated.

Late in July 1874, came the shocking news that G. H. Hollenberg, founder of Hanover, was dead.

In June of that year, Hollenberg, in failing health, decided to travel back to his native land with the dual purpose of regaining his health and encouraging more of his compatriots to emigrate to his new community. On July 1, 1874, he embarked from New York on the steamer Bolivia, whose first stop was Glasgow. When, but four hours out at sea, he became violently ill with “Hemorrhages of the lungs” and died about midnight, July 1, 1874, at the age of 51. He was buried at sea the next morning, the service being read by the captain of the Bolivia.

News of Hollenberg’s death reached Hanover in a letter to P. D. Hartman, who, “with a handful of type and a hand press”, had started a newspaper here in the late 60’s or early 70’s. Before Hollenberg left on his voyage, Hartman gave him papers, designating him as the correspondent of his little paper. When Hollenberg died, a fellow passenger, J. L. Daws, saw the papers and wrote to Hartman, giving details of his death and burial. Hartman immediately published an extra edition of his Hanover Enterprise, announcing:

In January, ’79, the editor noted that “the ice business is booming and the harvest a rich one. A large amount is being put up by a large number of people. in very fine condition. The city intends to keep cool next summer.”
One man must have neglected to harvest his share of ice, though. It was reported that “Charley Jokers went to St. Joe to make arrangements for obtaining St. Joe beer. . .Charley can’t make beer this summer because he put up no ice last winter.”
In May, ’79, editorial comment was, “We took a stroll through Habig’s Pottery establishment and brick yard. . . He is running a full force of hands making bricks and is placing a fine lot of flower vases in the kiln for burning. Mr. Habig manufactures a large amount of stoneware of very good quality.” Thus, we see that the Hanover industry continued apace.

No history of Hanover would be complete without mention of outlying communities, usually growing up around churches. One such is the Hermansburg community north of Bremen, built up by German Lutheran farmers who, in 1869, organized the Hermansburg Emmanuel Lutheran Church, which has since been the center of their social, cultural, and religious life. It also maintains its own parochial school, and this year, 1969, is celebrating its own Centennial.

The mother church is now surrounded by a number of churches which branched off from the original congregation: Trinity Lutheran, 5-1/2 miles northwest in 1880; Zion congregation in Herkimer in 1892; Bethlehem Lutheran, 5-1/2 miles northeast in 1901.
In 1880, a band of sturdy German Lutheran farmers, living in the area watered by Horseshoe Creek, established Trinity Lutheran Church. Previously, these Lutherans had attended Hermansburg Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Placing a high esteem on education, they also established a parochial school, which they still maintain. The first regularly employed teacher of this school was M. F. Lueders, who was also an early-day leader of the famous Horseshoe Farmers Band.

This band, whose first conductor was William Meyer, a farmer living near Gerardy, has long been an entertainment feature in this part of the county, playing for dances, entertainments of all kinds, and, since Hanover’s first Annual Celebration in 1932, has never missed a parade. Martin E. Meyer, who has conducted the band for the past 25 years, says they plan to ride on a float this year that will portray the band’s history from its founding in 1909 to the present, as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.

Hanover’s first city hall was built in 1875, and in its basement was the town’s first jail.

Shortly after the town was incorporated, Barney Dingman was appointed town marshal. Frequently, troublemakers needed to be locked up, but the town had no jail, so a room in the basement of Dingman’s home was equipped with heavy, calaboose doors and bars placed on the windows, and miscreants who came afoul of the law were literally “thrown into the cooler”. The present City Hall was a P.W.A. project, completed and dedicated in 1939.

In 1883, W.J. Schwartz founded the Schwartz general store, which, now owned by Charles J. Schwartz, has been greatly enlarged and modernized. From Schwartz’s store on Gospel Hill, it has become the large, modern “Schwartz’s Shopping Center” and is considered the oldest Hanover business under continuous family ownership.

August Jaedicke was president of the Hanover State Bank, with A.J. Whitmore, vice-president, and August Jaedicke, Jr., as cashier.

For the first 23 years after Hanover’s incorporation, water for all needs was provided by wells and cisterns, so the need for a water system was felt early in the town’s history. An early day editor wrote: “As to protection against fire, Hanover is all right except water. She has engines, hooks, ladders, buckets, hose, and all the paraphernalia for efficient work, but where is the water?”… and another editorial comment, “The city fathers should go to work and start saving up money for the purpose of securing a water supply. We are at the mercy of flames. Because we have had but few fires for some years, there is no reason we may not.”

In 1895, the first water system was built. Afterward, it was improved and enlarged several times, and a water softener was installed.

That year, the Methodist Church was completed.

 

In 1899, Mueller & Co. and H.O. Janicke organized the city’s first telephone company, the Hanover Telephone Company.

In 1904, reins of the Telephone Company were turned over to August Jaedicke, Jr.

The Telephone Company remained privately and locally owned until 1927, when it was bought by the Western Telephone Company. The Hanover Telephone Exchange later became part of Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. and, in 1956, was converted to the dial system.

From the very beginning, industry developed rapidly in the new community. There was a flour mill run by C.S. Chapman; a brick yard by Henry Wuelff; two carpenters, J. Beckwith and F. Salin; two painters, Hartman and Haug. The town had three physicians, Drs. Jacobs, Koenig, and Moll. By 1901, the town had grown to a population of 1,148, including 325 school-age children. Among its businesses were eight general stores, two furniture stores, 3 drug, stores, 3 hardware stores, two undertakers, three implement firms, two banks, four millinery stores, three harness shops, two jewelry stores, three hotels, three restaurants, two lumber yards, two grain and coal firms, two shoe shops, three barber shops, two livery barns, one photograph gallery, one pop factory, eight ice houses, a marble and granite works and three real estate firms.
There were also a dray line, two railroad depots, two stock yards, a fine city hall and park, one Turner Hall and park, one Woodman Insurance hall, three private halls, a railroad roundhouse and machine shops, two pump houses, a post office, three school houses, four churches, and 22 benevolent societies.

The railroads have always been a boon to Hanover. From the time the St. Joseph & Denver railroad was extended to Hanover in 1871 to the present day, railroading has been an important industry here. The St. Joseph & Denver, later to become a part of the Union Pacific system, maintained a roundhouse and machine shops west of the tracks. In 1894, the Burlington also came into Hanover. Two huge feedlots were built to handle the hundreds of carloads of sheep, cattle, and horses passing through daily.

Old timers will tell you how, after Hanover became a Union Pacific Railroad division point, as many as one hundred carloads of sheep would be unloaded at the sheep pens where the ball park now stands, then fed, watered, and reloaded in one day.

Today, railroad transportation has sped up immeasurably, thus eliminating the need for feeding and watering of stock en route, but still a great deal of livestock is shipped by rail, especially hogs from Kansas City and St. Joseph to Salt Lake City and the west coast. But the bulk of railroad freight has switched from livestock to cars, machinery, lumber, fresh fruits and vegetables, and miscellaneous, according to Robert Springer, local U. P. agent.
Passenger service, though, once the envy of other nearby towns, has dwindled to nothing, although there was a time when everyone, traveling by rail, had to change cars here.

Hanover had its first electric lights in 1910. The city built its first powerhouse and street lighting system, making electricity available to its citizens, and maintained the system until 1927, when it was sold to the Kansas Power & Light Co., which continues to serve the city with electricity.

In 1919, the city council, believing that the health of the community could best be maintained by installing a sanitary sewer system, passed an ordinance calling for the construction of a modern sewer system capable of accommodating a large increase in the town’s population.
Among the industries that have come and gone through the years is the Hanover Canning Co., which opened for business in 1904, canning tomatoes, sweet corn and jack rabbits until 1912, when due to a shortage of these products, it ceased canning and was sold to The Standard Products Co. After changing hands several times, the plant became the property of Wilson & Co., and in 1928, Perry Packing Co., which operated here until 1953, when it was moved to Marysville, throwing some one hundred people out of work.

Hanover’s first picture show, a silent movie, was shown in the building now occupied by Gus Kuck; the next location was in a building just west of the P & P Market. The first talking pictures were shown in a garage, just north of Bill’s Mobil Station.

In February 1937, Ben Dingman opened the Kaw Theatre in the building west of the drug store. John Jacoby operated it for eight months, until September 1937, when Ollie Flaherty took it over. It was closed on December 2, 1956.

 

One of the older businesses still in operation is Dingman’s Drug Store, opened by John Dingman in 1894, two doors west of the present location. Ben Dingman joined his brother in 1912, and they moved the store to its present location. In 1954, upon Ben Dingman’s death, Elmer Turk, the present owner, acquired the business.

The large number of young men who joined the U.S. forces in World War I was one expression of the patriotism that all felt for their adopted country. Those who remained at home purchased war bonds with a will, and the women joined the Red Cross and tirelessly sewed, knitted, and made surgical dressings as their part of the war effort.

As the men returned home, singly or in groups, they were welcomed with speeches and other oratory, and were serenaded by one or more of the town’s bands. Later, most of these men became members of Hanover’s active American Legion Post, Clement T. Farrell, Post No.306, as did Hanover veterans of World War II and the Korean War.

Another Hanover organization that has done much to promote and preserve the town’s safety is the Hanover Fire Co. Organized in 1886 by volunteer firemen, it has, for 83 years, done a heroic job of fighting fires that might otherwise have proved disastrous.

Much of Hanover’s later history has transpired within the lifetime of most of her present citizenry. “All those things which are held to be of greatest antiquity were at one time new”, and today’s events will be history to coming generations. But even now, some years stand out as eventful.

In 1931, a Catholic grade school was built near St. John’s church. In 1940, an impressive grotto was added, and in 1961, the old convent, built in 1882, was replaced with a new one.

In 1949, a bond election provided funds to build a clinic to be leased to a doctor, and in 1958, another such election assured an addition to the hospital. A 38-bed addition is now in the planning stage.

The year 1953 was one of great progress, according to all reports. In January, Hanover Hospital District purchased a new Autoclave; Hanover’s Wildcats won the A-team county championship. March came in like a lion, dumping eight inches of snow on the city. In April, all churches in the city united for Holy Week services.
In June of that year, the paving was completed, and curb and gutter were installed on Denver Ave., one of the most outstanding improvements the city had seen.

In July, the Friendship Home Demonstration unit sponsored the beginning of Hanover’s Library and Hanover’s Annual Celebration, now called the “Days of ’49”, staged a mile-long parade which attracted 15,000 people and caused a traffic jam that extended four miles south to US-36.

 

 

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated May 2026.

Also See:

Haunted Hollenberg Station, Kansas

Towns & Cities of Kansas

Washington County, Kansas

Washington County Photo Gallery

Sources:

Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Cutler, William G; History of Kansas; A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883.

Hanover Centennial – 1869-1969
Hanover Hospital
Wikipedia – Hanover
Wikipedia – Hollenberg Pony Express Station
Wikipedia – Otoe Reservation