As we celebrate the 150th birthday of Hutchinson and Reno County, we want to go through the years, decade by decade, to see how things have changed and — remarkably — how they have stayed the same. This would not be possible without the efforts of Steve Harmon, the Reno County Museum, and the Hutchinson Public Library, who have made a great effort to supply us with the information and photos that you’ll see in this 15-part series. We hope you enjoy it.
The war was over and 102 Reno County men lost their lives, but the soldiers had returned home and many new additions to the city and county were a part of the 1920s. There was also loss and two major weather events.
1920: The first paved road connected Hutchinson and Nickerson. It was a big event with more than 15,000 residents showing up for the road’s dedication. More than 40 quarters of barbecue beef were served.
St. Elizabeth's Hospital was dedicated and served the area for many years until what is now Hutchinson Regional Medical Center was constructed.
Another bank comes to Hutchinson as Salt City Savings and Loan is incorporated. Emerson Carey is the president. That same year, Carey donates 200 acres of land near the Arkansas River for a new public park. The park is named in his honor.
The Grandview School is planned and Roosevelt School at 16th and Adams is constructed.
A parcel of land at 16th and Main is purchased for the Trinity Methodist Church.
1921: Scandal hits the Reno County Courthouse with bribery and price-fixing charges brought in connection with a road paving project in Medora. A grand jury indicts a local businessman and two county commissioners resigned. Armed guards are posted at the courthouse after records disappear. The county engineer flees to California.
Plans are put in place for a new Masonic temple in the city.
The third state convention of the American Legion is held in Hutchinson.
Hutchinson residents complain they pay more for gasoline than in other communities.
Hutchinson hosts the State Sunday School convention. Thousands attend at the convention hall and march down Main Street.
The Boy Scouts Council is organized in Hutchinson.
1922: Carey Park was officially dedicated on May 21, 1922. The municipal band plays for the crowd and many residents bring a picnic lunch and have dinner in the park. The only stipulation from Emerson Carey in donating the 200 acres for the park is that the city levy $5,000 a year for the park's upkeep. Much of the brass and copper used for lamps and vases used in the park made from moonshine stills were confiscated by authorities.
Another familiar name becomes a part of Hutchinson after J.D. Hall resigns as the Hutchinson Schools superintendent. He’s replaced by Winfield resident J.W. Gowans.
Nettie Keys is named Vice President of the Business and Professional Women's Club.
The Salvation Army gives out 481 Thanksgiving dinners to area residents — a tradition that still goes on today.
Prisoner James Porter, who was at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital with a gunshot wound, escapes.
The gas company threatens to cut off service to customers for not being able to pay the service charge.
Hutchinson's economy is boosted by tens of thousands of visitors to many conventions. Most stay at the campgrounds at the state fairgrounds.
The music supervisor at Hutchinson High School bans provocative jazz music.
A Reno County farmer is robbed of thousands of dollars in bootlegged whiskey. To add insult to injury, the sheriff’s department confiscates what isn’t stolen.
Herbert Hoover speaks in Hutchinson.
Thirty-five reformatory inmates are paroled so they can help with a bumper harvest.
1923: President Warren G. Harding visits Hutchinson and helps a local farmer with the wheat harvest. He also speaks to thousands at the state fair and plays golf with another familiar name, Sen. Arthur Clapper.
A tornado rips through the small community of Partridge; it never completely recovers from the storm.
The Carey Salt Mine is dedicated by Gov. Johnathan Davis.
A smallpox outbreak closes school for four weeks. The reformatory is put in quarantine to slow the spread in prison.
The county treasurer resigns for negligence with the county funds at a failed bank. The bank president flees the area but is arrested and convicted.
A new home is finished for the Hutchinson News at 2nd and Walnut.
1924: The Haven bridge over the Arkansas River is finished.
The Hutchinson News purchases the Daily Gazette; it becomes the morning edition called the Hutchinson Herald.
The Reno County Courthouse at B and Main is condemned after the ground caves in around it due to an old salt well. The county offices are relocated until a new courthouse can be built in 1931 at 1st and Adams.
A memorial for President Warren G. Harding is built on Rayl's Hill west of the city. School students help raise money for the project.
Reformatory employees are asked to donate a part of their paycheck to the Democratic state party. One employee who refuses is fired after a call from the governor.
Oil fever hits the area with new wells in Medora, Nickerson and Haven. There are talks of a refinery surface; it never happens.
Two thousand county residents register for the draft and are assigned to reserve units.
1925: Vida Watson of Turon is named the Kansas Wheat Queen and visits President Coolidge in the White House.
Grace Hospital is dedicated at 8th and Main.
Reno County ranks first in the state in the value of farm products as agriculture continues to be big business in the area.
The Santa Fe Railroad builds a new roundhouse in Hutchinson. Today it is the main railyard east of the city.
The First Baptist Church is destroyed by a fire. With plenty of help, the church rebuilds near 8th and Main.
The Women’s Civic Club opens on North Main in the city.
Another familiar business opens. Woodwork Manufacturing opens at Walnut and Sherman by W.E. Kissic, B.F. Nichols, H.A. Nichols and H.I. Sneed.
C.H. Humphreys is named the President of the State Chamber of Commerce.
J.D. Dillon retires from J.S. Dillon & Sons. Ray Dillon becomes the company’s new president.
An imprisoned banker becomes the focus of a statehouse scandal when the outgoing governor is charged with bribery in an effort to pardon the banker and others.
1926: Another company with a long tradition in Hutchinson opened in 1926. Betts Bakery was a fixture of the city for many years at 120 E. 3rd Ave.
After starting small, the new Trinity Methodist Church is finished at the corner of 17th and Main.
Main Street in Buhler gets a needed facelift with more than 300 tons of gravel laid down.
Fourteen civil war veterans march in Hutchinson’s annual Memorial Day Parade.
The harvest in Reno County is tops in the state with more than 6.79 million bushels taken in.
With crime on the rise, a group of citizens form the Vigilance Committee to stop a wave of banditry. A reward is offered for bandits and burglars, dead or alive.
1927: The first of two major weather events in Hutchinson happens when a tornado hits the city. One person is killed and many homes and the salt mine are damaged. The Red Cross provides assistance to 157 families with $6,000 in aid.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is formed for Spanish-speaking residents.
More oil fields open around Hutchinson, Abbyville and Arlington. Thousands fill up Hutchinson hotels looking to strike it rich.
Thelma Adrian of Buhler is recognized for never being late or absent from school in 12 years.
Much of Reno County is under water as the Arkansas River hits a record high.
Emanuel Lutheran Church is dedicated at B and Plum.
The Stamey Construction Company builds the addition onto the high school that will become the new junior college that is planned for the city.
Veteran contractor J.H. Shears dies. His sons George, Frank and Will take over the business that still stands today.
The Adams Street bridge over Cow Creek is built.
In 1927, there were more than $3.5 million in building permits issued with more than 200 homes built.
A local packing plant slaughtered more than 10,000 cattle and 25,000 hogs that year.
1928: A special election is held to establish the new junior college. A former junior high principal is named the school's first dean, C.M. Lockman. There are 11 faculty and 209 students in the first year.
Krause Manufacturing was established in 1928 and still builds farm equipment in Hutchinson to this day.
Hutchinson was becoming the center of the grain industry as Grain Belt Company and Western Terminal built new grain elevators. The area elevators get much bigger in the coming years.
Hutchinson Foundry and Steel is established. George Randall is president, C.B. Scanland is vice president and J.P. O’Sullivan is treasurer.
The grandstand at the Kansas State Fair is constructed using mostly inmates from the reformatory. The facility has seating for 12,000 fans. Inmate laborers are still a major part of the fairgrounds maintenance and upkeep year-round.
Two major bond issues are approved by the city. The first is $75,000 for the new municipal airport and the second is $38,500 for a new swimming pool at Carey Park.
Richardson Auditorium is dedicated at Hutchinson High School.
1929: The other major weather event in Hutchinson during the 1920s happened July 13, 1929, when the Cow Creek levee failed, sending a rush of flood water through the city. Most of the downtown area was under three-to-four feet of water and many homes and businesses were damaged.
The Red Cross provided assistance to 144 families hurt by the flood. Damage totals $2.5 million, or about $40 million today.
The first traffic lights were installed in the city.
A fact that still is true today, Reno County leads the state of Kansas in paved roads with 84 miles.
An automobile tag facility is built at the reformatory.
South Hutchinson Grade School is closed after a diphtheria outbreak.
The stock market crash seems to have little impact on Hutchinson.
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital opens a new nursing home.
The Decades are brought to you by:
Hutchinson Funeral Chapel
Rothe Family Flooring
Hutchinson Public Library
Check back next Sunday for the next part in this series.
CLICK HERE FOR THE 1870s
CLICK HERE FOR THE 1880s
CLICK HERE FOR THE 1890s
CLICK HERE FOR THE 1900s
CLICK HERE FOR THE 1910s
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