Staff writer
The rural community of Youngtown may not have a commercial center or even a church since 2001, but the name lingers on.
Leon Hayen of Topeka, a native of Youngtown, recently wrote a history of Grant Township in general and Youngtown in particular. Following are excerpts from that history.
The community of Youngtown is located in Grant Township, which was established in 1872 in eastern Marion County. It is almost equally divided by K-150 highway.
The first Youngtown settlers arrived in the area in September 1871. William Dody and Sherman Pierce had scouted the region earlier that year and had staked claims on land in the Lincolnville community. (The town of Lincolnville was platted in 1872.)
When the men came back in the fall with five wagons, their wives, and 11 children, they found that someone had jumped their claims. Instead of contesting it, they chose to settle on land farther south and east.
The men went to Junction City for lumber, and the two women and 11 children were granted lodging in Henry Hartke’s dugout northeast of Lincolnville. The Hartkes had homesteaded there a couple of years earlier and recently had built a house on the place.
Heavy rain flooded the dugout, and the Hartkes graciously invited the families to come into their home and sleep on the floor, where at least they were dry.
The next day they were fed cabbage served out of a large pan in the center of the table.
The families soon arrived at their settlement and were followed shortly by other families.
That same year the railroad reached Florence, which greatly encouraged the settlers. The railroad provided a market for their grain, and a thriving city provided jobs for hard cash.
Many years later, in 1937, Charles Pierce, son of Sherman Pierce, wrote about the first few years at Youngtown. He was seven years old when they arrived.
His father built a large, stone corral that served the neighborhood for two or three years.
Charles kept watch over the neighborhood cattle as they grazed on abundant pastureland.
The job proved difficult at times because Charles didn’t have a horse. One summer he even herded hogs, which tended to disappear into the tall bluestem and not show up again until called in the evening when they were fed grain.
Charles had a lot of responsibility because his father often was absent, working as a logger on the Cottonwood River.
Some people got jobs working in stone quarries or on railroad construction crews.
The family endured occasional visits from Indians, drought, storms, and prairie fires.
In 1875, the Pierce house burned down. Charles was 12 years old.
“I sat down and took a good cry,” he said.
The Pierce men earned money by breaking prairie sod for others using three yoke of oxen and a 24-inch plow. They broke several hundred acres, earning $1.25 per acre.
The heart of Youngtown was three miles east and one mile north of the present-day U.S.-77/56/K-150 intersection. It included a general store/post office, school, buying station for cream and butter, and blacksmith shop. The store held the post office.
Youngtown apparently got its name when the first postmaster, a woman, was appointed in February 1872.
By 1875, improvements were evident. Many farms had at least a stone corral for livestock. Many landowners had established fence lines of Osage Orange (hedge) trees. The tree lines were “horse high, bull strong, and hog tight” if aggressively pruned to promote bushy growth. Many farms also had large fruit orchards.
A couple of schools were established, one of which became District 61 at Youngtown.
School houses were filled with 50-60 students taught by one teacher who earned $40 a month during a three-month session.
The early settlers appreciated the services provided by Henry H. Collett, who operated a country store at Elk, a small community center northeast of Youngtown on the Marion/Chase county line. He provided logs as rafters for houses and for building livestock pens. He also established a freight and passenger service from Elk to Junction City and from Elk to El Dorado. He manufactured cement for building construction.
The first sermon preached in the Youngtown community was delivered in 1875 at the Youngtown school house by an Evangelical circuit rider from Junction City. Everyone walked to church.
From then on, the community continued to meet every week for Sunday school, some classes taught in English and some in German. The church elders decided to make English the language of afternoon services. The preacher visited about once a month. They continued this way for 30 years.
In March 1881, four acres were purchased for $24 from Charles Dody for the Grant Township Cemetery. It is located along K-150 and sometimes is called Youngtown Cemetery.
By 1885, more railroads had been built in adjacent areas and most people were riding wagons, buggies, or horses to church. The township population was 644 in 139 families.
The next decade was a relatively stable period. In 1900, there were 610 people in 134 households. Almost everyone could read, write, and speak English.
In 1903, a new building was constructed for the Youngtown school. The church congregation now had songbooks and an organ. The school became a strong neighborhood center.
But more change was in the works. With the coming of the automobile, people could more easily leave their community.
“It was not a good omen for a country store!” Hayen wrote.
He noted that an author named Michael Berger wrote a book describing the automobile as, “The Devil Wagon in God’s Country.”
By 1907, some families had moved away. There were 42 students in grade school. High school was offered for three years in the 1910s.
In 1908, the faith community finally got a church building. They gained a reputation and had an appreciation for fine music. In the teens to early 1920s, the Hayen Quartet was popular. Edwin, Charles, Walter, and Fred Hayen were accompanied by Mary Hayen.
In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, David Bowers, Leonard Klassen, Ray Davidson, and Benard Stromberg made up a popular quartet accompanied by Shirley Collett Bowers. The church also had a men’s chorus for many years.
In 1920, the population of Grant Township had dropped to 556 people in 120 households. A downward trend was picking up speed. In 1930, there were 486 people in 110 households.
The Youngtown school closed in 1959 and its eight students were sent to Marion. The church, built new in 1949, had an average attendance of 13 in November 2001, when it closed its doors. The building now is a private residence but continues as a reminder of the Youngtown community.
Traditionally, a small group meets after lunch on Memorial Day every year at Youngtown Cemetery.
Hayen wrote: “They take notice of the fresh-turned sod of recent burials and call to mind another day, another time. Certainly there are regrets and a sense of loss. Old familiar faces still linger in the minds of all who have been part of the community.”
He ends his manuscript on a positive note: “There are fewer people in Grant Township as the farms and ranches get larger. But the meadowlark still sings. There are still prairie chickens and turkey and deer. The skylark still does its thing, and the redtailed hawk still graces the sky. The native grasses still flourish and the summer flowers still bloom in the Flint Hills.”