October 31 -- Salina To Marysville

Marysville, Kansas

November 1, 2022

Photos from the drive to Marysville. The morning sunlight was so warm (color-wise). US 36 from Belleville to Marysville is inordinately straight -- but the road I drove in North Dakota apparently is even straighter!

Marysville is a charming community. I had a wonderful tour of the Koester House led by Jill Schmidt whose great grandfather and Jack's great grandfather were in business together in Marysville (I think I have that right). The downtown area is great -- love the brick streets.

After the tour as I was going to Hi Ho Silver, a fellow walking by commented on my being from Virginia (and that I had good hair). His name is Tim Ohmsted (sp?) and is a long time resident of Marysville -- now an auctioneer and real estate agent. We had a marvelous chat about irrigation or not (apparently Nebraska gets less rain than Kansas), how to decide whether to irrigate or not (if you can crops from 1/3 of your land you've probably covered your costs), to how important lawyers are to farmers (bankruptcy) to how wonderful the Koester family is to support the town and the Koester House. We talked for an hour. A highlight.

As I set out to drive back to Belleville, I noticed that there is free camping in the downtown park in Marysville As I was very tired (yes, more than just tired), I found a spot and chilled out for the evening (with three soft chicken tacos). I realize I have been on the go most days since leaving Charlottesville on October 4, 2022. I'm in a hurry -- and I don't know why.

Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,447.

Marysville was laid out in 1855 by Francis J. Marshall, and designated in that same year the county seat. It was incorporated as a city in 1861.

Marysville was located on the Oregon Trail and the route of the Pony Express, the St. Joe Road, the Overland Stage, The Military Road, and the Otoe-Missouria Trail. British explorer Richard Francis Burton en route to California in 1860 noted: "Passing by Marysville, in old maps Palmetto City, a country-town which thrives by selling whiskey to ruffians of all descriptions ..." The old Pony Express Station still stands in downtown Marysville. In Beyond the Mississippi (1867), Albert D. Richardson, who passed through Marysville in 1860, wrote that the town—which was named after the Border Ruffian Marshall's wife—"had 50 houses and was famed for whisky and shooting affrays."

Marysville owed much of its prosperity to the Union Pacific Railroad, which became a major employer. But as the city grew along the railroad most of the community was across the tracks from a good part of downtown. As rail traffic increased, vehicular delays were estimated at 7.5 to 8 hours per day at the five grade crossings, which also affected emergency vehicles. In 2006 the main line was moved out of the center of town to a bypass to the south and west, with grade separations for US-36 and US-77.

Marysville is also known as the "Black Squirrel City" due to an isolated community of all-black squirrels that make their homes in the town. The squirrels are said to be the result of escapees from a traveling circus.

Marysville is located in northeast Kansas near the Nebraska border, about 75 miles (120 km) northwest of the Kansas capital of Topeka and 67 miles (108 km) south of Lincoln, Nebraska. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.62 square miles (11.97 km2), of which 4.58 square miles (11.86 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,294 people, 1,468 households, and 859 families living in the city. The population density was 719.2 inhabitants per square mile (277.7/km2). There were 1,646 housing units at an average density of 359.4 per square mile (138.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.7% White, 0.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.

There were 1,468 households, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.5% were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.89.

The median age in the city was 41.8 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

The Koester House

Set one block south of the Highway 36 and 77 crossroads, the Koester House Museum and Gardens is a beautiful showcase of Victorian life. Charles F. Koester arrived in Marysville on August 7, 1860. In 1876, he married Sylvia Broughten, a local school teacher. He gifted her with the first of his many transformations of the house and grounds for a wedding present. Today, the home contains three generations of furnishings, some of them in their original locations. The gardens contain 12 white bronze sculptures. Several of the trees and flowers can also be seen where Charles planted them.