Cunningham, Kansas
October 30, 2022
Anthony is a town that shows signs of distress but also some liveliness. I saw lots of character and effort here. Sad that the drive-in is gone. Surprised that a town this size has a McDonalds -- I would have guessed a Sonic or DQ.
Anthony is a city in and the county seat of Harper County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,108.
The Anthony townsite was laid out in 1878. The city was named after the 7th governor of Kansas, George T. Anthony who was in office at the time. Following the reorganization of Harper County in 1878 following the original fraudulent organization in 1873, Anthony was designated the temporary county seat, as Bluff City, designated county seat of the fraudulent county organization, did not exist at the time. In 1879, a county seat election was held, and Anthony won over Harper City even though 2,960 ballots were cast with 800 legal voters in the county.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Anthony has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
A little Kansas, anyone?
I thought Kingman was a pretty town with a lot of character. Love the brick streets and the county courthouse. I would dare say it seemed affluent.
Kingman County was organized on February 27, 1874. The methods by which it was accomplished are not recorded, but it is a well-known fact that when the organization took place there were not 20 bona fide settlers in the county.
Governor Thomas A. Osborn appointed J. Harmony as County Clerk; J.K. Fical, J.M. Jordan and G.W. Lacy as County Commissioners to fill those offices temporarily, and designated Kingman as the temporary county seat.
The officers met at Kingman March 5, 1874 for the purpose of organizing a board of permanent County Commissioners; the temporary board was declared permanent (J.K. Fical withdrew, W.C. Frank was appointed in his place.)
On petition from the citizens, the board called a special election, to be held at Kingman, April 7, 1874, to vote on the question of issuing county bonds to the amount of $70,000, for the following purposes, to wit - $25,000 for a court house, $10,000 for bridges and $35,000 for general expenses, said bonds to be payable 10 years from date of issue, bearing interest at the rate of 10 percent per annum, payable semi-annually.
The county seat was located at Kingman and the issue of the bonds authorized. These bonds were printed, but were cancelled the next spring and destroyed. What the vote of the county was at the first election is not shown by the records, but it must have been very light, as the actual settlers in the county were very few.
Library
Built in 1914, the Kingman Public Library is one of several Carnegie Libraries still being used for the purpose for which it was erected. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kingman Carnegie Library has paid periodical subscriptions and materials that include disc, audio cassettes and books on compact discs, videos, and books from the rotating book truck. It also has unique displays from area professional artists, excellent books for genealogy, Kansas books, and rolls of microfilmed newspapers from Kingman County and the City of Kingman dated from 1884 to present and the Kansas census back to 1920.
Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Kingman County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,105. Kingman was laid out in 1874. Like Kingman County, it was named for Samuel A. Kingman, chief justice of the supreme court.
Cunningham is a city in Kingman County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 444. The city was named in honor of J.D. Cunningham, a pioneer settler.
The history of Cunningham starts with the town of Ninnescah, which was located near and named after the Ninnescah River. The Ninnescah Post Office opened August 20, 1885. Later the town of Cunningham was established a few miles to the west, on the north side of the railroad. There was a movement among the locals to move the town of Ninnescah to Cunningham. Some buildings were physically moved from Ninnescah to Cunningham in 1887 and 1888. A tornado destroyed most of Ninnescah on March 24, 1888, which sealed its fate.
Cunningham was incorporated as a city in 1908.
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