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The First Steam Tractor in Cowley County
Subject: Fw: Van Vleet & Sage Carriages, Wagons & Implements
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 14:52:16 -0500
From: "Winfield Main Street"
To: "Bill Bottoroff"
Bill I received this request from the Winfield Chamber - and have never heard of Van Vleet & Sage - Might it be VanFleet & Sage? Can you help these folks?
Thanks, Lois
----- Original Message -----
From: "Winfield Chamber Commerce" Sent: Monday, July 15, 2002 1:19 PM
Subject: Fw: Van Vleet & Sage Carriages, Wagons & Implements
Lois,
Wondered if you could her find the information she is needing. I checked
with Liermann's and they didn't know. That makes me wonder if the
business
was in Winfield.
Thanks,
Ann
----- Original Message -----
From: "Linda"
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2002 11:26 PM
Subject: Van Vleet & Sage Carriages, Wagons & Implements
Hi,
I have a very old photo of one of the first agricultural steam engines. It is on the street in front of a building that says Van Vleet & Sage Carriages, Wagons and Implements.
I have tried many times over the years to find out anything about it. It has been passed down through my family over the years and I have tried to search the areas my family was known to be in but no luck. So, I decided to type the name of the business into the Google.com search engine. The only thing that came up was the 1888 city directory for Winfield, Kansas.
Would you have any information regarding the business or the steam engine? I would like to find out who to contact to determine if that was the only Van Vleet & Sage in the USA and England or if there might have been others.
Thank you for your time,
Linda
linda
Subject: Van Vleet & Sage
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 16:03:33 -0500
From: "William W. Bottorff"
Organization: Austin Business Computers, Inc.
To: linda
Linda, first let me say that I would love to see your picture of the Van Vleet & Sage enterprise. This is a pretty unusual name so it is not unreasonable to think that this is the only one.
I searched the old newspapers and found the following:
from: Winfield Courier, Thursday, February 4, 1886.
P. G. Van Vleet and wife, of Elmira, New York, have located in Winfield. He has rented the Bryan stone building on North Main and will enter the wholesale agricultural implement business—a regular commission, storage, transfer, and forwarding business for eastern manufacturers. He is a young man of vim and means.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, March 4, 1886.
The rulers of the city met in regular bi-weekly session Monday eve, with Mayor Graham presiding, and Councilmen Connor, Jennings, Myers, Crippen, Baden, and Harter present; McDonald and Hodges absent.
The sidewalk petition of Marie A. Andrews et al was granted.
The Public Health Committee sat down on dry wells for drains, and an ordinance was ordered prohibiting drain wells or privy vaults
anywhere in the city, of greater depth than eight feet.
Bills were ordered, paid as follows: B. McFadden, burying four canines, $4; city officers’ salaries for Feb., $129.98; Black & Rembaugh,
printing, $145.
Bills of J. P. Baden, $21.65, were referred to commissioners for payment.
The Western Union Telegraph Company was given right of way for its line to the uptown office, with the privilege of establishing said office.
Councilmen Crippen, Connor, and Harter were appointed to ascertain the boundaries of territory necessary to take into the city limits.
It was determined to put on the market simultaneously the city building and bridge bonds, $23,000, soon.
There were two bids opened for privilege of city weigh master. Capt. Lyons offered the city $25 per month, and Van Vleet & Sage, the
new wholesale implement men, offered one-half the gross receipts from the scales, with a guarantee of $640 a year; no other scales to be
licensed to weigh for hire in the city limits. The scales are to be the size and kind directed by the council, and be erected at once in front of 614
North Main.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, March 4, 1886.
A. F. Chase, representing the Howe Scale Company, was in the city, and took an order from Van Vleet & Sage for a scales for the city weighmasters.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, March 11, 1886.
Implements!
Farmers, please call at the New Implement House,
612 and 614 MAIN STREET,
Nearly Opposite the Brettun House, and inspect our goods before Purchasing Elsewhere.
VAN VLEET & SAGE.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, March 18, 1886.
P. G. Van Vleet, of Van Fleet & Sage, our new implement firm, went to Oxford Thursday.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, March 25, 1886.
Van Vleet & Sage have moved their desk room and weighing apparatus of the city scales into the front of the room now occupied by Stayman’s machine shop. They are also putting up a small barn back of their business rooms.
NOTICE.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, March 25, 1886.
Notice is hereby given to the public that the legal city scales of the city of Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas, is situated at 614 Main street,
nearly opposite the Brettun House, and that Van Vleet & Sage are the duly appointed weighmasters of the same.
Signed, W. G. Graham, Mayor. Dated March 18, 1886.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, March 25, 1886.
New Implement House,
Stone Block, Opposite the Brettun.
Lansing Farm Wagons, Grand Detour Plows, Nebraska & Kansas Breakers.
Please call before you purchase elsewhere.
Extras on hand of Grand Detour Plows, Cultivators, Etc.
Legal City Hay Scales
VAN VLEET & SAGE, Weighmasters.
TOO EAGER.
NOTICE.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, April 1, 1886.
Notice is hereby given to the public that the legal city scales of the city of Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas, is situated at 614 Main Street, nearly opposite Brettun House, and that Van Vleet & Sage are the duly appointed weighmasters of the same.
Signed, W. G. Graham, Mayor. Dated March 18, 1886.
CITY DOTS.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, April 1, 1886.
Van Vleet & Sage, city weigh masters, have complained to the city council that others were weighing for hire. A strong prohibitive ordinance has been ordered.
City Clerk Buckman has been ordered by the city rulers to draw an order in favor of Uhl & Giel for $584, 80 per cent of the first estimate of the City Building.
An order was also made for an order in favor of W. P. Hackney for $1,000, to be paid to him upon delivery of a warranty deed to lots 17 and 18, block 168, the city building site.
The City Marshal was instructed to prosecute at once all violators of the fire limit ordinance.
The $10,000 in city building bonds will be issued this week and turned over to Jarvis, Conklin & Co., the purchasers, on receipt of $10,200.
And of course the city directory entries for Implement Houses
Implement House
w. A. Lee, ??? w 9th avenue and cor Riverside avenue and s Main.
S. H. Myton, 720-722 n Main st.
Van Vleet & Sage, 614 n Main st.
H. Brotherton, 719 Main st.
If Van Vleet or Sage bought the property at 614 N. Main, then there should be information on
the property deed, which may be available at the title company (Barbour Title)
There should be quite a bit of stuff, but it may take some digging to find it.
Subject: Re: Van Vleet & Sage
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 22:04:52 -0700
From: Linda
To: "William W. Bottorff"
References: 1
Hi Bill,
Wow! Thank you so much for all the research you did and the great info. Learning that P.G. Van Vleet and his wife were from Elmira, NY might help me even more. I also have several old photos that were taken in Elmira, NY, of people who my late
grandparents said were relatives. So I will also search there.
I have attached a copy of the picture. My grandmother told me that it was the first agricultural steam engine and that either her father or grandfather were in the picture. She was in her 80's when she gave it to me and couldn't remember which one it was.
Thanks again for all your efforts. If you ever learn any thing more about it please let me know.
Linda
Reply #2:
Subject: Re: Van Vleet & Sage
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 11:38:51 -0500
From: "William W. Bottorff"
Organization: Austin Business Computers, Inc.
To: Linda
References: 1 , 2
Linda, thanks so much for the photo. May I use it on our web site? The steam tractor show is coming up in Winfield in the middle of Ausust . It may be an opportunity to find out more about the Van Vleet firm and about the steam tractor. There will be people who may be able to identify the manufacturer. I would assume that Mr. Van Vleet had access to manufacturers before he came to Winfield. Do you know if there were any manufacturers located in Elmira, NY.?
Anyway, I looked on our database of old firemaps for block 126 in Winfield, which is the east side of Main, from 6th to 7th.
The map for 1884
shows the City Hose Company (ie the Fire Department) on lots 7 & 8. with a produce company on the south side of the building.
In 1886 it is still the same
By 1893 the map shows
agricultural implements on boths sides of the building with a cigar manufacturer on the south side, probably upstairs. An a warehouse on lot 9, which is the wooden shed shown in your picture.
By 1899
Winfield Steam Laundry is shown in the north side of the building and storage in the south and in the shed on lot 9. The addresses are shown in this map, with 614 being the address of the south side of the building.
The rest of the maps show Winfield Laundry here untill 1925 when the maps end. Bob Lawrence says that this building burned in the 1960's or '70's
Based on the above it looks like the implement business was gone from this location by 1899. My guess is that the picture was taken before 1890, and maybe as early as 1886.
This is pretty interesting stuff. It is the kind of history that is dependant on the family history to fill in the gaps in the newspaper and photographic history. With your permission I will set up a web page to accumulate what we find.
