By Dr. Ferrell Miller
Geary County Hisorical Society Board Member
“Establishing A Business in Early Junction City”
In his Master’s Thesis titled An Early History Of Junction City, Kansas: The First Generation, John Jeffries included information about establishing a business in early Junction City. This is some of what he wrote: The great majority of men who came to Junction City, like other communities in Kansas, were young, most of them in their twenties. A man forty years of age was considered an old man. This, then, was a community of young people who were vigorous in their actions, but somewhat inexperienced in business matters. It was a place where fortunes were to be made with a small investment of money and a tremendous investment of energy. Invariably, there were those who tried to take advantage of others, for in this new country there were always “tenderfeet” with a small amount of money and a great amount of gullibility. It was in this environment that businesses were established, flourished, and dissolved. One of the more famous establishments in early Junction City was the firm of Streeter and Strickler.
In addition to financing the local newspaper, in August 1860, Streeter and Strickler bought out the stock of William Leamer who had established a store in Junction City in 1859. Streeter and Strickler had a very imposing store for the time and place. They were supposed to be the first to use the slogan: “Dealers in Everything.” In addition to local trade, the firm did a heavy contracting business, freighting and furnishing supplies throughout the plains area as far as the Rocky Mountains and reaching every government post in that region. Hundreds of men living on the plains were employed by the firm.
In 1861, emphasis was placed on bigger and better business buildings (in Junction City) and some of the original frame structures were replaced or remodeled. In November of that year, Streeter and Strickler began work on their building on the southeast corner of Seventh and Washington Streets. Streeter and Strickler moved into their completed building June 16, 1862.
Immediately following the Civil War, Junction City experienced a boom which extended through the years 1866-1867. People came to Junction City during this period to establish business firms. However, business recession following the boom years, caused by poor timing, unwise choices and a soft heart, impacted the dissolution of the firm of Streeter and Strickler in March 1870.
“Charles Trott’s Early-Day Bookstore”
Pat Olmstead, who in 1991 was the Geary Museum Registrar in 1994, wrote an article for the JC Union newspaper titled “Trott Ran Early-Day Bookstore To Delight Of Many Residents”. Some of the information was taken from accessgeneology.com.
Charles H. Trott was born in 1837. His early life was spent in Boston, and Charles graduated from high school in 1853. For the next five years was an employee in the wholesale drug house of Samuel N. and W.A. Brewer. He was advanced in responsibilities and only left the business to seek better opportunities in the far West.
In 1858, he journeyed by rail and boat to Iowa where he arrived without either capital or influential friends. Charles soon made a trip to Minnesota. After a brief investigation he returned to Iowa and located at Nashua in Chickasaw County, where he formed a partnership with Caleb Green under the firm name of Trott & Green. They opened a store in which they sold general merchandise.
In the early months of the Civil War the business partners felt a greater obligation to their country than to their private affairs. They locked up their store and went into the Army. Mr. Trott enlisted in July 1861 in Company B of the Seventh Iowa Infantry. In 1865 he mustered out of the Army as a Captain and moved to Junction City, Kansas.
Charles married Josie McBratney of Junction City in 1866 and they had one son, Loring.
Captain Trott was active in the community and over the years served on many boards, including Highland Cemetery, the local Fire Department, was President of Central Kansas State Bank (which later became Central National Bank) served as the County Clerk, as the Postmaster and was active in the First Universalist Church. His predecessor in the Post Office had a book and stationary store at 732 N. Washington, which Trott purchased in 1866 and named it the Trott Book Store. (In later years the address was changed to 724 N. Washington).
After a lingering illness of several months, Trott died in 1916 having been in business for 50 years. Following Charles’s death, the bookstore remained in business thanks to Loring. In 1923, Loring sold the business to Ray Bumstead. The building changed owners several times until 1955 when Waters Hardware expanded to the south and took over the building.