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George A. Rhodes
Winfield, Kansas.
[Son-in-Law, J. M. Alexander.]
Winfield 1880: G. A. Rhodes, 29; spouse, Lizzie, 22.
Winfield Directory 1880.
Rhodes, Geo. A. (Rhodes & Cooper), r. 9th avenue n. s. bet Main and Millington.
RHODES & COOPER, wood, coal, lime, cement, hair, etc.,
Main, w. s. bet 10th and 11th avenues.
ALEXANDER, J. M., lawyer, 9th ave., n. s., bet. Main and Millington; rooms same.
FROM THE NEWSPAPERS.
Winfield Courier, May 1, 1879.
Messrs. Hughes & Rhodes are fixing up their office on South Main street and will soon have on hand a large stock of wood, coal, lime, hair, etc. This is a branch of business comparatively new to Winfield, and is another evidence of our prosperity.
Winfield Courier, May 22, 1879.
Messrs. Hughes and Rhodes have on hand a large stock of coal, wood, lime, etc., and are ready to fill all orders left with them.
AD: HUGHES & RHODES, have just received a fresh supply of FORT SCOTT AND TRINIDAD COAL, Louisville Cement, Plaster Paris, Hannibal Lime and Hair, which they will sell at the LOWEST CASH PRICES. Native Lime, Oak, and Hackberry Wood constantly on hand. OFFICE AND YARD ON SOUTH MAIN STREET.
Winfield Courier, October 16, 1879.
Messrs. Hughes & Rhodes have purchased ground near the depot and are erecting buildings for a coal yard.
Winfield Courier, October 23, 1879.
Messrs. Hughes & Rhodes are putting a pair of four ton scales in front of their coal office and will hereafter do their own weighing.
[NEW YEAR RECEPTIONS.]
Winfield Courier, January 1, 1880.
Mrs. B. F. Baldwin, 7th street, between Millington and Loomis Sts., assisted by Mrs. Geo. A. Rhodes.
Winfield Courier, January 27, 1881.
ANOTHER BURN OUT. Wednesday morning most of our citizens on striking Main street discovered that there had been a fire during the night; that Sheel’s furniture store, Rhodes’ coal office, and Graham’s meat market were a smoking mass of ruins.
To most everyone this was a surprise, as no alarm was heard during the night. The fire-bell was frosty, and although it was rung long and hard, yet the sound could not be heard more than two blocks away. The fire machines were got out, but unfortunately they are of the kind that won’t operate successfully without water, and as that article is very scarce at present, the machines were useless.
The Buildings were old frame ones, dry as tinder boxes, and burned rapidly. The fire is supposed to have caught from the stove in Rhodes’ coal office. It was discovered about three o’clock in the morning and was under full headway.
Mr. Sheel loses his building and stock, estimated at about $3,000. He is insured for $1,000. Mr. Rhodes loses his building, worth about $2,000. Mr. Graham’s loss is about $500.
The brick houses on either side of those burned were hardly scorched. This is a splendid opportunity for a lecture on our means of controlling fires, but we desist.
[THE MONITOR’S LOCALS.]
Winfield Courier, February 3, 1881.
You cannot keep George Rhodes down. Though burned out Wednesday morning at three o’clock by fire, he has secured office room from Quincy A. Glass and was again filling orders for coal. It has only been about two months since he purchased the burned property from his former partner, A. Hughes.
The fire on Wednesday morning was a practical illustration of our helplessness in case of a conflagration. The business portion of the town was saved more as the result of favorable conditions than anything else. A strong wind was blowing from the north, and the heat on the stone wall on the south was great enough to crack the wall, and partially calcine the stone. The Turk will see the destruction of hundreds of buildings and ascribe it to “fate,” or as a punishment sent on them by Allah. We believe the Lord protects and helps those who help themselves. Let us not be like the Turk, but show ourselves the intelligent, practical businessmen we are, by guarding against a conflagration that may destroy the business portion of our beautiful city.
At about three o’clock Wednesday morning the night watchman discovered the building owned by G. A. Rhodes on Main street to be on fire. The alarm was quickly given, but owing to the cracking of the fire bell, it was of short duration, and but a comparatively small crowd was in attendance. The flames were first discovered in the rear of Graham’s meat market, and from that it communicated to Rhodes’ coal office and then to Daniel Sheel’s furniture store. The further progress of the flames, both north and south, was stopped by stone walls. The “engine” was not in working order, and did nothing. All the crowd could do was to save as much of the contents of the buildings as possible, and watch them burn. The losses and insurance is as follows:
George Rhodes, building, office furniture, and fixtures, $700. No insurance.
Mr. Graham, meat market, furniture, fixtures, and stock, $350. No insurance.
Daniel Sheel, building, value $500. Insurance $200 in the Lancashire, Pryor & Kinne, agents. Stock, an insurance of $1,000 in the Home, of New York, Gilbert, Jarvis & Co., agents. Total loss on stock unknown.
Bahntge building on the north, slight damage to wall and awning.
George Ellsberry’s building on the south, a damage of about $150 to wall and awning. Insured.
Mr. Bryant removed a portion of stock. Loss unknown.
NOTE: MONITOR ARTICLE VARIES QUITE A BIT FROM COURIER...STATES
FIRE STARTED IN MEAT MARKET; NOT IN RHODES’ COAL OFFICE.
Winfield Courier, June 2, 1881.
Ground was broken Monday on Rhodes’ new building. It will be a brick and stone, and will be pushed right along.
Winfield Courier, June 16, 1881.
George Rhodes found Monday morning his coal on fire at the bottom of the pile in such situation that only spontaneous combustion could account for it. It was a bin of Osage coal. This is not the first case of spontaneous combustion in a coal pile. The burning of the Normal Institute at Emporia two years ago was started by spontaneous combustion in the coal bins.
Winfield Courier, July 14, 1881.
Mr. Rhodes’ new building begins to show up finely.
Winfield Courier, July 28, 1881.
Mr. Rhodes’ stone store building is being pushed forward rapidly.
[SOME ITEMS ABOUT WINFIELD: FROM LEAVENWORTH TIMES.]
Winfield Courier, August 18, 1881.
There are more than 100 houses in the city at the present time that are occupied for business purposes. The majority of these are built of brick with stone foundations and stone fronts, some three and some two stories high.
Among the new business houses that are being built are the following.
Brettun Hotel: $35,000
H. Brown & Son’s drug store: $4,000
Wallis & Wallis grocery store: $4,000
H. Gridley, business house: $3,500
Curns & Manser (brick, stone front): $10,000
G. A. Rhodes (brick, stone front): $2,000
S. H. Myton will build a new house soon.
An addition is being built to the courthouse, and a heavy fire and burglar proof safe will be put in. The grounds are being planted with trees and will be ornamented with drives, grottoes, etc.
Winfield Courier, November 10, 1881.
The Grand Hunt proved a grand success. Several catastrophes are reported. Jake Nixon burst a barrel of his fine breech-loading gun, Tom Soward lost a “plunger,” and Deacon Harris got soaking wet. The score was a very fair one!
J. N. Harter: 830 A. D. Speed: 170
J. M. Keck: 1,000 B. F. Cox: 290
G. A. Rhodes: 975 C. C. Black: 90
T. H. Soward: 335 G. L. Eastman: 2,375
S. Burkhalter: 480 Dr. Davis: 450
Jacob Nixon: 80 E. Meech, Jr.: 285
Fred Whitney: 765 Q. A. Glass: 180
____ Chapman: 980 Deacon Harris: 500
Total: 5,445 Total: 4,360
The defeated party gave a big banquet at the Brettun Friday evening and the tired and hungry sportsmen fed their friends and told of the hair breadth escapes of “mud-hen” and turtle-dove. Skunks counted fifty, but none were brought in.
[MASQUERADE BALL.]
Cowley County Courant, January 5, 1882.
Mrs. Geo. A. Rhodes, butterfly, one of the daintiest and prettiest costumes on the floor.
Geo. Rhodes, as a rooster, was cock of the walk, and presented a grotesque appearance.
Cowley County Courant, January 19, 1882.
Mr. G. A. Rhodes has purchased the Champion Furniture House, on South Main street, and will open out for business one day this week.
Winfield Courier, January 26, 1882.
Geo. Rhodes has bought the Champion Furniture Store and will stock it up and continue to run.
Winfield Courier, February 2, 1882.
A Winfield Citizen in Florida. Col. J. M. Alexander has reached Florida and writes back to Mr. Rhodes. The letter is dated at Jacksonville, January 21st. The Colonel says:
“The morning I left was a bad one and I found snow and ice until I reached Cincinnati and into Kentucky. I left St. Louis at 8 o’clock a.m., Tuesday morning, and reached Cincinnati at 6 o’clock p.m., 340 miles, running at 34 miles an hour, and making but few stops. I took a Pullman at Cincinnati, and kept my berth to this point, and seats. Had a splendid Conductor and a splendid party, all coming to Florida. Reached here Thursday morning, just three days in passage.
My cough has left me. It is delightful here. Ladies all bareheaded on their verandas sewing, and I never did feel better. This is a beautiful city and a splendid business place, and a splendid people; affable, polite, and entertaining. What a splendid river in the St. Johns, far surpassing the Hudson. The city is full of oranges, bananas, and cocoanuts, and now strawberries are just coming in. Next month we will get plenty of water melons. I can safely say that I had never eaten an orange before. We get nothing at the north but culls. I have eaten, and eat every day, oranges that will fill a great bowl, and contain a pint of juice, and the flavor I cannot describe. But I pay five cents for them and one is all I can eat. I can buy such as we get in the North for 10 cents per dozen, only they are fresh and sweet and juicier. I feel like one living in Paradise, and I don’t hesitate to say that I am a resident of Florida and shall always remain so. I’ll not be worn out by a cough here.
Next week I am going to Palatka. Palatka is a splendid town and I now think that either there or here will be my future home. Hundreds and thousands are coming in and settling the counties of Orange, Sumpter, Hernando, and others. Tomorrow an excursion steamer runs to the mouth of St. Johns, to a watering place 25 miles, with good music—fare round trip and spend the day, 75 cents. I have a companion, a Mr. Vail, from Illinois, a nice man and well off. He is an old acquaintance of E. P. Kinne. I do like the cut of Jacksonville better and better everyday. No dust, no mud, only clean, dry sand. Oysters as large as your hand at 25 cents a solid quart. This is the healthiest place I know of. Nobody dies here except consumptives who come from the North. They have got a new cemetery away out of town, and they can’t get anybody to put into it. I never did feel better. I sleep with my window up all night, and pay $7 a week for board. I am told that I can get board at Palatka for $5 per week. Beautiful little sharp prowed steamers are constantly running up and down the river. I don’t think of anymore that I can write of interest until I have seen more.
Yours truly, J. M. ALEXANDER.
Cowley County Courant, March 16, 1882.
George Rhodes, our enterprising furniture dealer, has a show window of more than ordinary attraction. The window shows a large room, formed of muslin, which contains thirty-six live red birds, fluttering and flying around in the branches of a cedar tree. The birds were secured by Mr. Rhodes and Nate Snyder, and the sight is certainly worth going some distance to see.
[WINFIELD CITY COUNCIL.]
Cowley County Courant, April 6, 1882.
The following bill was approved and recommended to the County Commissioners for payment.
G. A. Rhodes, coffin, same, $10.00.
Cowley County Courant, April 13, 1882.
A. H. Arment has bought the stock of the Champion furniture store of George Rhodes, and will continue business at the old stand.
Cowley County Courant, April 13, 1882.
G. A. Rhodes, who has had about thirty red birds in the front window of his store room, opened the window the other day, restoring the little singers to light and liberty. They lingered around a few minutes, thinking there must be something wrong, and then flew away to the timbers, their natural house.
We have often thought that a book could be written on the cruelty practiced in confining these beauties of the forests in cages, thus robbing them of all they possessed, their freedom to fly where they choose. There are many arguments against such cruelties. If it is kept up, it won’t be long before there will be no red birds to cage in Kansas as has been demonstrated in the eastern states. At many places in the east where the forests were filled a few years ago with these wild birds, not a one can be found today, they having emigrated it is supposed to escape being captured by people who would cage them to sing a few months and then die in their confinement.
Winfield Courier, April 13, 1882.
Col. Alexander sold the brick office and residence next to it, on East Ninth Avenue, last week to Mr. Gilkey for $1,000 cash down.
Winfield Courier, April 20, 1882.
On last Friday evening the residence of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Fuller was the scene of one of the merriest as well as the “toniest” parties ever given in Winfield. Mrs. Fuller has entertained her friends several times this winter without any of the young folks being present, but this time she honored them by giving this party, which was duly appreciated. Everyone invited, with but two exceptions, was present and never were guests more hospitably entertained. The evening was spent in dancing and other amusements, while an elegant collation consisting of cakes and ice cream was served at eleven o’clock. At a late hour the guests dispersed, all thanking their kind host and hostess for the pleasant evening so happily spent. The costumes of the guests were elegant and worthy of mention. We give below a list which we hope will be satisfactory to the ladies mentioned.
Mrs. Rhodes, silver gray silk, pink ribbons.
The following gentlemen were in attendance. Their “costumes” were remarkable for subdued elegance and the absence of aesthetic adornment.
Messrs. Steinberger; J. N. Harter; G. A. Rhodes; E. E. Thorpe; George, Will, and Ivan Robinson; Fred and Will Whiting; Mr. Colgate; F. C. Hunt; C. E. Fuller; C. C. Harris; W. H. Smith; Will Smith; W. J. Wilson; Jos. O’Hare; Jas. Lorton; Frank and E. P. Greer; Eugene Wallis; Saml. E. Davis; L. H. Webb; Harry and Chas. F. Bahntge; Chas. Campbell; Ezra Nixon; L. D. Zenor; E. G. Cole; C. H. Connell; Mr. Ed. M. Clark of McPherson; and W. C. Garvey of Topeka.
Winfield Courier, May 11, 1882.
Geo. Rhodes leaves for Mt. Dora, Florida, next Monday.
Winfield Courier, May 18, 1882.
A Pleasant Party. On last Thursday evening Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Robinson entertained a large company of their young friends at their elegant residence, which they have been fitting up with new paper of a very beautiful and expensive pattern. Having the carpets up in the parlors, it was considered a good time to give a party and take the opportunity to indulge in a dance. The evening was just the one for a dancing party, for although “May was advancing,” it was very cool and pleasant, and several hours were spent in that exercise, after which an excellent repast consisting of ice cream, strawberries, and cakes was served, and although quite late the dancing continued some hours, and two o’clock had struck ere the last guest had lingeringly departed. No entertainments are more enjoyed by our young folks than those given by Mr. Robinson and his estimable wife. We append a list of those persons on this occasion: Misses Jackson, Roberts, Josie Bard, Jessie Meech, Florence Beeny, Jennie Haine, Kate Millington, Jessie Millington, Scothorn, Margie Wallis, Lizzie Wallis, Curry, Klingman, McCoy, Berkey; Mr. and Mrs. George Rhodes, Mr. and Mrs. Jo Harter, Mrs. and Dr. Emerson, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bahntge, Mr. and Mrs. George Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hunt; Messrs. W. A. Smith, C. C. Harris, Charles Fuller, Lou Zenor, James Lorton, Lovell Webb, Sam E. Davis, Eugene Wallis, C. H. Connell, Dr. Jones, Campbell, Ivan Robinson, W. C. Robinson.
Cowley County Courant, June 1, 1882.
We were truly sorry to be unable to attend the party at the residence of our young friend, Chas. Bahntge, Thursday evening, but those who attended enjoyed one of the most pleasant evenings spent in Winfield for some time. Mr. and Mrs. Bahntge have a large number of friends in Winfield, and those who were so royally entertained at their home Thursday evening think more of them now than ever before. The following is a list of those who were present: Misses McCoy, Jennie Hane, Amy Scothorn, Jessie Millington, Kate Millington, Margie Wallis, Lizzie Wallis, Roberts, Florence Beeny, Josie Bard, Mrs. French, Miss Smith, W. C. Robinson, Ivan Robinson, Lou. Zenor, Lovell Webb, H. Goldsmith, C. C. Harris, Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Read, Mr. and Mrs. Spotswood, Mr. and Mrs. Hackney, Mr. and Mrs. Buckman, Mr. and Mrs. Soward, Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Emerson, Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hunt, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. George Whitney, of Sedgwick, Mrs. Carson, of Cherryvale, Mrs. Geo. Rhodes, W. H. Smith, Chas. Fuller, Jas. Lawton, Mr. Campbell, C. H. Connell, Sam Davis, Richard Bowles, Eugene Wallis, O. M. Seward.
Winfield Courier, November 16, 1882.
NEW COAL OFFICE. I have put in a stock of coal at the stand formerly occupied by G. A. Rhodes, on South Main Street. Coal sold in the bin or delivered to any part of the city at lowest cash prices. QUINCY A. GLASS.
Winfield Courier, December 7, 1882.
Col. Alexander left for Florida Monday. His daughter, Mrs. Rhodes and family, accompanied him. They have abandoned Winfield permanently, but leave many friends behind, who wish them much joy in their new home.
