Editing Bonner Springs, Kansas (section)

==History==

=== Coronado ===
Spanish explorer [[Francisco Vázquez de Coronado]] spent the winter of 1541-1542 at what is now the area of Bonner Springs. The diary of Father Juan Padilla records that the expedition reached the 40th degree (Kansas northern border) and came to a great river (the [[Missouri River|Missouri]]). An inscription found on a stone near [[Atchison, Kansas|Atchison]] has been translated as, "Thus far came Francisco de Coronado, General of an Expedition." The explorers traveled downstream to the mouth of another great river, the Kansas, and preceded upstream 16 [[league (unit)|leagues]] to camp in what is now Bonner Springs before returning to [[New Spain|Mexico]]. Due to the [[mineral spring]]s, this legend gave the area its first recorded name, "Coronado Springs".<ref name="Morgan, Perl Wilbur 1911"/>

=== Early settlers ===
The [[Kaw people|Kanza people]] had settled the area because of the mineral springs and abundant fish and game when, in 1812, two French [[North American fur trade|fur traders]], the Chouteau brothers, made their way from [[St. Louis]] and temporally settled in the area that would eventually become Bonner Springs, starting a trading post named "Four Houses".<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Roger B. |title= Bonner Springs (Images of America) |date=2013 |publisher= Arcadia Publishing Publishing |location=USA |page=7 | isbn = 978-1467110433}}</ref> The location allowed easy access to trade items, and a ferry to cross the Kansas River was added. With a date of 1812, it is reputed to be the first commercial center and permanent settlement in Kansas.<ref name="Morgan, Perl Wilbur 1911" /> In 1830, Henry Tiblow, a [[Lenape|Delaware Indian]], took charge of the ferry.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news |last1=Boyer |first1=Carolyn |title=Five Things You Might Not Know about Bonner Springs |url=http://www.bonnersprings.com/news/2014/mar/10/five-things-you-might-not-know-about-bonner-spring/ |access-date=April 27, 2015 |agency=The Chieftain |publisher=Dolph C. Simons Jr. |date=March 10, 2014}}</ref> Tiblow was a Delaware Indian who worked as an interpreter for the government. He lived in a small cabin on the west side of the city.<ref name="auto" />

The location became known as "Tiblow Settlement", and the ferry continued working for years.<ref name="auto1" /> John McDanield, or "Red John" due to hair color, is known as the founder of Bonner Springs - as we know it today. As the owner of a vast majority of land that is now Bonner Springs, McDaniel named the town "Tiblow", after his friend Henry.<ref name="auto" />

=== Mineral springs ===
Several of the springs in the area were analysed for their mineral content, and the results indicated benefits that would attract visitors. The Bonner Springs Improvement Club, in 1907, created a promotional brochure touting the city as the "Kansas [[Karlovy Vary|Karlsbad]]" and listing the contents of five springs near Lake of the Woods: Big Chief, Little Chief, Papoose, Old Squaw and Minnehaha. They listed "grains per gallon" of things like [[potassium sulphate]], carbonate of iron, and [[sodium chloride|chloride of sodium]] for each.{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Big Chief was noted to be "splendid water for [[anemia|anemics]], supplying the necessary properties for good red blood and driving out the dead and impure corpuscles."{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Old Squaw was reportedly so named because "the old women of Indian tribes once living in Kansas found relief from their intense [[dyspepsia]] caused by their heavy meat diet and little or no exercise."{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}}

To promote the springs, a special train brought investors to the area and cited its proximity to Kansas City, the springs themselves, the fine parks and native trees, the site of a racetrack, and the beautiful residential sites as advantages that would assure the success of the mineral spring venture. In 1885, Philo Clark purchased {{convert|300|acre}} from McDanield, with plans to capitalize on the mineral springs, then changed the name of the town to "Bonner Springs".<ref name="auto1" /> The latter portion of the name comes from a [[mineral spring]] in the area said to have medicinal qualities.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_o8X5krq3fP8C | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_o8X5krq3fP8C/page/n201 205]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bonnersprings.org/index.aspx?NID=774 | title=Bonner Springs History | publisher=City of Bonner Springs, Kansas | access-date=June 12, 2014}}</ref> The town was named after [[Robert E. Bonner]], a publisher of the ''[[New York Ledger]]'', who was a trotting-horse breeder of note, and Clark believed would help fund the proposed racetrack. However, there is no record this occurred.{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}}

=== Fire of 1908 ===
[[File:1908 Fire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Citizens wander Oak Street, looking at the burned out buildings after the October 1908 fire]]
Bonner Springs continued to be prosperous, with a growing population and new businesses. In 1908, a fire caused over $70,000 worth of damage (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|70000|1908}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}} dollars) and destroyed between 19 and 21 local businesses.<ref name="auto1" /> There were no water mains at the time, even though the city council had debated the issue for some time.

Many locals came to the rescue, forming a [[bucket brigade|water bucket chain]] to help put out the fire, while they waited for a fire truck from Kansas City to arrive.<ref name="auto1" /> An investigation indicated that materials behind Kelly & Pettit's Drug Store had caught on fire, and the winds carried the flames, making the fire difficult to control.<ref name="auto1" /> Residents of Bonner Springs undertook thousands of dollars worth of repairs.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bonnersprings.org/index.aspx?NID=774 | title=Bonner Springs History | publisher=City of Bonner Springs, Kansas | access-date=April 27, 2015}}</ref>