Burlington, Kansas – Coffey County Seat

 

Burlington, Kansas, is a city in and the county seat of Coffey County on the Neosho River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,634, and it had a total area of 2.21 square miles, of which 2.20 square miles is land and 0.01 square miles is water.

The Burlington Town Company was organized in Lawrence, Kansas, in the fall of 1856 by C.W. Babcock and B.W. Woodward.

In January, 1857, Oscar E. Learnard, F.A. Atherly, A.H. Vince, Edward Murdock, H.W. Watrous, John Bishop, and others arrived. They were the first occupants of the townsite. They boarded with Charles Morse, across the river, three miles distant.

The first steam sawmill in the county was built in Burlington in the spring of 1857. It was removed from Hampden, to which place it had been sent by the Emigrant Aid Company. It was moved because it could not be operated at Hampden due to the lack of water.

At about the same time, Dr. Samuel G. Howe, the philanthropist and husband of Julia Ward Howe, acquired a section of 640 acres, adjoining the townsite on the west. Part of it was surveyed into lots, sold, and incorporated into the town. Several houses and businesses were built, and a bridge was constructed across the Neosho River.

In the summer of 1857, Dr. Manson and Dr. Venard arrived and took claims near town. Dr. Manson erected an office for himself on Hudson Street. George W. Stevens erected a store building. A Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in July 1857 by Reverend M. Fennimore, with seven members. Judson A. Walkling erected a storehouse that opened on August 7, 1857, to stock general merchandise.

The first county seat of county government was established in LeRoy in 1857, and it was moved several times between Burlington, LeRoy, and Hampden.

On February 16, 1858, the post office was moved from the now-extinct town of Hampden to Burlington.

The bridge over the Neosho River was carried away by a freshet in 1859. Burlington was organized as a village that year.

In September 1859, S.S. Prouty arrived in Coffey County with his family and a printing press, having arranged with Burlington’s citizens to establish a newspaper there. In return for publishing a newspaper for one year, he was promised 25 town lots, a guarantee of 300 subscribers at $2.00 each, and free rent for a house and office. However, when he arrived on September 6, the houses were not ready. Prouty was allowed to temporarily store his belongings in a vacant first story of a small building that would later become part of the Central Hotel. However, Mr. Slayton, who lived in the second story, ordered him to leave. Prouty planned to camp outside the town and consider moving to Le Roy instead, where he had received better offers.

On May 19, 1863, the county seat was removed to Hampden by an overwhelming majority vote. The next day, S.S. Prouty, who was then at home, temporarily absent from the army, said he would put up $500 for the purpose of erecting a building for a woolen carding mill and purchasing the machinery necessary to put it in operation. This gave the struggling town renewed hope and convinced her enemies that Burlington was not yet ready to die. That year, the Burlington Volunteer Militia was formed.

In March, 1864, William Payne leased the newspaper office and about a month later bought Mr. Prouty’s office, as he was still in the army. Mr. Payne died in July, following, and the office then fell into the hands of Silas Fearl, who discontinued the newspaper. On September 3, 1864, S.S. Prouty commenced the publication of the Kansas Patriot at Burlington

Orsen Peck, a farmer on North Big Creek, realized $800 for his cotton crop in 1864, and 18,000 pounds of lint were ginned at the Burlington factory in 1865.

The first bank in the county, Jarboe, Garretson & Co., began business on April 16, 1870. The firm consisted of H.L. Jarboe, N.P. Garretson, D.W. Stormont, and M. Bailey, the latter two of Topeka. The bank was managed by N.P. Garretson.

The First Presbyterian Church of Burlington. was organized on June 26, 1870, by Reverend R.M. Overstreet, with a membership of seven. Its first pastor was Reverend S.G. Fisher. A frame church building was erected during the summer of 1881 at a cost of $3,500.

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church was organized in the spring of 1871 by Reverend Father Francis Heller. By the early 1880s, it had about 50 families, with the church property valued at $2,500.

The bank was reorganized as the Burlington National Bank on April 29, 1872, with a capital of $50,000, with H.L. Jarboe as president, and N.P. Garretson, as cashier.

The Burlington schoolhouse was completed in 1873 for $28,000.

On May 5, 1874, Peter Bell began publishing the Voice of the People, which lasted only until the following November. It advocated J.C. Cusey for Governor and J.K. Hudson for Congress, and then discontinued.

On February 11, 1875, the first number of the Independent newspaper appeared in Burlington, with A.H. Smith named as editor and publisher.

On March 31, 1877, bonds of Coffey County in the amount of $ 100,000 were issued to the Kansas City, Burlington & Santa Fe Railway Company in exchange for stock. On June 29, 1877, B.F. Smythe bought out A.H. Smith and published the Independent newspaper until October 19, 1877, when he sold a half-interest to John E. Watrous.

The Kansas City, Burlington & Santa Fe Railway Company was completed to Burlington on April 1, 1878. It arrived enthusiastically to the citizens of that city. An excursion party from Kansas City, numbering about 100 people, including the Board of Trade of that city, participated in the celebration. A 12-pound Parrott gun burst during a salute honoring the excursionists. On the return of the excursion party to Kansas City the next day, they were accompanied by several hundred people from Burlington and neighboring localities.

On June 7, 1878, Mr. Smythe sold his interest to LeRoy Armstrong, when the firm name became Armstrong & Watrous. Mr. Armstrong retired from the paper on July 16, 1880, since which time it was owned and published solely by John E. Watrous. Previous to the date of the retirement of Mr. Armstrong, the politics of the paper had always been independent. Since it has been under Mr. Watrous’s sole management, the paper has been Democratic. The politics of the Neosho Valley Register was Republican; that of the Voice of the People Reform was Republican; and the Patriot has always been Republican.

On January 17, 1881, the Kansas City, Burlington & Santa Fe Railway was sold at Sheriff’s sale, at Ottawa, to a company of men, who formed the Ottawa & Burlington Railroad Company. It was later operated by the Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas Railroad Company, which was a part of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad system.

The Burlington Republican was started on January 4, 1882, by George Sweesy and W.S. Hebron, under the firm name of Hebron & Sweesy. After a few weeks, Mr. Sweesy retired, and Mr. Hebron has since been the sole proprietor and editor. Republican in politics.

In 1882, the Methodist Church had 190 members, and its church building was valued at $5,000, and the parsonage at $1,000. At that time, it was led by Reverend J.A. Hyden.

In February 1899, a voter-approved levy funded a new courthouse that represented a significant upgrade in scale and durability. It was designed by prominent architect J.C. Holland of Topeka, Kansas, in the Free Classic Romanesque style. Constructed by Betts & Company, with the cornerstone laid in 1901, it was completed in 1903 for $55,000, which included the cost of the furniture and interior fixtures. The contractor hired to build the courthouse complained that the plans didn’t specify enough concrete, and by 1911, the walls were already cracking under the windows and over the doors. It was also stated that this was because it was constructed on a weak foundation. This initial structure functioned for approximately 35 years, accommodating the modest needs of the growing county until it proved inadequate for expanding operations.

During its tenure, the second courthouse hosted several high-profile cases, notably the 1925 murder trial of John Knoblock, accused of killing his wife, Florence Knoblock, in their Burlington home. The first trial, held there, resulted in a hung jury, leading to a second proceeding in neighboring Lyon County that ended in Knoblock’s acquittal; no one was ever convicted in the unsolved case.

In 1910, Burlington was at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway. At that time, it was a progressive little city, with waterworks, fire department, electric lights, and a number of commercial and manufacturing interests, including two banks, a daily and a tri-weekly newspaper, flour mill, grain elevators, tile factory, three cigar factories, creamery, carriage and wagon factory, and all lines of mercantile enterprises. It also had excellent grade schools, high schools, and churches of all denominations. There were telegraph and express offices, an international money order post office, with six rural routes, and a population of  2,180.

The Burlington Carnegie Free Library was built in 1912 with a $9,656 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. Architect George P. Washburn designed the library in a Classical Revival style with three bays. The one-story brick library sits atop a limestone foundation. The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 25, 1987. The library was vacated after the Burlington branch of the Coffey County Library opened in 1994. It was later restored and now serves as a business building. It is located at 201 N. Third in Burlington, Kansas.

Burlington’s Company C, 137 Infantry, 35th Division, was mobilized on August 5, 1917.

The Plaza Theater, at 404 Neosho St., was built in 1942. It replaced a 1941-built Plaza Theater, which was destroyed in a flood. Designed by architect Al Hauetter, the two-story brick building is notable for its Moderne-style facade, which features glass block, pigmented glass panels, and glazed ceramic tile. After closing as a movie house in 1989, the Plaza Theatre later became the Flint Hills Opry, a live performance space. It later operated as The Music Box Theatre, another live performance venue, which closed in about 2010. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Work began on the present courthouse in 1963. By that time, the walls of the 1901 building were being propped up by long poles. The project was strategically sited directly in front of the existing courthouse, enabling government functions to continue seamlessly during construction.  The architectural firm Kiene & Bradley of Topeka, Kansas, designed the building in a Modern style emphasizing efficiency and contemporary functionality. The main contractor, Cornelius & Associates, oversaw the project’s execution. To honor the county’s history, elements from the demolished 1901 courthouse were integrated into the new structure, including salvaged stone used in the foundation and walls. The building was completed in 1964, making it the county’s third courthouse, and the old one was torn down.

The east-facing building is a one-story red brick-and-concrete structure. Inside, a corridor runs along the glass-panel wall on the building’s east side. The County District Court courtroom is located on the south side of the building and is named the Phillip M. Fromme District Court. The building houses the County District Court of the 4th Judicial District, which includes Coffey, Anderson, Franklin, and Osage Counties. It is located at 110 South 6th Street and Neosho Street.

The construction of the John Redmond Reservoir, northwest of the city, from 1960 to 1965, for flood control of the Neosho River Valley, had a major impact, shifting the community from a purely agricultural to an industrial one.

Burlington’s population increased significantly during the construction of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Generating Station, which began in 1977. Its population peaked at 2,901 in 1980.

The generating station was completed in 1985, having a tremendous economic impact on the area.

Located northeast of Burlington, the Wolf Creek Generating Station opened the Wolf Creek Lake (later renamed Coffey County Lake) to provide a source of cool water for the nuclear power plant. It was opened to the public for fishing in 1996, and it also offers the Wolf Creek Ecological Education Area.

Today, the City of Burlington is a second-class city.

Burlington is home to several bodies of water that are perfect for fishing, with catfish particularly prevalent in the muddy waters. Running north-south along the eastern side of town is the Neosho River; a couple of parks along it are popular fishing spots. Drake Park has a large waterfall created by an old dam on the river. Along with the Neosho River are John Redmond Reservoir and Coffey County Lake.

For those who love to camp, there are a couple of excellent sites nearby, such as John Redmond. Riverside east and west hug the Neosho River. They are a well-shaded campsite with a couple of sweet walking trails. The Dam Site Park sits north of the latter two campsites and also has nicely shaded campsites with easy access to the Cross Country Course, perfect for an evening walk or run.

Burlington is located on Highway 75, about 22 miles north of Yates Center, and about 41 miles southeast of Emporia.