The Town of Black Jack

In Brief:

  • Was located 4 miles east of Baldwin and ½ mile south of current US 56.
  • Was settled by immigrants as early as 1852 even though Kansas territory was not officially open to settlement until 1854.
  • In 1857 about ten local men formed a company and petitioned the government to survey a town site.  Site comprised of 40 acres divided into 20 blocks, located on  divide between the Kansas and Marais des Cygnes Rivers. 
  • Name came from what the Mexicans called Black Jack Crossing ½ mile to the west.  That name probably came from the Black Jack oak trees that grew along the creek. 
  • Main road through the town was the Santa Fe Trail. 
  • By 1858 there was a hotel, two black smith shops, a wagon shop, stage barn, two churches, a post office, and a doctor’s office.  
  • Some years 60,000 teams travelled through town on this route. 
  • Cemetery was plotted in 1874 for 90 graves.  Is the only thing remaining of the town today.  Many of the stones are still visible. 
  • Kansas Pacific Railroad was completed through Wellsville in 1870.  After that most commercial interests abandoned Black Jack and moved to Wellsville.

R. Boyd – 2020

Photos/Images: Click HERE to view

More Information:

Location:  The town of Black Jack was located about ½ mile east and a little south of the present Black Jack Park (where the Santa Fe Trail [SFT] ruts are), so about ½ mile east of E 2000 Rd and a little south of Highway 56.  All that remains today is the cemetery. Its entrance is on the west side of E 2075 Rd, 1/8 mile south of US 56. The Black Jack cemetery was in use from 1860 to the late 20th century. 

Settlement:   The first settlers came to the Black Jack area in 1852, which was two years before the Kansas Territory was open for settlement by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. These early settlers emigrated from Pennsylvania.  The group included: William Riley, Daniel Fearer, E.D. Pettengill, S.A. Stonebraker, and H.N. Brockway. In 1857, the group formed a company of about 10 men with Stonebraker as Treasurer and Brockway as President.  They petitioned the territorial government to become a town.  The town site surveyed was comprised of 20 blocks and 132 lots.  It covered 40 acres in area.  The east-west road that went through the town was part of the Santa Fe Trail (currently part of N 175 Rd) and was named Santa Fe Street.

About the Town:  The nearby creek had been named Black Jack by the Mexican wagon train drivers because of the surrounding Black Jack Oak trees. “The village, when started in 1857, was named after the creek.”1   Some original town members had wanted to call the town “Wheatley.”2   Black Jack was the first trading center in Palmyra township (originally named Calhoun township).  It was a rest and repair stop on the SFT for 40 years.  However, Trail travelers had been camping in the area of Black Jack Creek since the origin of the Trail (1820’s) – long before the town was established.  (Click “The Narrows” link for more info)

The Overland Stage Route, established in 1858, running from Ft. Scott to Lecompton, stopped in Black Jack, delivering mail to the town.  Two more stage routes, one going from Paola to Lawrence and the other from Kansas City to Lawrence, also stopped.  The pony express ran through town,3 and immigrant travelers stopped as well.  The trail was 60 to 100 ft. wide with many sunflowers growing along the roadside.4 (Editor’s note: What Andreas called Black Jack Creek is currently called Captain’s Creek)

SFT Trade:  A six-month survey in the 1850s counted 4472 wagons, 1261 horses, 6452 mules, 32,281 oxen, with an estimated 13,056 tons of freight passing along the trail.5   Each wagon would thus carry an average of 2.9 tons of freight.  The average traveling speed of an ox team was 12 miles a day.6   Some sources report wagon trains drawn by teams of oxen averaging 40 wagons per train.  Others report anywhere from 60-120 wagons in a train.  The high numbers helped protect the wagons from attack.  The greatest threat was not from Indians, but from bandits who wanted to hijack the wagons.  The traders had to be especially careful upon their return from Santa Fe and Mexico because they were carrying silver coins.

Mexican freighters were also common.  They traveled the SFT from Mexico to St. Louis to pick up goods to sell back in Mexico.

Large numbers of wagon trains heading West set out in the spring of each year.  Occasionally two wagon trains would pass through Black Jack in a day. One pioneer reported seeing a wagon train 4 miles long.7 By midsummer, travel along the Trail had slowed quite a bit – at times to as few as one train in 3-4 days.  In the fall, the wagon trains returned, now heading East.  The number of fall wagon trains was about half that of the spring, and the trains were smaller in size/number.  Besides selling the goods they had hauled West; the traders had also sold many of their wagons and much of their stock in Santa Fe and Mexico.  They consolidated their wagons and goods for their return trip to Missouri. 

Town Firsts:  Several “Firsts” have been recorded for the town of Black Jack by Andreas in his History of the State Kansas written in 1883:

  • First birth in the town – William H. Riley in June 1858.
  • First death, the same William H. Riley, who died as an infant.
  • First marriage – Joseph Kennedy to Miss Elizabeth Hanarn.
  • First sermon preached – January 1858, in a cabin by Rev. Samuel Kretsinger.

Buildings:   The first homes were cabins built of logs or rough timber found in the area. “On the houses made of lumber the boards on the sides were placed up and down with cracks between the boards and no batting over the cracks.  Some of the floors were only dirt floors.”8   A few dugouts and sod houses could also be found.   The first building was a hotel built in 1851.9  The first stores were established in January 1858, by H.N. Brockway and Samuel A. Stonebraker.  The post office was established in 1858 in Stonebraker’s Philadelphia Varity Store.10   Stonebraker was the first and only Postmaster, his term ending in the early 1890’s.  Jacob Hall’s Overland Stagecoach brought the mail to the post office.

“The first school was in a log house, taught by Mrs. Elizabeth Craig, in 1858, with Frankie Miller as assistant.”11  A schoolhouse was built in 1859.  Another source reports that “Miss Eleanor Rosebaugh, later Mrs. Dr. O’Neil, was the first schoolteacher in 1861.”12   W.F. Pearson, a pioneer of Black Jack, attended the subscription school of Miss Eleanor Rosebaugh.  She taught from 12 to 20 students and received one dollar a month per pupil.  Students sat on two benches, made of a log cut in two, set against the wall of the schoolhouse.  The school was divided into two classes – the smaller children and the older ones.13

Town & Fort:  By 1860, Black Jack had three blacksmith shops, two stores (one with post office), the hotel, a boarding house, a wagon shop, a druggist, a doctor’s office, and a stage station.14 The hotel was owned by Hayes, and the wagon shop owned by John Eady.  The town also had a fort, erected by 1860.  The fort’s reported uses included: protection from Indian ambush, safety “during the war of the Rebellion”15, and as a place “that the local citizens could congregate should occasion ever require it.”16 The tavern, which was constructed mostly of logs, was reported to be a “wild place.”

Churches:  The Presbyterian Church was built in 1859 inside the town. Andreas reports that the Presbyterians and United Brethren had, “previous to the building of this church, a union fund, but a misunderstanding arising among them, the fund was divided, and each built a church.”  Another early historian of the town reports that the two churches were started through the efforts of the “Black Jack” Ladies Sewing Circle.  This group had 23 charter members in 1866.17   The Presbyterian Church was dedicated in May 1870 with Rev. Ward as pastor.

The United Bretheren [sic] Church was completed in 1871, having Rev. Samuel Kretsinger as preacher.  The church walls were constructed of sand rock.  This church was rebuilt in 1905 and was quite modern for its day.  The floor sloped towards the raised stage, the organ or piano had a built-in location, and there was a balcony.  They also had semi-circular pews and a natural gas furnace!  Later the church was used as a schoolhouse, and then a community building.  It is no longer standing.18 

Bleeding Kansas Events:  The town of Black Jack has a tie to several events in the history of Bleeding Kansas. In August 1862, Bill Anderson attacked the town.  In May 1863, Dick Yeager made a memorable visit.  Those two stories are below. The Battle of Black Jack took place in June 1856, just west of the town.  Extensive information about the battle can be found on other sites.

“Bloody Bill” Anderson’s Raid:  Bill Anderson’s raid of Black Jack was part of his retreat out of Kansas after avenging the death of his father.  The Andersons had been neighbors of A.I. Baker near Council Grove.  Baker had run a store and blacksmith shop for wagon trains at Rock Crossing on the SFT, 10 miles east of Council Grove.  After his wife’s death in 1861, he began dating Bill Anderson’s 15-year-old sister.  The Andersons thought the two would marry, but Baker became engaged to 17-year-old Anis Segur.  Anderson’s father got drunk one night, went to Baker’s house and walked up the staircase, saying he would kill Baker.  Baker pulled out a gun and killed Anderson instead.  Bill Anderson vowed vengeance and moved away.

Later that year, Bill returned to Rock Creek.  On July 3, 1862, he shot Baker in the cellar of his own store, trapped him there, and burned the store down over him.   “Bloody Bill” then fled back to Missouri, stopping to steal fresh horses from stage stops along the way.  On August 15, 1862, he arrived at Black Jack.  He and his gang “intercepted the overland mail, stole 14 horses, 8 of them belonging to the mail, and took some $2000 from the passengers.  They also broke into and robbed Brockway and Stonebraker’s store, carrying away about $1,800 worth of goods, and setting fire to the store. The fire was extinguished by a determined lady named Mrs. John M. Hays.”19  (Editor’s Note: You may want to read the full detailed story at https://newprairiepress.org/sfh/2012/stories/8.)

Dick Yeager’s Raid:   Dick Yeager was born in 1839 and led wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail.  His father had a freighting business and was a presiding judge in Jackson County, Missouri (KCMO).  In 1861, Dick returned from Santa Fe to find that his father’s home had been burned to the ground by Kansas Jayhawkers.  He immediately joined up with Quantrill and his Bushwhackers and began raiding Kansas. 

On May 4, 1863, he and his group camped on Elm Creek near Council Grove on land owned by General George Armstrong Custer.  The next day, May 5th, they went west to Diamond Springs and robbed the stage station and general store belonging to Augustus Howell.  They killed Howell and severely injured his wife when she tried to defend him.  On their way back to Missouri, they killed a Union soldier at the Rock Springs stage station.   On May 8, 1863, Dick Yeager’s group “robbed Brockway and Stonebraker’s store, and stole the horses belonging to the overland stage route.”20  (Editor’s Note: For more information, see  https://newprairiepress.org/sfh/2016/orientation/6.)

Noted Local Events:   Life on the prairie could be very difficult.  The grandson of an original Black Jack pioneer recalls that 1860 was an extremely dry year, with no rain at all.  In the fall, 14 local men with oxen and wagons, set out west on a hunting trip in hopes of obtaining food and income from selling pelts.  They reached the Cimmaron River in southwestern Kansas before turning back.  Unfortunately, they encountered many Indians, who stole all their cattle.  The men endured a very severe winter that year as they returned to Black Jack.  (Dr. Moses A. O’Neill, the town doctor had to perform several amputations on pioneers due to frost bite.)  Upon their arrival in the spring, they were “half-starved and in rags.”21

            In 1875, hordes of grasshoppers invaded Kansas and devoured crops, vegetation, and anything else in their path.  Information and stories about the grasshoppers abound in the annuals of Kansas history on the internet.

Demise of town:   Travel along the SFT slowed as the Kansas Pacific Railroad was completed.  In 1866, the railroad was opened to Junction City.  The railroad bypassed Black Jack in 1870 and went through the town of Wellsville, a few miles to the south.  After that, Black Jack commercial activity began the move to Wellsville and the town faded.   

M. Jardon – 7/2021

Notes

  1. Andreas, A. T., “Black Jack” in History of the State of Kansas: Containing a Full Account of Its Growth from an Uninhabited Territory to a Wealthy and Important State, of Its Earliest Settlements, Its Rapid Increase in Population and the Marvelous Development of Its Great Natural Resources: Also a Supplementary History and Description of Its Counties, Cities, Towns and Villages. (Chicago: 1883), pg. 355. https://archive.org/details/historyofstateof00andr/page/n3/mode2up.
  2. O’Neil,Ralph, “Black Jack” and “Brief History of Black Jack,” from hand drawn map of Black Jack, 1953.
  3. W. F. Pearson, “W.F. Pearson Tells of the Days of 70 Years Ago,” Wellsville Globe, January 16, 1930. 
  5. Dunlop, Richard, Great Trails of the West, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971).
  6. W. F. Pearson,“W.F. Pearson Tells of the Days of 70 Years Ago.”
  7. Ibid.
  10. Obituary, “Mrs. S. A. Stonebraker was Oldest of the Early Settlers Here.” 
  11. Andreas, A. T., History of the State of Kansas, pg. 356.
  12. Holden, Bernice Bacon & Fleming, B., “From Out of the Past,” (Vantage Press, 1962), pg. 107. 
  13. W. F. Pearson,“W.F. Pearson Tells of the Days of 70 Years Ago.”
  14. Boyd,Roger, “SFT West Tour,” 2017 SFTA Symposium.
  15. A. T., History of the State of Kansas, pg. 356.
  16. O’Neil,Ralph, hand drawn map of Black Jack.
  17. Ibid.
  18. Black Jack Historical Society, History of Black Jack (Pamphlet), undated, pg. 3,4.
  19. Andreas, A. T., History of the State of Kansas, pg. 356.
  20. Ibid.
  21. Holden, Bernice Bacon & Fleming, B., “From Out of the Past,” pg. 107, 108. 

Sources

Andreas, A. T., “Black Jack” in History of the State of Kansas: Containing a Full Account of Its Growth from an Uninhabited Territory to a Wealthy and Important State, of Its Earliest Settlements, Its Rapid Increase in Population and the Marvelous Development of Its Great Natural Resources: Also a Supplementary History and Description of Its Counties, Cities, Towns and Villages. (Chicago: 1883), pg 355-356. Accessed March 12, 2021. https://archive.org/details/historyofstateof00andr/page/n3/mode2up  

Black Jack Historical Society, History of Black Jack (Pamphlet), undated, Baldwin City Public Library – hanging files, accessed June 24, 2021.

Boyd, Ivan L., Historic Baldwin (booklet), Baldwin City: Baldwin Commercial Club and Baker University, 1959, pg 2. Santa Fe Trail Historical Society of Douglas County Archives, Baldwin City, Kansas.

Boyd, Roger, “SFT West Tour – Olathe Conference Center to Simmons Point, ”  2017 Santa Fe Trail Association Symposium, held in Olathe KS, Santa Fe Trail Historical Society of Douglas County Archives, Baldwin City, Kansas.

Dunlop, Richard, Great Trails of the West, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971.

Holden, Bernice Bacon & Fleming, B., “From Out of the Past,” Vantage Press, 1962, pgs, 106-109.  Baldwin City Public Library – hanging files, accessed June 24, 2021. 

Hoy, Jim (2016). “Yeager’s Raiders,” Symphony in the Flint Hills Field Journal. Accessed 3/12/2021 https://newprairiepress.org/sfh/2016/orientation/6.

Jackson, Hal & Simmons, Marc, The Santa Fe Trail, A Guide, Wooston, KS: Trails Press, 2015, 115-117.

John Jackson, (local historian), personal interview with author, June 2, 2021

Kelley, Katherine, Along the Santa Fe Trail in Douglas County, Kansas – A Brief History of The Seven D.A.R. Marker Sites and Town Sites Along the Route of the Trail in Douglas County (booklet), Baldwin City KS: Santa Fe Trail Historical Society of Douglas County 1987, 8.  Santa Fe Trail Historical Society of Douglas County Archives, Baldwin City, Kansas.

Obituary, “Mrs. S. A. Stonebraker was Oldest of the Early Settlers Here,” “At Black Jack in Sixties – Mrs. S. A. Stonebraker.”  Source unknown, Baldwin City Public Library – hanging files, accessed June 24, 2021.

O’Neil, Ralph, “Black Jack” and “Brief History of Black Jack,” from hand drawn map of Black Jack, 1953, Santa Fe Trail Historical Society of Douglas County Archives, Baldwin City, Kansas. 

W. F. Pearson, “W.F. Pearson Tells of the Days of 70 Years Ago,” Wellsville Globe, January 16, 1930.  

Shimeall, Michael (2012). “Judge Barker and the Vengeance of “Bloody Bill”,” Symphony in the Flint Hills Field Journal.  Accessed 3/12/2021https://newprairiepress.org/sfh/2012/stories/8. 

Unknown Author, Black Jack (Report), undated, Baldwin City Public Library – hanging files, accessed June 24, 2021. Van Tries, Ruth, Black Jack: A Collection of Stories of Early Black Jack (booklet), Vol. 2, No. 3, Baldwin City KS: Santa Fe Trail Historical Society of Douglas County, 1980