[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 145 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2009-E2010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO THE CITY OF EUDORA, KANSAS, ON ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the city of Eudora, Kansas, located in the Third Congressional 
District, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary on October 5th and 
6th of this year.
  In 1856, three members of a German Immigrant Settlement Company 
[called Deutsche-Neusiedlungsverein] from Chicago sent out a location 
committee to choose a town site in the new Indian Territory, which had 
been opened up to settlement by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, enacted in 
1854. Both pro- and anti-slavery groups flocked to this territory.
  The three Germans sent to the present site were H. Heimann, F. 
Barteldes and C. Scheifer. Favoring the Eudora area, they drew up 
contracts with Shawnee Chief Paschal Fish for 774\1/2\ acres, from the 
Kansas River to the south for about a mile [over 200 blocks total], 
with two public squares and a park. In February 1857, Chief Fish 
entered into contracts with the Trustees of the Chicago Verein for 
purchase of land ``to secure a more perfect title'' for a price of 
$10,000. Chief Fish bought back on the same day the old numbered lots 
of at least three blocks between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. The 
Shawnee Reservation had been opened up for settlement; Chief Fish was a 
cousin of Chief Tecumseh, a businessman and a Methodist minister who 
had been educated at a Mission School.
  A map of Douglas County drawn up in early 1857, before Eudora was a 
town, shows only four townships in the county with Eudora included in 
the Wakarusa Township. A group of 16 men, four women and some children 
had come in the spring of 1857 to begin settling at the site. Peter 
Hartig, age 34, was the leader of this Chicago group, and was 
accompanied by his wife. The Society paid expenses for the settlers. 
Eight more men, who paid their own way, came later. The formal title, 
signed by an Indian Agent named Newsom, was drawn up on February 4, 
1860.

[[Page E2010]]

  The town's name was derived from the name of Chief Paschal Fish's 13-
year-old daughter; it is a name of Greek derivation meaning ``giving'' 
or ``generous.'' Chief Fish said that if they did this, a tornado would 
never touch down in Eudora. There has not been a tornado there to this 
day!
  A circular saw and a corn cracker worth $2,200 were soon purchased 
for the new town. The first house built by the settlers was a one-story 
log cabin, 18' x 20', which was shared by all of the inhabitants during 
the first summer, of 1857. The first sawmill was set up in the same 
year, and by fall, the first post office was operating and converted 
into a money order office the next year. The first hotel was probably 
The America House on Main Street, or near the 5th and 6th Street area.
  The first baby born in the new town was a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. 
Chris Epple, soon after their arrival; she was named Eudora. The first 
marriage occurred between Mrs. George Harboldt and Freid Deichmann in 
the spring of 1858. The first death was in the fall of 1857 when J. 
Loederlie died. The captain of the original Townsiters, Hartig, lived 
until 1902, when he was killed by a Santa Fe train; his wife had died 
the previous year.
  The first public building was a frame town hall and school house 
built in 1860 and used as a polling place, dance hall and community 
room. It was sited at 6th and Main Streets and later moved to 7th and 
Main Streets. There was a jail under it in the mid-1860s; it was used 
as the city hall until 1955 and is now a private residence. In 1859, 
the town's first election selected Fred Faerber as mayor and 
councilmembers were also elected. In March of that year the council 
commissioned the Chicago Secretary of the Immigrant Company to furnish 
a city seal with a white man and an Indian shaking hands. In 1886, 
Eudora's first newspaper, The Eudora News, was published, and in 1894, 
Charles Pilla, who also served as mayor and postmaster, helped organize 
the Eudora State Bank.
  Eudora's first picnic was recorded in 1901. In 1927, the Central 
Protective Association, also known as the Cattlemens Association, 
reorganized from its antihorsetheft roots to become the City Picnic 
Association. The city's annual picnic traditionally held on the third 
weekend of July, features carnival rides, games, parades, dancing and 
food.
  This tradition of community celebration continues on October 5th of 
this year, when the city will have a genuine cake and ice cream 
birthday party. Eudora High School culinary arts students will be 
showing their talents in a cake decorating contest. Guests will have an 
opportunity to sample buffalo burgers. A recognition ceremony will 
feature community volunteer organizations. On the following day, Eudora 
Fest will feature arts, crafts, and food booths, along with a kid's 
homegrown carnival, contests, music and entertainment. The main event, 
however, will be the unveiling of the Eudora Statue--a historic statue 
of Chief Paschal Fish and his daughter, Eudora. The statue, sculpted by 
internationally known local sculptor Jim Brothers, will be placed in 
the city's historic downtown park with a historic kiosk.
  Madam Speaker, I know that you and the entire U.S. House of 
Representatives join with me in honoring the city of Eudora on its 
150th anniversary, as we commemorate its rich history and outstanding 
way of life for all Eudorans. I am proud to represent this community 
and its people within the Third Congressional District of Kansas.

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