Did You Know This About Geary County History?”
By Dr. Ferrell Miller
Geary County Historical Society Board Member
“The Large Stone House At 106 N. Jackson”
Today’s story is a shortened version of an article written for the “J.C. Union” newspaper in 1994. The original article was written by the late Marilyn Heldstab, who was then the Director of the Geary County Historical Society.
“The abstract related to the house at what is now 106 N. Jackson indicates the first entry of September 3, 1860. An 1886 entry listed a frame barn on the property at that time. Dustin Sands and his wife took out a mortgage on the property in 1887. It is assumed that is when the present stone house was started.
When Mr. Sands built the house, the walls cost $1,500 and he let them set for a year for settling purposes before completing the house. The Sands’ may have lived in the house for a time before the Stephen Boon family acquired the property in 1901.
Stephen Boon had been a widower with two children. Stephen and his father owned and operated the Bartell Hotel. When Julia, Stephen’s second wife, came to Junction City the family lived at the hotel. Mrs. Boon decided a hotel was no place to raise children so they got out of the business and Fred Boon, Stephen’s younger brother, took over the hotel. Stephen opened the Model Meat Market at 706 N. Washington Street. That building is now part of the First National Bank building (currently the Exchange Bank) and is hidden behind a stucco façade.
Stephen Boon (sometimes spelled Boone) died in 1942. Elizabeth Boon Compton related that there was extensive remodeling done over the years when the Boon family owned the house. Julia remained in the house until August of 1943 when she sold the property to Mr. and Mrs. Howard Harper.
Katherine (Harper) Hornbaker stated that the kitchen she acquired still had the old pitcher pump that had a cistern as its source of water. Light was supplied by single bare bulbs that hung in the center of each room. They were low wattage, which made the rooms quite dim. The worst part for Katherine was the large cast-iron cook stove that still reposed in the kitchen.
Donald and Norma Bush acquired the house in May 1973. They also remodeled and updated areas of the house.” Terry and Peggy Heldstab purchased the house in 1994 and then sold it in 2020. The current owners are Mr. and Mrs. Zac Hall.
“Rural Phone Lines Near Completion In 1905”
Today, most of us have a cell phone. We are able to make calls from almost anywhere, search the internet, check our Facebook pages, post pictures, use many different apps to get special deals on items we may want to purchase, play video games, word games and use our phones for many other uses.
However, in June of 1905, on the east side of Junction City, Kansas the farm telephone lines were just nearing completion. Manager Thomas Dorn of the Wareham Dewey Exchange informed the “Junction City Daily Union” newspaper that he would be connecting the lines as soon as arrangements could be made and the materials could be laid out on the ground. (Thomas Dorn was also one of the early managers of the Opera House in Junction City).
The farmers and townspeople had to pay a toll of 15 cents per use. With the completion of the eastern lines, there would be few points in any area within 25 miles of Junction City that could not be reached by telephone.
The connecting lines cost the telephone company about $75 to $100 per mile. The lines going to Alida, Kansas connected with all those to the north and northeast and part of Dickinson County, which made it the longest connecting line in the area.
Just think how far we have come since 1905 with the ability to call almost anywhere in the world from our house, business or even while traveling in our car. There are some youngsters who would have never known life without a cell phone. A rotary dial phone may be only something they see images of on their hand-held device.