Editing Alexander, Kansas (section)

==History==

===19th century===
Alexander is the oldest city in Rush County, Kansas.  It was established in 1869 after becoming an important stopping point on the Fort Hays/Fort Dodge Trail (officially a part of the Santa Fe Trail).  The name of the town originated from Alexander Harvey a Scottish emigrant who operated a stockaded trading post on the trail crossing of the Wet Walnut Creek.  Harvey was a prominent and connected figure in western settlement.  He was a friend of renown trapper, trader, and Indian Agent [[William Bent]] who established Bent's Fort in Eastern Colorado.  Harvey's daughter Adaline at age 20 married the 60 year-old Bent.

In its early days, Alexander was a trading post for trappers, buffalo hunters, wild horse wranglers, and other early Westerners.  Buffalo Bill Cody, George Custer, and other prominent figures in American western settlement traveled through the community.  Alexander Harvey himself was a former member of the 6th Cavalry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rushcounty.org/history.html |title=History of Rush County |publisher=Rush County Economic Development |accessdate=22 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322024039/http://www.rushcounty.org/history.html |archivedate=March 22, 2012 }}</ref>

The first post office in Alexander was established in February 1874.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county:RH |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |accessdate=22 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009133319/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/county%3ARH |archivedate=October 9, 2013 }}</ref>

At its peak in the late 1800s, the community included a bank, hospital, newspaper, lumberyard, a Santa Fe Railroad Depot, hotel, multiple churches, multiple grocery and general stores.  At varying times, the community's commercial activity has included cream and egg buying stations, a railroad stockyard for shipping cattle and sheep to eastern markets, and multiple grain elevators.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

===21st century===
Today, Alexander's abandoned three story brick school building is a landmark on K-96 highway. The former Alexander State Bank Building has been re-built and is now the operations and maintenance building for NJR Clean Energy.  The community still has the largest grain elevator in Rush County.  The elevator is a farmer's cooperative elevator owned by area farmers.  Grumbine's Metal Scrap Yard is the other commercial entity in the community.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

In 2015, the "Alexander [[Wind farm|Wind Farm]]" was constructed south of Alexander.  It cost about $85 Million and generates 48 [[Megawatt]] of power.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.onlinetes.com/njr-clean-energy-kansas-wind-farm-102414.aspx |title=NJR Clean Energy acquires Kansas wind farm; October 24, 2014. |access-date=2015-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123180903/http://www.onlinetes.com/njr-clean-energy-kansas-wind-farm-102414.aspx |archive-date=2015-01-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Siemens-touts-order-for-21-wind-turbines-for-Kansas-project-289575681.html |title=Siemens touts order for 21 wind turbines for Kansas project; KAKE tv; January 23, 2015. |access-date=2015-01-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150124191626/http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Siemens-touts-order-for-21-wind-turbines-for-Kansas-project-289575681.html |archive-date=2015-01-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  The Alexander Wind Farm became commercially operative on January 1, 2016.