Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
Before 1883, Willard was not much of a town but when the Rock Island Railroad laid tracks through the community, Willard became the typical railroad town. In the early 1920s, Willard boasted a population of over 300 and was a major cattle shipping point for this region. During the 1930s many businesses closed, the railroad became less important and, finally, in 1951, a flood destroyed much of the town and caused the bridge over the Kansas River collapsed isolating the town from surrounding communities.
In March 1848, two government Indian agents, Richard Cummins and Alfred Vaughan, chose a new site for a Potawatomi Indian trading post. It was located where the Oregon Trail crossed the Kansas River near the present town of Willard.
Proclaiming the site of their new village, Uniontown, Cummins and Vaughan went to work building a community that held several promising advantages.
Uniontown Ford 1849 on Oregon & Calif. road near Willard; only rock bottom ford on Kansas River. Uniontown P.O.1856, Chas. Randall, postmaster. Tradition says that a cache of gold dust is hidden near the Trail between the village and river. The gold was taken in an armed robbery, and the robbers were pursued and killed, but gold was not recovered. About 1900 a clairvoyant was employed to locate the hiding place; two large excavations were made at designated places. These pits still remain, but no gold was found. (Barry p.738; Ernest Ray Green 1957)
In March 1848, two government Indian agents, Richard Cummins and Alfred Vaughan, chose a new site for a Potawatomi Indian trading post. It was located where the Oregon Trail crossed the Kansas River near the present town of Willard.
Proclaiming the site of their new village, Uniontown, Cummins and Vaughan went to work building a community that held several promising advantages.
Uniontown Ford 1849 on Oregon & Calif. road near Willard; only rock bottom ford on Kansas River. Uniontown P.O.1856, Chas. Randall, postmaster. Tradition says that a cache of gold dust is hidden near the Trail between the village and river. The gold was taken in an armed robbery, and the robbers were pursued and killed, but gold was not recovered. About 1900 a clairvoyant was employed to locate the hiding place; two large excavations were made at designated places. These pits still remain, but no gold was found. (Barry p.738; Ernest Ray Green 1957)
