The "Beautiful Little City of Leonardville" & 1910 Pictorial Booklet Where there is "Peace and Social Harmony" In January 1909 there had been a large fire on the west side of main street (Erpelding Avenue) and several business buildings were destroyed. So during 1909 a new Hotel and Drug Store were built to replace buildings lost in the fire. Also, the Sikes Store's old wooden building built in 1882 was replaced with a new 2-story rock building and a new 2-story brick School Building was built at the south end of main street to replaced the 3 old wooden "sheep sheds" (as there were often referred to) at the north end of main street. So, in 1910 a pictorial booklet was published to "show off" the city. It described Leonardville as a "beautiful little city" with new businesses and homes, and a "magnificent, new school building, which is modern and up-to-date in every respect." "Although it has a population of only five or six hundred, it can boast of four churches and several fraternal societies which goes to show that there is peace and social harmony, making it an excellent city in which to make your home." There are a total of 31 photos in the Booklet. 16 photos of Businesses 8 photos of Residences 4 photos of Churches 2 photos of Main Street (Erpelding Avenue) and 1 photo of the new Schoolhouse This is the cover of the 1910 booklet, "Leonardville, Riley County, Kansas."  Front Cover of the Booklet + + + + + This is the description included about Leonardville on the inside.  Leonardville, Kansas. Situated in the midst of one of the thriftiest of farming districts, in this, the great state of Kansas, known the world over as the world's leading agricultural section, lies the beautiful little city of Leonardville. During the past year several things have been done to improve the town, new business building have been erected and homes have been built, but the greatest accomplishment, that gives the town most credit is the erection of its magnificent, new school building, which is modern and up-to-date in every respect and would be an honor to a much larger city. This is not all. Although it has a population of only five or six hundred it can boast of four churches and several fraternal societies which goes to show that there is peace and social harmony, making it an excellent city in which to make your home. This booklet is not gotten up as a "Booster Edition" and therefore we must refrain from too much boasting as words cannot tell of the actual beauty of a thing as pictures can, and you may look through this book in years to come and see the places which probably were your child-hood haunts, recalling old associates, making it a joy forever.  This picture was probably taken in 1909, because the new Sikes Store building appears to be under construction. The old wooden building is gone, but the new rock bulding is not showing yet. This photo was probably taken from the street, standing in front of the Swingle Hotel building. You can see the Stafford Hardware building, Farmers and Merchants Bank building and the Bredberg building on the left. In the middle at the end of the street is the new water tower built in 1908 and the city jail to the back and left. On the right side you can see the Chaffee Hardware building, Corner Drug Store, Dr. Henderson's office, and the Maud Thompson Millinery building on the right. + + + + +  This photo was taken from the street, standing farther south that the picture above. Probably on or near the railroad tracks. You can see the City Hotel on the left and Alexander Lumberyard on the right. The sidewalks are made out of wood. + + + + +  This is the new School Building that had just been finished in the spring of 1910. It was located at the far south end of main street, Erpelding Avenue. The old school buildings were at the north end of Erpelding across the street from the Watertower and just south of the Methodist Episcopal Church. There had been quite a controversy for many years about the location of a new school. The majority of the residences were in the part of the city that was north of the railroad tracks. Many people thought that a location "south of the tracks" would make it too dangerous for the children to cross the railroad tracks to go and return from school every day. + + + + + To see the remaining photos from this booklet, Click on the links below. There are 16 photos of businesses, 8 photos of residences, and 4 photos of churches. To navigate to those pages, Click on the following links: Businesses - 1 Businesses - 2 Churches Residences + + + + + + + |