1885 to 1887

Had you visited Milton Township in 1885, everyone would have been excited. The Ellsworth, McPherson, Newton, and Southeastern Railroad Company (also referred to as the McPherson branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad) decided to build an east-west track through the heart of Milton Township with a major train station together with a stockyard siding in the center of the township, i.e. Brainerd.10 If you flagged the train when you wanted to get on or get off, it would stop where a road crossed the tracks, or you could also go to the nearest train depot. Passengers rode in the last car of the train, the caboose. Early on there were two trains, a freight train and a passenger train. Each train had a morning train going east to El Dorado and an afternoon train going west through Newton to McPherson. Several new towns were established along the track wherever a train station was built: McLains, Annelly, Brainerd and Potwin. With the establishment of these towns shopping locally was possible, rather than driving a day by wagon to get supplies from Newton, Peabody, or El Dorado, which were 20-25 miles away.

From 1885 to 1888, Brainerd was a bustling frontier town. Many business men from small cross-road establishments in the surrounding area relocated to Brainerd. The railroad was a conduit to the world. The town was platted in 1885 and by September of that year there were 180 buildings with 43 businesses and 500 inhabitants.11 But in 1886 when the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska Railroad Company, a Rock Island Railroad subsidiary, constructed a north-south track traversing the land homesteaded by George P. Neiman on the west edge of Milton Township with the first train running in August, 1887, business development began to focus on the area where the two tracks intersected. Here the Rock Island Railroad immediately established a train station with a stockyard siding , and the town of Whitewater was platted north of the junction by the Golden Belt Town Company in 1887. The Arthur L. Neiman addition to the townsite on the east was platted before Whitewater was incorporated in 1890. The Samuel R. Neiman addition to the townsite was on the north. See Figure 6. Main Street south to the section line, was not laid out or opened for traffic for several years after the town was platted.12 The Missouri Pacific shortly erected a station there as well; their stockyard siding remained in Brainerd. Other local towns established along this Rock Island Railroad were Furley to the south and Elbing to the north. Isaac Howard Neiman was appointed the first Postmaster of Whitewater by President Grover Cleveland in 1887 with the first post office opening on May 15, 1888 in the S. L. Motter general store. Mr. Motter was the deputy postmaster. Rural deliveries began in 1902 with Isaac Neiman the mail carrier on Route 1 and George Corfman on Route 2.

If you stopped by Brainerd or Annelly in 1888, the conversation would have focused on the future impact of Whitewater on the business development of their communities. Chester Smith did not spend much time in contemplation; he moved his house the three miles east from Annelly to Whitewater in January, 1888 and is credited with establishing the first house in the town of Whitewater. Two more houses were relocated from Annelly. The three-year-old town of Brainerd was literally put on wheels and moved to Whitewater with businesses and houses disassembled, put on wagons drawn by horses, driven the 2.5 miles west to Whitewater and reassembled. An estimated 35 businesses relocated from Brainerd to Whitewater. With two railroads intersecting, the prospects for long term business development was deemed very positive—superior than locations on only one rail line. The heyday for Brainerd was over,13 however, the town remained an active business and residential center with 68 residents in 1890 and with the Brainerd Store remaining in business until 1953. A history of Brainerd with pictures is available on the Internet.14

Initially, the name proposed for the new town was Neiman, honoring the original owner of the land of the town site. However, George P. Neiman declined the honor, so the name was drawn from the fact that the town lay in the Whitewater River watershed.15 A pioneer tale also relates that the Whitewater River initially was called the Whitewoman River because some pioneers found the body of a white woman, massacred by Indians, floating in the river. The name was later changed to Whitewater and the “creek” just west of the town site is actually the West Branch of the Whitewater River.16

Had you ridden your horse into the Whitewater town site anytime after 1887, the hustle and bustle would have been impressive. The town developed services commensurate with the needs of the community at that time. Listed in a subsequent section are the names of some of the early people and their contribution to the development of Whitewater and the surrounding agricultural community.17,18,19,20,21,22,23

Contact Us:
P.O. Box 87
Whitewater, KS 67154
Phone: (316) 799-2137