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Crawford County, Kansas |
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Founded
in 1886 by the Cherokee-Pittsburg Coal Company and named
Santa Fe Mine No. 1. In 1887, the name was changed to
Frontenac and the town was laid out by A. A. Robinson,
official of the Cherokee-Pittsburg Coal Company. Where
the name Frontenac came from is a mystery, but the most
logical explanation is that it was named after Fort Frontenac
in Canada, a source of early recrutement for the coal
mines. In
1895, as more and more miners settle in the area, Frontenac
became incorporated as a third-class city. On February
9, 1907, it became a second-class city. Most of the new
residents were from the "old country" of France,
Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium and Ireland. The
postoffice was established on June 23, 1887 and remained
until Nov. 29, 1957 when the mail delivery was switched
to Pittsburg. One of the first business' in town was
a store opened by Dr. J. S. Patton. It was the grocery
store, dry goods store, and an undertaking business.
His motto was
"Everything from the Cradle to the Grave," and
he was the doctor and the undertaker. Frontenac
was home for the first macaroni factory in Kansas. It was
started in 1906 by the Griglione family. At one time Frontenac
citizens could ride the Joplin-Pittsburg Streetcar to Pittsburg
for 5 cents. This service was discontinued in 1933. The
first Catholic Mass was held in 1887 in the home of Andrew
Walker. The first Methodist service was held 3 years later
in 1890 in the Santa Fe Depot. In 1894, a small wooden
church was built by the Catholics. It was also that year
the the first resident pastor, Father Podgorsek came to
Frontenac. |
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| More About Frontenac |
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"Frontenac,
located three miles north and one east of Pittsburg, is
a flourishing town of two thousand inhabitants. The Santa
Fe Railroad furnishes transportation to the people, while
the Pittsburg Railroad trolley cars carry people to and
from Pittsburg. Frontenac is the outgrowth of the Devlin
or Santa Fe Coal Company. Here are located the coal shafts
and offices of said company, and here most of the people
employed in and about the mines live. They have built comfortable
cottages for themselves and families. Excellent schools
are maintained, and churches are well patronized. Several
stores, a postoffice, hotels and boarding houses are well
represented. The coal shafts are one hundred and twenty
feet deep, where they mine forty inches of excellent coal.
The Santa Fe Coal Company own several thousand acres of
coal lands about Frontenac and the vicinity of Chicopee." - A
Twentiety Century History and Biographical Record of Crawford
County, KS, Home Authors, 1905 by Lewis Publishing
Company, Chicago, IL |
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An incorporated
city of the second class in Crawford county, is located
9 miles southeast of Girard, the county seat, at the junction
of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Kansas City
Southern railroads. It is also on the line of the Joplin & Pittsburg
electric railway. Frontenac has a bank, international money
order post office, express and telegraph service, telephone
connections, several good mercantile establishments, hotels,
etc. It is situated in the coal fields, and the principal
industry is coal mining. A Catholic academy is at Frontenac,
and the city has a good public school system. The population
in 1910 was 3,396, a gain of 1591 during the preceding
decade. - Kansas - A Cyclopedia of
State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries,
Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Person, Etc., Frank
W. Blackmar, editor, copyright 1912. |
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