Marmaton KS

Marmaton KS

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It was from Marmaton, where his family had lived since early 1861 that Andrew J. Foster enlisted in the 2nd Kansas Battery of Light Artillery.  The following article describes the history of the town including a raid by Missouri Bushwackers.  Several residents were murdered and some of the town destroyed.  Jarrett and Dorcus Foster as well their son Francis M. and perhaps some of their daughters would have resided in the town at the time while their son Andrew J. was away with the army.

William G. Cutler’s History of the State of Kansas

MARMATON.

There have been three town sites by this name, with a slight variation in the spelling, and two towns or villages. The first Marmaton was located on Section 33, Township 25, Range 24. A town company was organized and incorporated by the Legislature, by an act approved February 6, 1858, the incorporators named in the act being William R. Griffith, W. B. Barber, William H. Krotzer, Horatio Knowles and their associates. The town company was permitted by this act to pre-empt land not to exceed 320 acres.

A town company under the name of Marmiton was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, which act was approved February 11, 1858. This town was located on Section 31, Township 25, Range 24, about three miles west of Marmaton. The incorporators named in statute were: T. R. Roberts, James E. Jones, Orlando Darling, Charles Dimon and their associates and successors. This spelling of the name Marmiton is found frequently in the county records, and was the favorite method of spelling it of James E. Jones, a somewhat noted editor of those days. The town site consisted of 320 acres. The first building erected on it was for a store by the town company, and the second building was built also by the town company for a hotel. It was a large three-story frame structure now standing near the railroad station of Marmaton on the St. Louis, Ft. Scott & Wichita Railroad. The first general store was opened at Marmiton by Horatio Knowles, in 1858. The firm became Aiken & Knowles during the year, and in 1859, Edward Jones opened a store. The first school was taught by Miss Frances Barrett. Horatio Knowles built the first dwelling house on the town site in 1858. During the winter of 1858-59, about twelve other buildings were erected, and by 1860, the town contained a population of seventy-five persons. In 1860 or 1861, a flouring mill was built within the limits of the town site. In 1862, the town probably reached its greatest prosperity, at which time it contained a cabinet shop, two blacksmith shops, a furniture store, and a three-story store building containing $14,000 worth of goods.

The town was sacked and burned by rebels October 22, 1864, during the time of the Price raid, but not by Price’s men. These raiders were from Newton County, Mo., about eighty in number and under command of Maj. Courcey. At this time there were burned two stores, one dwelling house and the Methodist Church. The store building of Cobb & Jones, valued at $1,500, was consumed together with $13,500 worth of goods. The store building of Aiken & Jones, worth $1,500, containing $15,000 worth of goods was also burned. The house burned belonged to Mrs. Shane, widow of a Union lieutenant of the Tenth Kansas Regiment. It was worth $500, and the church $800, making a total loss of property amounting to $32,800.

Ten citizens of Marmiton were taken prisoners by the rebels, marched out about one-half a mile, arranged in a row and fired upon. Six were killed, the rest escaping by running into the woods. The killed were Horatio Knowles, Joseph Stout, Daniel M. Brown, Abner McGonigal, Dr. L. M. Shadwick, and Warren Hawkins. Abner McGonigal was a mere boy, Mr. Hawkins sixty years old, and Mr. Brown was Postmaster at the time. The murder of these men was utterly ruthless and inexcusable, except it can be excused on the ground that they favored the Union cause, and had it occurred in time of peace and instead of time of war, when human life is considered of little value, this Marmiton massacre was have been considered equally atrocious and would have caused as great a sensation as did that of the Marais des Cygnes. Some of the survivors who had not before known fear, were so affected by its atrocity that now even after the lapse of eighteen years, they have not recovered from the shock.

In 1882, after the building of the St. Louis, Ft. Scott & Wichita railroad, which passed about three-fourths of a mile north of Marmiton, it was abandoned, the buildings being moved to the railroad. The buildings moved consisted of the hotel, two stores, four dwellings and schoolhouse. The new town site consists of thirty-four acres, and was platted and filed November 18, 1882, by Francis Tiernam, President of the railroad. Edward Jones is Postmaster, having served in that capacity continuously since his first appointment in 1857, at Marmiton, except about a year, during which time the office was filled by Daniel M. Brown. In the spring of 1882, by petition of the citizens, the spelling of the name was changed back to the original spelling, Marmaton. At the present time the town contains about twenty-five inhabitants.