Editing Cloud County, Kansas (section)

==History==
[[File:Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Cloud County.png|thumb|left|1915 Railroad Map of Cloud County]]

===Early history===
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
For many [[millennia]], the [[Great Plains]] of North America was inhabited by [[nomadic]] Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the [[Kingdom of France]] claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the [[French and Indian War]], France secretly ceded [[New France]] to Spain, per the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]].

===19th century===
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, while retaining title to approximately 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for [[History of Kansas|modern day Kansas]] was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile [[Louisiana Purchase]] for 2.83 [[Penny (United States coin)|cents]] per acre.

In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th U.S. state. In 1867, '''Cloud County''' was established.

Cloud County was originally named '''Shirley County''', but civic leaders feared that sounded too much like the name of a prostitute.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdD5adyrRFEC&pg=PA21 | title=Kansas Trivia | publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc. | author=Brackman, Barbara | year=1997 | pages=21| isbn=9781418553814 }}</ref> It was then renamed "Cloud" county in honor of Colonel [[William F. Cloud]].<ref>[http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/c/cloud_county.html Kansas Skyways] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223184733/http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/c/cloud_county.html |date=February 23, 2009}} "Cloud County History"</ref>

Cloud County was formed from the existing [[Washington County, Kansas]] in a joint convention with [[Republic County, Kansas|Republic]] and Cloud counties. The county was legally organized on September 6, 1866, with Elk Creek designated as the temporary county seat.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030425112044/http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/cloud/cloud-co-p2.html#COUNTY_ORGANIZATION History of the State of Kansas] by William G. Cutler, Kansas Collection of Books</ref>

In 1887, [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] built a branch line from [[Neva, Kansas|Neva]] (3 miles west of [[Strong City, Kansas|Strong City]]) to [[Superior, Nebraska]]. This branch line connected [[Strong City, Kansas|Strong City]], [[Neva, Kansas|Neva]], [[Rockland, Kansas|Rockland]], [[Diamond Springs, Kansas|Diamond Springs]], [[Burdick, Kansas|Burdick]], [[Lost Springs, Kansas|Lost Springs]], [[Jacobs, Kansas|Jacobs]], [[Hope, Kansas|Hope]], [[Navarre, Kansas|Navarre]], [[Enterprise, Kansas|Enterprise]], [[Abilene, Kansas|Abilene]], [[Talmage, Kansas|Talmage]], [[Manchester, Kansas|Manchester]], [[Longford, Kansas|Longford]], [[Oak Hill, Kansas|Oak Hill]], [[Miltonvale, Kansas|Miltonvale]], [[Aurora, Kansas|Aurora]], [[Huscher, Kansas|Huscher]], [[Concordia, Kansas|Concordia]], [[Kackley, Kansas|Kackley]], [[Courtland, Kansas|Courtland]], [[Webber, Kansas|Webber]], [[Superior, Nebraska|Superior]]. At some point, the line from [[Neva, Kansas|Neva]] to [[Lost Springs, Kansas|Lost Springs]] was pulled but the right of way has not been abandoned. This branch line was originally called "Strong City and Superior line" but later the name was shortened to the "Strong City line". In 1996, the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] merged with [[Burlington Northern Railroad]] and renamed to the current [[BNSF Railway]]. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Santa Fe".