UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Urban Ambitions in an Agricultural Economy: Town-building on the Great Plains, 1870 – 1929 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/44n6b932 Author Brown, Erin Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Urban Ambitions in an Agricultural Economy: Town-building on the Great Plains, 1870 – 1929 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Erin Leith Brown 2017 © Copyright by Erin Leith Brown 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Urban Ambitions in an Agricultural Economy: Town-building on the Great Plains, 1870 – 1929 by Erin Leith Brown Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Janice L. Reiff, Chair This dissertation appraises the role of white, middle-class businessmen as engineers of urban development, assessing the complexity of individual and group reactions to an array of economic, political, social, and environmental stimuli that residents of Kansas faced between 1870 and 1929 using Abilene, Wichita, and Dodge City as case studies. I explore the social dynamics that evolved among these local businessmen – as well as with other townspeople and those who lived outside their communities – to consider how these social interactions affected each town’s urban aspirations. This study traces the process of town-building from its inception when Abilene, Wichita, and Dodge City became cattle towns; through the towns’ transition into commercial centers during the boom of the 1880s; their struggles to negotiate the agricultural and economic depression of the 1890s; and their resurgence in the early 1900s. Over the period of sixty years, businessmen responded to major shifts in the surrounding agricultural economy; regional and national politics; and evolving transportation systems. In examining how these men negotiated with one another, with other residents, and with their rural neighbors to respond to these changes, I conclude that the communities that proffered the most cogent visions for development – and those which devised the most solid strategies and programs ii to achieve these plans – were those where businessmen actively and consistently collaborated with one another. In so doing, I identify local promotional organizations as an important site for sustained collaboration and explore early formal and informal attempts to establish these groups, while examining how collaboration became increasingly institutionalized in the first decades of the twentieth century. iii The dissertation of Erin Leith Brown is approved. Leobardo Estrada Frank Tobias Higbie Janice L. Reiff, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv To my mom and to Ryan (because we never give up) v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Number List of images vii Acknowledgements viii Vita xii Introduction 1 Chapter One From Cattle Town to Metropolis: Town-building During the 1880s Population Boom, 1870 – 1888 37 Chapter Two “In God We Trusted, In Kansas We Busted:” Town-building During the Depression of the 1890s 97 Chapter Three The Golden Age of Agriculture: Town-building in an Era of Agricultural Prosperity, 1900 - 1929 153 Conclusion 212 Appendix A Population Statistics for the State of Kansas, Dickinson County, The City of Abilene, Sedgwick County, The City of Wichita, Ford County and the City of Dodge City 227 Bibliography 229 vi LIST OF IMAGES 1885 Rand McNally & Co. Railroad Map 36 1875 Map of Dickinson County 39 1875 Map of Sedgwick County 59 1875 Map of Ford County 75 1918 Map of Kansas State Roads 152 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Graduate school took far longer to complete than I (or anyone else) anticipated. I have walked away from this dissertation more times than I can count. Yet I always came back to it; I seem to lack the requisite mental fortitude to really quit. Along the way, I have incurred more debts than I can ever properly repay and will inevitably leave off people who merit my appreciation. For that, I apologize. I do want to try to thank many wonderful people who have helped me through this process, however. Bear with me – it is a long list! While at UCLA I was honored to work with some amazing scholars. My graduate chair, Jan Reiff, has been exceptionally forgiving and patient, especially given her many responsibilities. She has pushed me to become a better writer, thinker, and teacher and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to work with her. Eric Monkkonen and Jacqueline Leavitt served on my graduate committee initially. Along with Jan, they had a profound effect upon me – as a scholar and as a human being. Eric was not only brilliant, he was also funny and kind and generous. Jackie’s insights into urban development and social justice shaped my research interests and helped define my personal beliefs. With Jan, Eric, and Jackie, I had a graduate committee that any urban scholar would have envied. We lost Eric and Jackie far too early. Thankfully, Toby Higbie and Leo Estrada stepped up to allow me to finish. Knowing how accomplished and busy they both are, I am so grateful they agreed to serve and marvel at their empathy and generosity. Their insights into the town-building process made me wish that they had been committee members from the outset. They, along with those professors who made up my orals committee – Kathryn Norberg, Thomas Hines, and Becky Nicolaides – were not materially involved in the research and drafting process and bear no responsibility for the faults of this project. At the same time, their sage advice and kind words encouraged me to press forward. They are good people. viii Working on Kansas town-building presented some unique challenges and afforded me some wonderful opportunities. I have traversed the state multiple times with my mother and my son in tow. Dodge City is remote and Abilene is small. Traveling with a squirmy little boy is not easy (thankfully he loved trains and his grandmother). Many of my archives were largely designed for genealogists and people interested in local history, not graduate students. Yet the archivists, museum directors, and staff at each repository were unbelievably welcoming and helpful. They answered countless questions (including where to eat and what to do with a little boy), located thousands of documents, photocopied for hours (and gave me “grad student discounts”), and even recommended additional sources. They stayed through their lunch hours, remained open late, and in one case, even handed me the key to the archive and told me to make myself at home. In Abilene, my son rode a carousel built by C.W. Parker, one of the men I write about. I am confident that no graduate student has ever been treated so well during their research. I cannot recommend the staffs of the following archives more highly: Dickinson County Heritage Center, Abilene; Ford County Heritage Center, Dodge City Chamber of Commerce, and Boot Hill Museum, Dodge City; and Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Wichita State University Library, and Wichita Public Library, Wichita. The Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka is a fantastic place for any researcher to work. Their archivists and research librarians are unbelievably knowledgeable and helpful and their collection is overwhelming. I was honored to be awarded the Alfred M. Landon Historical Research Grant in 2006 to underwrite some of my research. The Kansas State Historical Society has amassed a spectacular collection of newspapers from across the state and I am very grateful to their Interlibrary Loan administrators who sent dozens of reels of microfilm to me at UCLA over the years. I also made use of their online Kansas Memory collection, http://www.kansasmemory.org/, which has an especially good collection of maps. ix Friends and family supported me through this long journey. At UCLA, I joined a wonderful cohort of Americanists. Three of them – Amy Cox, Marissa DeSiena, and Laura Gifford – have become dear friends. We have weathered a lot together, including the written comps and motherhood. I am so proud to be a part of this group of brilliant, strong-willed women. Along the way, I benefitted from the camaraderie of countless other History graduate students who read my drafts, shared their stories, and indulged me with the kind of dark humor that only other overworked graduate students can appreciate. Outside the department, in my capacity as a writing consultant for the Graduate Writing Center, I enjoyed belonging to UCLA’s community of exceptional graduate students. The director, Marilyn Gray, provided valuable advice and support. Renee Hudson, who lead dissertation boot camps with me each summer, along with so many of my co-workers and clients, provided community during the long, lonely process of writing this dissertation. I began writing at a nearby Coffee Bean two years ago and made friends with a group of customers and barristas who cheered my progress, saved my seat, and never failed to make me feel like I put in a hard day’s work, even when I felt like I accomplished nothing. Special thanks to Litta, my feistiest supporter, who also provided the welcome distraction of a fierce political discussion, even if she forced me to visit the Breitbart website on occasion. In a similar vein, Robyne and Lauren, two fantastic pilates instructors, have provided so much more than rehab in the years since I severed my ACL; they became unwitting sounding boards as I grappled with my dissertation and have probably learned far more about the dynamics of Kansas business communities than anyone ever should. I want to thank all of those wonderful parents who became close friends and provided child care and encouragement along the way, but especially Eunice and Chris Wong, Freya and Jeff Shih, Chantal and Matthew Hayden, and Robin and Jim Dunn.