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LITTLE BALKANS CHRONICLES C.H. Strong started a town of his own
J.T. Knoll
The following is excerpted from The Genesis of Girard by William C. Cuthbertson, the centennial edition of the Pittsburg Headlight-Sun and The Joplin Globe
. J.T.K.
Crawford County, organized February 13, 1867, was named after Samuel J. Crawford, then governor of Kansas, who also gave his name to the town of Crawfordsville (once located two miles west of Girard on Hwy 57).
In 1867 the
Fort Scott Weekly Monitor stated: “There has been two buildings erected on the town site in the last week: another under contract, 22 by 28 feet, two stories high, to be commenced immediately for school purposes and to hold courts in. There will be a saw mill put up this fall … A grocery and dry goods store would do a good business, as there is nothing of the kind in that section of the country; also a drug store is needed, as there is no chance of getting medicine short of Ft. Scott.
Like thousands of others over the past century, Terry Bartlow has year ‘round, fond memories of Lakeside Park, which was originally part of the farm of Franklin Playter, Pittsburg’s founder.A slate dump from a former mine on his property had created an eyesore for Mr. Playter, so he used it to form a dam across a large swale, creating a 3 ½ acre body of water that he allowed people to use for recreational purposes.After being purchased by some prominent citizens in 1920, it