Garnett, Kansas - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

The history of Garnett begins with the summer of 1856, when the town site was selected by Dr. George W. Cooper, who had a few months before selected a town site on Iantha Creek. At Wyandotte, he met George A. Dunn, who had just returned from Anderson County, the most of the territory of which had been surveyed by him as United States Surveyor. After agreeing upon a plan, Cooper and Dunn started for the Pottawatomie River, intending to lay out a town, and then to secure the location of the county-seat. Going to the geographical center of the county, they failed to find a desirable location. Dunn then suggested that they should go to Section 30, Township 20, Range 20 east, where there was a fine spring of water. They followed down the Pottawatomie to the residence of Samuel McDaniel, where they remained for a few days, and surveyed a town site on the above-named section. They then returned to Wyandotte, and soon after Cooper returned to Louisville, Kentucky, where he organized a Town Company consisting of W. A. Garnett, President; R. B. Hall, Vice-President; G. W. Cooper, George A. Dunn and Theodore Harris. The last named was Secretary. The town was named Garnett in honor of the President of the company, who was a wealthy business man of Louisville. Arrangements were at once made for sending a colony from Kentucky, and the machinery was purchased for a saw and grist-mill, but the colony was unable to leave that year.