If I had my way
John E. Peterson, Special to The Gazette
Originally published 02:09 p.m., July 10, 2008
Updated 02:09 p.m., July 10, 2008
Those of you who have been reading these columns for some months — even years — know that I am entranced with stories about our communities. Both those still with us and those long gone. I have not written about communities much in recent columns, however. That is because I have run out of information. I would briefly get back to the subject today, however, if I had my way.
Why am I engrossed so much in the community topic? I can think of a couple of reasons. One is my discovery of the Chicago Mound area shortly after arriving in Emporia some 37 years ago. I was intrigued with it, found out more about it and learned about other communities around here while doing that.
The other reason, I suspect, was because I was born in a tiny community in northern Illinois. I may have told you this before. It’s name was Myrtle and it has long been gone. Actually, I was born in a farmhouse a mile out of town. My mother was the teacher of the rural school a mile the other side of Myrtle.
My dad ran the store in Myrtle and the family lived upstairs from it. A railroad went through, so there was a grain elevator and about a half-dozen houses. We moved out of Myrtle when I was just a year old, but I visited it in later years. It had a considerable influence on my life-long interest in communities.
I am writing about this topic again because I do have a couple of community stories to share. More would come to me, if I had my way. Then, I could tell more stories around here in future columns. It is a great topic, in my opinion.
Back in April, I wrote a column about communities. It was the most recent one I have written on the subject. In it, I told you how I had a message on the phone voice machine about the town of Mulberry Hill. There was no caller name with the message.
Telling about that message brought a letter from Imogene McCosh, of here in Emporia. She charmingly started with “What would you do without an older woman to fill you in?” Then, Imo went on to tell me about a former community called Mulberry Grove.
Imo said that she did not know that the Mulberry Grove she knew was the same as the Mulberry Hill I had been told about. It was, however, on a low hill, she said. Of course, I do not know either, but no one has come forward to tell me about Mulberry Hill. Perhaps we are talking about the same place.
Imo told me that Mulberry Grove was a bit west of where Camp Creek joins the Verdigris River. That puts it down in the country east of Matfield Green. Her family lived east of there and always came to Mulberry Grove from the east. Her father rode through Mulberry Grove often to visit a person on the Grafensteen Ranch — wherever and whatever that is, I ask.
That is how Imo responded to my comment about Mulberry Hill. She did so by telling me about Mulberry Grove. Are they the same? Does anybody know anything about these names and places? If anyone does, they would certainly telll me about it, if I my way. Whatever the situation is, I do thank you, Imo.
In that same April column, I told about Lyn Scott and the town of Kelso. Lyn, now teaching in California, was an Honors Program student here at ESU. He was from the Council Grove area. He had just sent me a letter and told me that he had visited the old site of Kelso where his dad had started first grade in 1927. There were four students graduating from the eighth grade, he said.
I found Kelso on an old map. It is just north of the big Council Grove Lake. I told you about it in that column and asked if anyone knew more about Kelso.
A letter came from Duane Fitch of Burlington. He had just read the column. He said that he did not know much about Kelso, but he had been through there just a few years ago. He was taking scenic back roads home from Salina when that had happened.
Duane believed that there was still a Methodist Church there in Kelso when he went through. He was sure that the old KATY railroad went through there and that a station was there. He went back into his old 1914 post office directory and found that Kelso had a post office back then.
Duane told me more about the KATY railroad and the places he had ridden it to, but that is all he told me about Kelso. That was better than nothing. Thanks much, Duane. Anybody else have any stories about Kelso?
There, then, you have everything I know about communities which I have not told you before. I would be delighted to get more community stories from you people out there. I would get some, If I had my way.
Comments
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Posted by Merry_Carol (anonymous) on July 10, 2008 at 11:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How about Teterville? Have you ever driven out into that neck of the woods? It's out here some miles from Madison, and I don't think there's anything there anymore, although I understand it used to be an active little town. I'd like to know more.
Posted by create (anonymous) on July 11, 2008 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll bet Jim Hoy could tell you about Mulberry Hill or Mulberry Grove areas. He knows a lot about small Kansas communities.
Posted by fsaffer (anonymous) on July 15, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As I recall, the old KP&L had a power substation located at Teterville. The only KP&L employee that I know is still living that could give you more information is Gene Daharsh (sp ?) who was the store keeper in Emporia when I was a kid working there.
Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on July 15, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
how about kenbro,ks?
Posted by AverageCitizen (anonymous) on August 25, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I copied this information about Teterville from the following website: http://teterbrothers.home.comcast.net/~t...
What it fails to mention is that there is a herd of about 250-300 wild horses in the pasture at the bottom of the hill that Teter Rock sits atop. And that is their (the herd’s) land. They are there until they die. And the view! What a spectacular view. An ocean of grass, glacial till, native grass and Kansas wildflowers and weeds...beautiful. It is worth the trip and I highly recommend it. Not a hard place to find, it’s the last ¼ mile up to the rock (once you turn into the pasture), that makes you feel like you have really done something…getting there suddenly feels like an accomplishment. Also, drive slowly; there is more debris from the town in the tall grass than you would initially think. Anyways…here is the article:
Teterville Kansas, the Teter Oil Fields and Teter Rock
In 1798, Jacob Teter inherited land in Randolph County West Virginia from his father, George Teter Jr. He would later name the village, Teter and it still exists today. His son, James would spend his life in the Tygart Valley around Teter and marry Barbara Reger, one of the original founding families in the area. They would have several children, among them John Teter, born in Teter in 1825. He would marry and have several Teter children, including James Wesley Teter born in Teter in Dec. 1849. James married Matilda McCoy and around the 1880s, they decided to head out west to Kansas. At first, they settled on a small plot of land to raise cattle. In time, James Teter would acquire more land in the area.
In the 1920s, oil was discovered on his land and a boom took place. A small village grew up near the Teter Oil Fields called Teterville. While the town still exists today, it is a ghost town, with remnants of the oil business still remaining.
Additionally, James Teter would create a rock monument as a guidepost for homesteaders searching for the Cottonwood River. Teter Rock was at that time just a pile of local rocks. In the 1920s, to satisfy the construction needs of Teterville; the rocks were used to build several buildings. As these rocks had become a local landmark, the Greenwood County Historical Society would erect another more distinctive monument in the 1950s. This is the present day Teter Rock.
Greenwood County Kansas Historical Society:" .. An upended limestone monolith juts unexpectedly up into the endless blue sky of the Flint Hills. Located at the crest of the highest hill in the area, it's visible for miles in all directions. The view from the area of the rock is great! The stone which serves as Teter Rock today, however, is not the original. It was erected in the 1950s to replace the earlier one which had been used as building materials in the nearby oil-boom town of Teterville.
---to be continued---
Posted by AverageCitizen (anonymous) on August 25, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The original Teter Rock Monument was constructed by James Teter sometime in the late 1870s or 1880s as a guide for pioneers searching for the Cottonwood River, which drains all the land to the west of the marker. It seems that homesteaders passing through the area enroute to their claims on the Cottonwood often became lost in the rolling hills of the area. (This still happens to greenhorn tenderfoots--like the Flatlanders!) James Teter solved the problem with a simple pile of rocks which lasted until the 1920s. Today's Teter Rock was erected as a memorial to him by his descendants.
Just to the north of Teter Rock, the restless prairie wind blows through the scattered remains of a once bustling community, Teterville. Built during the oil boom of the 1920s, it once had a population of nearly 1000 with 2 General Stores, a Post Office, and an Elementary School. Typical of these oil boom towns, it contained mainly "shot-gun" houses which in many cases sprang up over night. In this case, "over-night" is not just a figure of speech. Lumber was sometimes stolen from nearby oil derricks, and this made carpentry by cover of darkness a necessity. Indoor plumbing was generally nonexistent and drinkable water had to be hauled in from Madison. Such primitive conditions were endured by the workers and their families in exchange for good paying jobs in the oil fields. The Flint Hills had never before, and have never since witness such a rapid influx of both people and wealth.
The wealth, jobs and the town of Teterville lasted only as long as there was oil to pump. Today, a oil heating tank rusts in repose; a silent reminder of busier days on this windswept hill. Where once children played and workmen worked, cows now graze disturbed only by the occasional visitor to Teter Rock ..."
From Cassoday Kansas, go east 12 miles on the county road, turn South at "Teterville" sign. The Teter Monument is located east 1 mile, then south 1-1/4 miles on the west side of the road. The Greenwood County Historical has some excellent tour guide pamphlets [316-583-6682].
Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on August 25, 2008 at 2 p.m. (Suggest removal)
AverageCitizen: Thanks for the interesting information on Teterville and Teter Rock. Two points of clarification: The land to the west of Teterville is actually drained by the South Fork of the Cottonwood, not the Cottonwood River (although the South Fork does eventually drain into the Cottonwood River 20 to 25 miles north). Secondly, the area code for the Greenwood County Historical Society is 620.
Posted by vallain (anonymous) on July 25, 2009 at 7:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My mom, Gail Martin (McGhee) remembers a Moore's Store at Teterville in the 1930s. If people want to read more about that area and time, she just published a book called, My Flint Hills Childhood: Growing Up in 1930s Kansas. You can read an excerpt from it at www.gailmartin.wordpress.com
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