Established along the north bank of the Cimarron River, Fargo Springs was developed to become the Seward County Seat.

Much to the consternation of the residents of Fargo Springs, Kan. Gov. John Martin, on June 17, 1886, awarded the temporary county seat to Springfield. The designation was but a preliminary act to open a legal point of reference until an election could be organized in the new county. An official election was necessary to validate the county seat chosen by the county residents.

Unfortunately, Fargo Springs and Springfield were in the same precinct. County commissioners slated the election for Aug. 5, 1886, with both towns voting at Fargo Springs.

Fargo Springs boosters were confident of success at the polls. The town company deeded a city block for the erection of a county “Court House Square.” The deed was placed in the Fargo Bank and made available “for any citizen desiring to see it can do so ...”

Displaying grand expectations for their young city, another block was reserved for Fargo College despite the threat of the county seat remaining at Springfield.

Passionate divisions in Seward County were noted by several newspapers across the state of Kansas.

One account, found in several papers, declared that “the fight waxes warm” in Seward County. Abe K. Stouffer, the editor of the Fargo Springs News posted a letter “By a Voter,” that told of Springfield’s collusion with Meade Center to forward Springfield in the election.

Until declared an offi cial county the proposed Seward County was attached to Meade County for official business.

“Voter” described an attempt by the “Springfield gang” to intimidate workers in the construction of buildings on the town square. Proof of their “ruffian disposition” was openly displayed when Springfield men armed themselves with deadly weapons.

“Words of profanity ... fell from their lips.”, but the attempt was bravely ignored.

Just days before the election officials at Fargo Springs learned that Meade County Sheriff Travis McKibben and 50 deputies were coming to the election in support of Springfield. Until the election was finalized, Seward County fell within Sheriff McKibben’s jurisdiction.

On the eve of the election at 12 a.m., armed men from Springfield arrived on the streets of Fargo Springs. When they were met by the Fargo boys, “they prudently beat a hasty retreat.”

When the “Springfield gang” returned at 6 a.m., a large crowd of reinforcements from Meade County, including the sheriff, were counted in the mob.

“A very large majority of these people were walking arsenals and were loud in their demands that they were going to have the election officers.”

The election officers and 50 to 60 Fargo men were secured inside the polling place. To preserve their safety voters were told to mark their ballots and pass them through a window, further infuriating the Springfield men.

When the polls opened at 9 a.m., J. Malcombed Johnsing led the Springfield mob to break in the door. With the help of Sheriff McKibben they hoped to arrest the election officials. But the sheriff suddenly stepped between the mob and the door shouting, “I won’t break the door open and I won’t arrest them; they haven’t done anything that I can arrest them for.

Johnsing wasn’t done. From a perch on a nearby wagon, Johnsing implored the mob to overpower the sheriff and capture the polls. Sheriff McKibben stood firm, backing his position with the admonition that the Springfield men were “beaten at their own game.”

Having failed to gain control of the polls, the Springfield mob refused to pass their ballots through the window. Instead, they secured a soapbox from Billy Green’s grocery and placed it on a farm wagon t serve as the receptacle for their ballots.

At the close of the day the soapbox was presented to the election officers who declared the soapbox ballots invalid and ordered them thrown out. That did not sit well with Springfield men. With several Winchester rifles in hand, the soapbox was reluctantly preserved by the election officers.

The results were scheduled to be canvassed Saturday Aug. 7, at Springfield’s courthouse, described by a Fargo Springs supporter as “a little shanty.” The canvassing for county officers was accomplished throughout the afternoon. Outside, a huge crowd “swayed backward and forward like an ocean beneath a tempest ...” By the time that the county seat vote had been counted “the shades of night had fallen.”

When the officers opened the door to announce th results of the election a crowd of about 75 men poured into the room. Fargo Springs had won the vote, but realizing they were in danger, the canvassing was adjourned until Monday.

The Fargo City News announced the results with an edition printed in red ink. Fargo Springs had won the county seat by a majority of two hundred forty votes. The elected county officers brought the records from Springfield and commenced business at Fargo Springs. But Springfield was not yet done. Seward County would see more conflict for several more years, giving us many more stories to tell on The Way West.

“The Cowboy,” Jim Gray is author of the book Desperate Seed: Ellsworth Kansas on the Violent Frontier, Ellsworth, KS. Contact Kansas Cowboy, 22 21st Road, Geneseo, Kan. Phone: (785) 531-2058 or kansascowboy@kans.com.