This is the Railroad Depot, Seneca Kansas. Written on the picture is "1880 Just arrived in Seneca, Kansas. I am wondering who just arrived at Seneca in 1880.

The railroad cars to the left have brought  freight to Seneca and those who have merchandise arriving will be notified by the Depot Agent and they will have a given length of time to unload their merchandise or they will have to pay a demurrage charge which is added to the freight cost.. This was the only way that anything arrived or departed  Seneca in those day unless it came from local farms. Grain, manufactured products such a bricks which  were made in Seneca left by rail as well as  cattle and even some  hogs were driven to town on the hoof  to the stockyards where they were loaded on railroad cars. Cattle and hogs were watered and  fed before loading and  again when they arrived in St. Joseph, Mo. or wherever.  Some businesses that had a large amount of business with the railroad would have siding near their business and could load or unload load  merchandise next to their place of business. I do not know if this would  have  cost extra, however it may have. 

The stockyards were between Eleventh and Fourteenth street to the  south of the tracks in the area  where the cement and fertilizer plants are now located today in 2004.   My father, Gregory Stallbaumer lived on a farm two and a half miles north of Seneca  on the cemetery road, He told of driving cattle and hogs through the west end of town  to load on the train when he was a young man. This was a job you called on all the neighbors for there were few fences in Seneca which was a problem. You could not always predict what was going to happen. He said that  Eleventh street  which was know as West Street was used for cattle and hogs as few people lived along this street at that time.     This street was used to moving cattle or hogs to the stock yards or through town for people taking cattle to pasture on the other side of town.  He said Cattle  were easier to drive as they were accustomed  to being moved as they had been driven many miles to pasture every spring and back in the fall and if nothing happened to spoof then ever thing would go well. .   Their cattle were driven to pasture near Corning and back every summer.  There were people who drove  cattle to the Indian Reservation from here and even farther.  He said he could remember cattle being driven up main street from the east.

This part of the country had what was called the "Open Range Law" which meant you had to fence your property to -prevent cattle coming on to  your crops or  property. Dad told of a time he was helping drive through the west end of Seneca and the cattle started milling and got in some  gardens and yards along West (Eleventh) Street.  Milling was when the whole heard started going in a circle as chasing each other around in a circle and none of them wanted to lead. That was when the ladies all came out of the homes yelling to the tops of their voices waving tea towels. He said this did not help the situation one bit as it only scattered the cattle and  it  made for a very bad day. To tell them they should have their gardens or flowers fenced only made the matter worse.  This was a bad situation for everyone. He said this may have been a deciding factor in  his two brother decided to become  Priests, and he said he was too  young or  he may have went too.

Hogs were more difficult to drive as they  had never made the trip and were not sure they wanted to make it this time. The hogs would refuse to cross some bridges and straw with hog manure had to be spread on the bridges before they would cross. This made it smell like  their familiar environment. You  had to  follow along with a lumber wagon to pick up the ones that refused to walk any farther.  People who lived farther out  from town had to bring feed and water along or make arrangement with a farmer to let them into a pen for water and feed over night.  This was a good job for a young man in those days if you had good horse as some of the farmers lived farther out and it would  take the better part of two day.  The owner would ride the same train in the caboose to market and back when the sale was over with a large check. There then would be a large party  with the all who  help and there would be lots of food and drink and later on dancing with others joining in the fun.  This was something you did not want to be left  out of if it could be prevented. 

Dad's family had only a  few hogs as they were in the dairy  business and they would deliver their  hogs in  a lumber wagon with some of the neighbors  help. After it was over they would have a  party also  but on a smaller scale.   Neighbors were very important  and  one depended on them to survive.  After the First World War trucks begin to do some of the moving of livestock and by 1940 or about that time the railroad lost all the live stock trade because the truck could pick up at the farm and the railroad stockyards were abandoned by the 50s. 

There were Stock Yards set up along the tracks between towns some places  to save farmers from the need to drive cattle and hogs into town.  These yards were some time set up by several individuals and they collected a fee for the use of these loading facilities  as  was the case between Kelly and Seneca. This station was  called Kampler Station. Most of the stockyards were gone by the fifties.  J's Restraint and Bar was all that remained of Kampler after the KC & NW Railroad was taken  out.   Could use dates on this if someone  would know such.   
 See information  and  map of Kampler Station

Would anyone have pictures of the  Seneca Stock Yard for this web page?  Send information Email