 |
Towanda - Land of Many Waters |
|
|
Towanda - Land of Many Waters |
|
|
The town and township lie tucked in the pleasant
valley of the Whitewater River, amd take their name
from the Osage Indian term "many waters." First settler
was C. L. Chandler, a returning '49er from the Califronia
gold fields who built his cabin in 1858. Towanda township
was one of the first four in the makeup of Butler
County - the largest in Kansas.
In 1870, Rev. Isaac Mooney, frontier preacher and community builder, platted ten acres for a townsite. The village quickly became a trade center on the Emporia-Wichita wagon road and a division point for two stage lines. Towanda gained wide fame in 1917, when giant oil gushers were drilled on rocky Shumway land at the town's eastern doorstep by Gypsy Oil Company and the Trapshooters group. Close neighbor is El Dorado, the county seat on the east, since pioneer days a prime adjunct to the Flint Hills cattle country and for more than 50 years the focal point of vast petroleum development in south-central Kansas. Its largest industries are modern oil refineries of Skelly Oil Company and American Petrofina, while the Butler County Community Junior College tops its cultural institutions. |
|
Towanda Rest Stop |
More Markers |
Visit the Home Page for Kansas
A service of the Kansas State Library