Travel Kansas -- Bird Cityby Neal Danielson, Editor
Bird City is located in Cheyenne County. Cheyenne County is located in the extreme northwestern part of the state (Figure 1) as can be seen by the insert of the outline of Kansas and the map of ca. 1899 (Figure 2). The county was organized in 1886 and was named after the Cheyenne Indian tribe that roamed the western part of the state. The County Seat is St. Francis located near the Republican River that runs from the southwest to the northeast with several creek branches flowing into the river.
Bird City was founded in 1885 and boasts a population of about 470 people. It is located east of St. Francis along the B & M Railroad line. The small rural country atmosphere of Bird City makes it a great place to relax. The post office opened October 28, 1885 with Charles J. Kerndt as postmaster and has managed to remain open to this day.
Shown below is a Post Card postmarked Bird City, Dec 26, 1908. The Figure 1 Cheyenne Co. Post Card is franked with a 1¢ green Benjamin Franklin stamp and tied to the card with a Circular Date Stamp (CDS). Of interest is the CDS and 'KNAS' rather than the normal 'KANS' used as the abbreviation. William A. Pegg (June 3, 1904 - July 18, 1912) was serving as postmaster during this timeframe (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Post Card with CDS 'BIRE CITY KNAS' Dec 26 1908
The Post Card is just a simple note to a friend or relative letting her, Virgie, know that she, Mae, was going to be making a mince meat pie. Since the Post Card is dated December 26 it may have been written on Christmas Day, or the day before, in order to have for that special dinner. Bird City is located on what is now US Highway 36 that runs along the northern border of Kansas and Belleville is located in Republic County just off the Highway. Virgie Wyruth was apparently staying in the Republic Hotel as noted on the card.
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Posted Nov, 2005 RR