Editing McPherson County, Kansas (section)

===19th century===
[[File:1845 trailmap.png|thumb|left|1845 [[Santa Fe Trail]] crossing McPherson County]]
[[File:Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 McPherson County.png|thumb|left|1915–1918 railroad map of McPherson County]]
From the 1820s to 1870s, the [[Santa Fe Trail]] passed through, what is now McPherson County. The trail entered the county, east of Canton, then south of Galva, then north of Inman, and west towards Lyons. In 1855, Charles O. Fuller established a ranch adjacent to the Running Turkey Creek Crossing about two miles south and one mile east of Galva. Fuller's Ranch provided accommodations for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail and was probably the first white settlement in McPherson County.

From 1860 to 1865, McPherson County was part of [[Peketon County, Kansas Territory|Peketon County]]. On February 17, 1865, Peketon County was abolished, and McPherson County was made a part of [[Marion County, Kansas|Marion County]], which extended from the west line of [[Chase County, Kansas|Chase County]] to the present western boundary of Kansas.

In 1868, Solomon Stephens and L. N. Holmberg were appointed Justices of the Peace—the first officers in what is now McPherson County. The next year (1869) occurred the first election for the township, now the county of McPherson. McPherson was regularly organized as a county in the spring of 1870, a mass meeting being held at Sweadal. Sweadal, the county seat thus selected, was located about one mile and a half southwest of the present site of Lindsborg. In September, however, the County Commissioners resolved to meet at the latter place, [[McPherson, Kansas|McPherson]] which had already been located some two years.

In April 1873, a petition was filed for the county seat re-location. It was signed by 483 voters, and a special election was accordingly ordered for June 10. Upon that day, McPherson received 605 votes, New Gottland 325, King City 3 and [[Lindsborg, Kansas|Lindsborg]] 1; McPherson's majority over all, 276. In May the McPherson Town Company had offered, as an inducement for the location of the county seat at this point, the free use of rooms for ten years, and the donation of two squares of land on the town site. The offer was accepted the next month, the County Commissioners selecting blocks 56 and 65. Thus the county seat was established at McPherson and has remained since.

As early as 1875, city leaders of [[Marion, Kansas|Marion]] held a meeting to consider a branch railroad from [[Florence, Kansas|Florence]]. In 1878, [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] and parties from [[Marion County, Kansas|Marion County]] and McPherson County chartered the [[Marion and McPherson Railway Company]].<ref name="MarionCountyBook">''Marion County Kansas: Past and Present''; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; [[LCCN]] 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972.</ref>  In 1879, a branch line was built from Florence to McPherson; in 1880 it was extended to [[Lyons, Kansas|Lyons]] and in 1881 was extended to [[Ellinwood, Kansas|Ellinwood]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIwpAAAAYAAJ Fourth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners for the Year Ending December 1, 1886 in State of Kansas; Kansas Publishing House; 1886.]</ref> The line was leased and operated by the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]. The line from Florence to Marion was abandoned in 1968.<ref name="Abandon Railway 1968">[http://www.abandonedrails.com/Marion_to_Florence Railway Abandonment 1968]</ref> In 1992, the line from Marion to [[McPherson, Kansas|McPherson]] was sold to [[Central Kansas Railway]]. In 1993, after heavy flood damage, the line from Marion to McPherson was abandoned. The original branch line connected Florence, Marion, [[Canada, Kansas|Canada]], [[Hillsboro, Kansas|Hillsboro]], [[Lehigh, Kansas|Lehigh]], [[Canton, Kansas|Canton]], [[Galva, Kansas|Galva]], McPherson, [[Conway, Kansas|Conway]], [[Windom, Kansas|Windom]], [[Little River, Kansas|Little River]], [[Mitchell, Kansas|Mitchell]], Lyons and [[Chase, Kansas|Chase]], then connected with the original AT&SF main line at Ellinwood.

In 1887, the [[Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway]] extended its main line from [[Herington, Kansas|Herington]] to [[Pratt, Kansas|Pratt]].<ref name="Rock Island Rail History">{{Cite web |url=http://home.covad.net/~scicoatnsew/rihist4.htm |title=Rock Island Rail History |access-date=April 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723055808/http://home.covad.net/~scicoatnsew/rihist4.htm |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  This main line connected Herington, [[Ramona, Kansas|Ramona]], [[Tampa, Kansas|Tampa]], [[Durham, Kansas|Durham]], [[Waldeck, Kansas|Waldeck]], Canton, [[Galva, Kansas|Galva]], McPherson, [[Groveland, Kansas|Groveland]], [[Inman, Kansas|Inman]], [[Medora, Kansas|Medora]], [[Hutchinson, Kansas|Hutchinson]], [[Whiteside, Kansas|Whiteside]], [[Partridge, Kansas|Partridge]], [[Arlington, Kansas|Arlington]],  [[Langdon, Kansas|Langdon]], [[Turon, Kansas|Turon]], [[Preston, Kansas|Preston]], [[Natrona, Kansas|Natrona]] and Pratt. In 1888, this main line was extended to [[Liberal, Kansas|Liberal]]. Later, this line was extended to [[Tucumcari, New Mexico]] and Santa Rosa, New Mexico, where it made a connection with the Southern Pacific from [[El Paso, Texas]]. The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was absorbed by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. This line is also called the "Golden State Route".