Settlers began to come into this area after the Kansas Territory was opened in 1854. However, most of the thousands of gold seekers traveled across Washington County in 1849 along the Oregon Trail on their way to California and Oregon. Not until 1857 did the first settlers come in number to carve out farms in the rich creek and river valleys. Little did the gold seekers realize the lush prairie grass covered a wealth far more precious and lasting than the glitter of gold.
Washington City came into being in 1860, one year before Kansas became a state, being founded by Mr.'s Ballard, Bowen, and Pierce. After the end of the Civil War, settlers came more rapidly and the town began to grow. The coming of the Union Pacific Railroad to the county was celebrated in 1877 and the Burlington Railroad in 1884. In recent years, both of these railroads have been discontinued to Washington City.
Swedes, Germans, Dutch, Danes, Bohemians, French, Scots, English, and Irish settled in the county until it became a miniature melting pot all in itself. Washington, as a prosperous community, celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1985 bringing back memories of yesteryear and our ancestor's traditions.
The population of Washington County is approximately 6800, and the population of Washington is 1,277 people. Washington is a county where life is a little sweeter, the air is a little fresher, people are friendly, and care a little more. The quality of life here in North Central Kansas runs high in the splendor of the Midwest where we enjoy the beauty of all four seasons. Washington is located on east-west U.S. Highway 36 and north-south Kansas Highway 15. Washington is the county seat of Washington County and is the trading center for the surrounding agricultural area. There are twelve incorporated communities in Washington County including Barnes, Clifton, Greenleaf, Haddam, Hanover, Hollenberg, Linn, Mahaska, Morrowville, Palmer, Vining, and Washington.
We have a county airport located 4.5 miles south of U.S. Highway 36 on K-15. The airport is 3,400 feet with a lighted asphalt runway. It is 60 feet wide with 4,000 pounds strength. The airport, marked by an antique elevated airplane, is further accented by a U.S. flag flying 24 hours daily. The airport has a rotating beacon and wind sock. A telephone, fuel, and tie downs are available. A non-directional beacon is located one mile north of the airport for landing in adverse weather conditions.
Munchkinland, located in the Washington City Park, consists of a playground that was built with community donations and volunteers, and contains a beautiful playground facility enjoyed by children year round. The Washington City Park also features a rodeo arena, where an annual rodeo and several horse shows are summer highlights. A 1/8-mile dirt track for 3/4 midget cars is located in the park area. Motor home parking is available in the city park with hookups and a dump station. Additional parking is available at the Rotary Club Park, located east of Washington, but no hookups are available there. The Rose Garden RV Camping Park is available for RV's desiring to stay awhile. The City Park is made up of 30 acres of playground, parking, and picnic facilities.
Recreational facilities in the City of Washington include a swimming pool, public library, bowling alley, 9-hole grass-green golf course, county fair facilities, baseball and softball on four lighted diamonds, basketball court, tennis courts, and a State Lake for boating, fishing, and hunting located five miles north, three miles west, three miles north, and 1/2 mile west of Washington.
Our retirement facilities in Washington City include the Colonial Acres Housing Development, the Homestead Nursing Home, and Friendly Corners Nutrition Center. There are 144 units of senior citizen housing in eight communities in Washington County with six communities providing senior citizen meal sites.
Washington City uses its own municipal power. Natural gas is furnished by Western Resources-KPL. Southwestern Bell furnishes our telephone system. We have a municipal water system with a spheroid holding 100,000 gallons of water. The water is furnished by three wells pumping a maximum of 300,000 gallons per day. We presently use an average of 216,000 gallons of water per day. There is a municipal sewage disposal of lagoons as the water treatment process.
Washington City has an elementary school housing kindergarten through fourth grades. The junior high houses the fifth through the seventh grades. The senior high school, built in 1965, houses eighth through twelfth grade students. The Washington School District #222 has approximately 425 students with a 1/10 pupil-teacher ratio. It services a 157-square mile area served by five bus routes. The senior high school gymnasium has a seating capacity for 1,200 spectators. The high school and grade school gymnasiums are used for various community activities, as well. The lighted football field and practice field are adjacent to the high school with a hard-surfaced track surrounding the football field for track and field events.
Colonial Acres is low income housing built for senior citizens. The occupancy of the 50 apartments started in 1969 and was built with a loan to the City of Washington from the Housing and Urban Development. The rent charged is a percentage of the occupant's income after certain deductions. The required age to live in the housing is usually 65 with some handicapped exceptions. Eight units of tax credit housing is available for low to moderate income senior citizens and families.
The Friendly Corner meal site was started in February, 1977. The meal site is partially government funded. The meal site serves from 40 to 70 people daily. Most of the meals are served at the site; however, meals are delivered to homes of the shut-ins or handicapped daily at noon.
The Washington County Hospital was built in 1951 and is presently a 27-bed hospital. The hospital is county funded and managed by a 5-member board of directors. The hospital employs approximately fifty people including a medical doctor, 2 radiologists, and numerous consultants. Services offered include surgery, laboratory, emergency room, X-ray, electrocardiograms, mammography, non-invasive vascular testing, ultrasound, physical therapy, swing bed, pulmonary function, and radiology. Washington City has one medical doctor, two dentists, two chiropractors, two optometrists, and three veterinarians.
The Homestead Nursing Center is an intermediate care nursing home locally owned. It was opened in 1961. Its 50-bed occupancy is near capacity most of the time
The Court House, as it now stands, was built in 1933 and 1934. It is the 5th Washington County Court House. The previous Court House, built in 1886 and 1887, was destroyed by a tornado on July 4, 1932. Two lives were lost in that tornado, which did major damage to the downtown area of Washington, including taking the roof off of the now junior high school.
The First National Bank building was completed in 1985 and is made up of approximately 1,000,000 bricks from the brick yard about 20 miles north of Washington at Endicott, Nebraska.
The Washington County Jail was built in 1890 and is now being taken back to its original state with plans for it to become a Law Enforcement Museum. A new sheriff's office and 911 center was opened in 1996. Washington City's law protection is contracted through the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Fire protection is on a 24-hour basis with there being 20 volunteer firemen. The fire-truck includes a 600-gallon per minute pumper, 1200 feet of hose, ladders, firemen air tanks and rescue equipment. The City Fire Department is backed by the rural 1300-gallon fire truck with pumper. Several city fire sirens are, also, used for storm or defense warnings. The fire department has radio pagers dispatched from the sheriff's office. Twenty-four hour ambulance service is available with the EMT's living locally.
The county is served by the Twin Valley Developmental Center for the physically and mentally handicapped. A workshop and supervised and unsupervised housing is available for county residents in Greenleaf and housing at Washington.
There are seven active churches in Washington, comprising both Protestant and Catholic denominations. There are 39 churches in Washington County. Several churches in the county have observed their centennials.
We have two motels in Washington, the K-Motel and the Washington Motel with a total of 44 rooms. Our elevation is 1,290 feet. The City covers approximately one square mile. We have a total of 14 miles of streets with about 86% of the streets being paved. A mayor-council form of government handles the city business. Our average rainfall is 27 inches annually.
Washington City owns a 27.2 acre industrial park located in a county enterprise zone, which allows for several state tax incentives. The property tax abatement for the City and the County offered to eligible companies is approximately 50% over the first ten years with the first year being 100%, the second year 90%, the third year 80%, decreasing 10% annually until by the 11th year 100% of the ad valorem taxes would be paid. Washington City and County are actively seeking industry. Washington City is willing to erect a building for an industry creating jobs with a lease-purchase agreement.
We encourage you to drive around our community if you are visiting here, see us at work and play, and get to know our people. You will find a bit of the past in our red brick streets and store fronts, the Washington County Historical Society Museum, and the log cabin in the city park. A train museum is presently being worked on by numerous people in the community. A museum to honor the former Mayor from the Wizard of Oz and his wife, who retired in Washington, is also currently in the planning stages. We are looking to the future with a modern lighted airport, nine-hole grass-green golf course, and a thriving business district.
Most of the businesses of the community are located on Commercial Street, around the Court House square, and on U.S. Highway 36. If you have some free time while visiting and like to shop, you'll find Washington a very pleasant experience. There is one antique shop, two antique malls, and one gift shop. There is a variety of other stores including two grocery stores, a variety store, hardware store, pharmacy, restaurants, convenience stores, service station, carpet and furniture store, men's clothing store, lumber yard, service businesses, floral shops, etc. Our merchants are friendly, local people who keep the best interests of their customers in mind and strive to please the consumer. We who live in the heart of the Midwest--Washington, Kansas--welcome you as a visitor or a permanent resident!
Washington County historical information:
James McNulty was the first permanent settler in Washington County, locating on Mill Creek, 5 miles west of Washington in July, 1857.
Although more than 200,000 people passed through Washington County on their way west seeking gold in the 1840's and 1850's, but not a one stayed to establish a permanent residence.
Ten members of a family were killed and scalped near Hollenberg in 1864 by Indians. The last Indian raid along Mill Creek was in 1863.
The Fort Riley-Fort Kearney Military Road crossed the county roughly from the southeast to the northwest.
At Mormon Springs, approximately two miles south of Washington on Ash Creek, the Mormons camped on their trek from Independence, Missouri, to Utah.
At one time, Washington County had more rural schools, over 100, than any other county in the state. No rural schools hold classes today.
Mark Twin rode a stagecoach on the Oregon Trail from Missouri on his way to Nevada passing through Washington County. This is mentioned in his book "Roughing It".
Three Memorial highways pass through Washington County. The Eisenhower Memorial Highway honoring Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States, is marked over K-15 across the state. Midway across Kansas is Abilene, where the boyhood home of Eisenhower is located. K-15 passes by the Eisenhower Center. A museum, the presidential library, a chapel, and Eisenhower's resting place, all make up the Eisenhower Center. Prairie Parkway links towns rich in western history that are set in beautiful prairie hills. The Prairie Parkway cuts through the heart of the Flint Hills from Hanover south to Chautauqua. Trail markers across the tall grass prairies are on K-148, US-36, US-77, US-177, K-96, and K-99.
Pony Express Memorial Highway is marked along US-36 from Washington east to St. Joseph, Missouri. Before the telegraph linked the nation, Pony Express riders carried the mail for 18 months from St. Joseph, Missouri, to California. Best time ever for the 2,000 mile trek was 7 days and 17 hours. Northern terminus of the Pony Express route in Kansas was the Hollenberg Station east of Hanover. Garat H. Hollenberg established the Cottonwood Station on the Oregon Trail in May, 1858. Later it was a stop on the Pony Express Trail. The only original Pony Express Station in the U.S. still standing on its original sites is open as a museum to tourists. The Oregon-California Trail, coming from the east, crossed north into Nebraska at almost the exact point where Jefferson and Gage Counties, Nebraska, and Washington County come together.
The original log cabin, located in the City Park, was placed there by the Fidelia Study Club in 1970. The cabin was moved from the Odell, Nebraska, area and was built in approximately 1882 by the John Pecha family.
Washington State Fishing Lake and public hunting area is located 12 miles northwest of Washington, a short distance south of the Nebraska border. The 111-acre lake is surrounded by 352 acres of public hunting land, which harbors numerous wildlife species. The lake has been stocked with bass, crappie, catfish, and saugeye. The area is open year around for your use and enjoyment with picnic tables, grills, camping areas, and a drinking well.
All land in Kansas, Nebraska, 3/4ths of Colorado, most of Wyoming, and a small part of South Dakota was surveyed from a point starting in the northwest corner of the county in 1856, when a red sandstone marker marked the 6th principal meridian and the spot from which the surveying was begun. A marker was erected on this site in 1987, 131 years after being set by Charles Manners, the original surveyor.
A Pony Express sculpture is located at the intersection of U.S. 36 and K-148 south of Hanover. Erected in 1988, this 10' x 20' brick sculpture stands as a reminder to the traveling public to visit the Hollenberg Station. It depicts a Pony Express rider galloping uphill towards the Hollenberg Station.
Kansas Specialty Dog Service, Inc. is located on U.S. 36 in Washington. This is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the training and placement of assistance dogs to individuals with disabilities or visual impairments. Tours of the facility are available by appointment calling (785) 325-2256.
Marcon Pies is located in Washington one block south of Highway 36. They welcome you to their pie production facility, where pies are baked daily and delivered to area stores and restaurants. The aroma of these freshly baked pies is sure to tingle the taste buds, encouraging you to sample the product.
A replica of the world's first bulldozer is located in downtown Morrowville. It was built in 1923 by J. Earl McLeod and James Cummings, Morrowville, who received a patent on their invention in 1925.
A 1901 jail is located in downtown Haddam. Haddam's municipal election of 1901 saw women put in office for mayor, city clerk, police judge, and the entire city council. Right away, the women decided to build a jail, accepted a $325 bid and saw construction completed of the stone jail within five months to hold their hoodlums.
The LCL Buffalo Ranch is located one mile north and one mile west of Clifton on K-9. Over 200 head of buffalo roam the pastures located in three counties on the ranch owned by Lester C. Lawrence. A portion of the herd can usually be seen along the K-9 highway, where the ranch home and a buffalo memorabilia collection are located.
The Clifton Museum, located one block north of Parallel on Clifton Street, houses collections of early-day memorabilia, offering a taste of life in Clifton in yesteryear. The Clifton depot museum is open all year upon request by calling (785) 455-2296 or (785) 455-3305 and is open from June through August on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m.