- CLEARWATER (16 miles southwest of Wichita)
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Clearwater gets its name from that of the Ninnescah River which is
Indian for "clear water." There are oil wells in this section of Sedgwick
County which, however, is primarily agricultural country of which the
principal crops are grain, alfalfa, livestock, poultry and dairy products.
- CLIFTON (21 miles east of Concordia)
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Early settlers paid tribute to a friendly government surveyor by naming
ú this Washington County community for him. On the Republican River,
Clifton is a shipping center for the grain and livestock raised in the
surrounding farm territory.
- CLYDE (14 miles east of Concordia)
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When it was founded in 1866 by F. B. Rupe this Kansas town was
called Hamilton but in the spring of 1867 its name was changed to
Clyde in tribute to the river of the same name in Scotland.
For years the watermelon carnivals held at Clyde attracted throngs of
people when carloads of watermelons were shipped from this area.
However, with the decline of melon growing in recent years, the
carnivals were discontinued. Milling now is the principal industry of
Clyde with hatcheries gaining in importance. The surrounding country
is devoted to diversified farming.
- COFFEYVILLE (200 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo.)
-
Colonel James A. Coffey who was the first white settler here started a
trading post for the Indians in 1854. Soon a few more white families
arrived and settled around his trading post. In 1869 this group
formed a town company and named the new community "Coffeyville"
in honor of its pioneer settler.
In its early days the settlement was a popular gathering place for cattlemen
and cowboys, who nicknamed it "Cow Town," and as a result
saloons, dance halls and gambling places multiplied.
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Then, to the dismay of more substantial citizens, Octavius Chanute, a
railroad construction engineer, acquired a tract of land north of "Cow
Town" and platted a "railroad addition to Coffeyville." An act of the
legislature provided for the incorporation of his addition as a separate
town. Eventually, however, the two communities joined forces and
incorporated Coffeyville as one town in 1873.
The advent of rail transportation was a major factor in the development
of this Montgomery County industrial center. It is served by three
major rail lines, being a division headquarters for the Missouri Pacific
on its main line linking Kansas City with Fort Smith and Little Rock,
Ark. Industries include oil refineries, manufacturers of oilfield and
industrial equipment, smelters, flour and feed mills, foundries, milk
processors, motorstairs builders, meat packing Plants, airplane and parts
factories, brick, tile and pottery plants.
Perhaps the best-known incident in Coffeyville history was the
bloody raid by the notorious Dalton gang on Oct. 5, 1892. These
bandits were surprised in an attempted bank robbery and engaged in a
running battle with Coffeyville police officers and citizens. Several of
the latter lost their lives but wiping out of the gang eliminated a menace
to law and order for all of Southern Kansas and Oklahoma.
Leading civic events held here include the Montgomery County Fair in
September and the Industrial Festival a month later. Baseball fans will
recall Coffeyville as the home of the "Fireball King," Walter Johnson,
famous pitcher for the Washington "Senators."
- COLWICH (14 miles northwest of Wichita)
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This Sedgwick County town derived its name from a combination of
the first syllables of Colorado and Wichita. An agricultural community
on the Missouri Pacific line between Wichita and Geneseo, Kansas, it
was settled in 1887,
- CONCORDIA (154 miles west of Atchison)
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This county seat of Cloud County owes its initial development to J. M.
Hageman who built the community's first houses and at his own
expense opened a road through to Junction City, Kansas. The county,
organized in 1866, was named in honor of William F. Cloud. Then
in 1869 a town company was formed and the settlement was given
the name Concordia because, it is reported, the meeting at which the
town was selected as the county seat was so harmonious and devoid of
the discord that sometimes accompanied the selection of county seats
in the early days of Kansas.
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