Victoria Station, 1873. Robert Benecke In the distance just to the right of the bridge over North Fork of Big Creek is the station, Victoria Manor. In 1867, this was the location of Campbell's Camp.
George Grant was a Scottish entrepreneur who had established wealth and a clientele that counted the British nobility.[10] In 1873, George Grant arrived in Kansas leading a party of 30 young adults and youth of Scottish and English nobility, including some remittance men sent away by their families to live on stipends. Founding the first of several organized transatlantic settlements in Ellis County, Grant intended to create a ranching community, some lesser nobles of the party hoping to establish large estates in the frontier.[2] Notably, this group brought a herd of thoroughbred Aberdeen Angus cattle, some from Queen Victoria's own stock. Including four bulls, this herd is credited with establishing the American Angus breed.[11][12]
The colony occupied a roughly 10 mile-wide swath land sections from the tracks south to the Smoky Hill River.
With the settlement named Victoria to honor the Queen,[13] the Kansas Pacific Railroad immediately constructed a relatively elaborate stone station-hotel for the colony.[12][14] At Grant's specification, the Victoria Manor had accommodations befitting gentry waiting for completion of their new homes. The ground floor held a ballroom intended for community gathering. Over 200 British arrived in the following years.
Grant brought British architect Robert William Edis to the colony to design his manor house and to layout his dream town. Grant's Villa became a historic landmark, but the ultimate Victoria plat was an unprepossessing 3 by 3 grid of square blocks.[15][16][3] Grant also directed the construction of the St. George Episcopal church, a stone building. Completed in 1877, this was the first church built in the county.[17][18]
Many of the colonists, however, were reputed for being more interested in sports and dancing than in raising livestock, hiring overseers to manage some estates.[19] The home families of the remittance men learned of this and reduced the stipends, driving these colonists to leave. Having lost his fortune, Grant's sudden death in 1878[12] accelerated the departure of others of the colony. Some returned to Britain; others left for South America.[20][21][22] Grant was buried before the steps of the St. George Church, which would never be consecrated. After Grant's death, the Victoria townsite was platted in 1880 by remaining colonists, particularly Margarat Grant Dunan, niece, caretaker, and excecutor of the George Grant estate.[3][18][17]
Today, the platted church grounds are a largely unoccupied cemetery with a monument to Grant's contribution to American Angus breeds.
While most of the English left, certain Scottish families remained, notably the descendants of Grant as well as the Philips, four of whom served as Mayor of Hays.
Commemorative statue of a Volga German pioneer family in Victoria (1997)
In 1875, a party of Volga Germans from villages near Saratov, Russia, seeking a place to establish traditional farming villages, were shown locations in Ellis County. The first location, the clay-soiled Ellis County "Hogback" was so disappointing that some in the party resolved to return to Russia. But after being shown locations in the eastern half of the county (the future Catherine and Schoenchen/Pfeifer sites), the party established the first Volga-German village in the county one-half mile north of the tracks from the Victoria Station.[23][1] The original plat registered for the town is named "Herzog or North Victoria".[24] As the other Volga German villages were formed, Herzog's Roman Catholic settlers built a series of churches which culminated in the construction of St. Fidelis Catholic Church, known as "The Cathedral of the Plains," in 1911. When the German's first arrived at the station, Rev. Laing relates, there was only the station-hotel and one other building in Victoria.[25] Herzog grew rapidly and later adopted the station's name. Herzog and the smaller Victoria merged to incorporate under the name Victoria in 1913.[26]
Such were the numbers of German-Russian settlers in Ellis County and adjoining Rush County, such was their adoption of western Russian farming practice and community structure, and such was their adoption of Russian dress and elements of Russian language, Kansans referred to these settlements as "Little Russia". And such was the importance of Herzog that was soon referred to a "Russia Minor".[27]
A traditional religious community, Herzog's Catholic services were first held in the open around an erected cross, then in the home of Alois Dreiling after it was constructed. A typical two-story, four-room I-frame prairie farmhouse, attendance soon was too much for the flooring to withstand and a wood framed addition was built onto the home to hold church services. This addition is marked as the second church, first Catholic church, built in the county. The growing community soon overwhelmed this facility.[28][29]
The only Catholic in the Victoria Colony, Sir Walter C. Maxwell had high interest in Herzog and completed a stone church for the town in 1877. This church was overcrowded almost as soon as it was finished.[30][31]
The Kansas Pacific Railroad donated 10 acres of land for the community's religious use in 1879. Father Anthony Mary, who had previous led the construction of many churches, arrived and in November, 1881, and began construction on the original St. Fidelis Church at Herzog. Seating 600 parishioners, construction began in 1880 and the church was consecrated 1884.[32][33]
Even as this was soon insufficient for the town and the Catholic villages at large, the St. Fidelis Cathedral, "The Cathedral of the Plains," was constructed over 1908-1911.[34]
Victoria Auxiliary Field
In 1942, the U.S. Army built Walker Army Airfield 3 miles northeast of Victoria. During World War II, thousands were stationed at the airfield, most for training in operation of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber aircraft. The military closed the base in 1946.[35] In 1949, after the formation of the United States Air Force, that service designated the base "Victoria Auxiliary Field", but never operated the facility.
Bypassed by the Interstate
Originally, the Golden Belt Road followed by U.S. Highway 40 passed through Victoria. In 1966, construction of Interstate 70 was completed to in Ellis County, bypassing the state highway designation and its traffic to the north of the town.[21] While the Interstate increased traffic through the general corridor, regional centers such as Hays and Salina found greater expansion in commerce than Victoria.
Geography
Victoria is located on Kansas Highway 255 (K-255) 1-mile (1.6 km) south of Interstate 70 in northwestern Kansas, Victoria is approximately 9 miles (14 km) east of Hays (the county seat), 129 miles (208 km) northwest of Wichita, and 243 miles (391 km) west of Kansas City.[36][37]
The city lies roughly 9 miles (14 km) north of the Smoky Hill River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.[38] The city sits on the east side of the North Fork of Big Creek, part of the Smoky Hill River watershed.[36]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.59 square miles (1.53 km2), all of it land.[39]
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,214 people, 496 households, and 316 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,068.1 inhabitants per square mile (798.5/km2). There were 530 housing units at an average density of 902.9 per square mile (348.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 98.5% White, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% African American, 0.1% from some other race, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 0.5% of the population.[40]
There were 496 households, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples living together, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30, and the average family size was 2.93.[40]
The median age in the city was 41.7 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 21.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.9% male and 49.1% female.[40]
The median income for a household in the city was $46,125, and the median income for a family was $64,000. Males had a median income of $35,875 versus $26,058 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,636. About 3.2% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.[40]
Economy
As of 2012, 61.5% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.0% was in the armed forces, and 61.5% was in the civilian labor force with 59.7% being employed and 1.8% unemployed. The composition, by occupation, of the employed civilian labor force was: 26.7% in management, business, science, and arts; 26.2% in sales and office occupations; 17.0% in production, transportation, and material moving; 15.9% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; and 14.2% in service occupations. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: educational services, and health care and social assistance (24.1%); agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (10.7%); and Wholesale trade (8.2%).[40]
The cost of living in Victoria is relatively low; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the community is 81.5.[41] As of 2012, the median home value in the city was $101,200, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,042 for housing units with a mortgage and $428 for those without, and the median gross rent was $555.[40]
Originally, Victoria was within the organized Victoria Township.[43] However, Victoria Township merged into an enlarged Herzog Township, which had previously absorbed Walker Township and a portion of Saline Township.[6]
The Kansas Pacific (KP) line of the Union Pacific Railroad runs northeast–southwest through the southern part of the city.[36][45]
Utilities
Water distribution, sewer maintenance, and trash removal are the responsibility of the city government. Midwest Energy, Inc. provides electric power.[46] Local residents primarily use natural gas for heating fuel; service is provided by Kansas Gas Service.[41][46]
The Herzogfest is Victoria's annual community festival, held to celebrate the city's ethnic German heritage. Held in August, it includes music concerts, a tractor pull, games for children, and other local entertainment. There is delicious food from the German heritage and other vendors.[48]
Points of interest
The Basilica of St. Fidelis, known as "The Cathedral of the Plains", is located in Victoria. Local Roman Catholic residents, having outgrown a series of church buildings as their population grew, began construction of the church in 1908.[26] Built from native limestone based on plans by noted church architect John T. Comes, St. Fidelis Catholic Church was completed in 1911.[26][49]William Jennings Bryan gave the church its nickname during a visit in 1912.[50] In June 2014, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina dedicated the church as a minor basilica, renaming it the Basilica of St. Fidelis.[51]
Grant Cemetery is a preservation of the gravesites of George Grant and a few others dating to the 1880s on the grounds of the St. George Church, founded by Grant. Every 50 years, the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association commemorates the 1873 establishment of the first Aberdeen Angus herd in the United States. For the centennial in 1973, Hays artist Pete Felten Jr. installed a limestone sculpture of a Black Angus.
Railroad Workers Cemetery is a preservation of the gravesites of a party of workers who were killed in 1967 while excavating the approaches to the railroad bridge just to the north. They were killed by Cheyenne Dog Soldiers who rejected the treaty permitting the construction, this action triggering the Battle of the Saline River.
St. Fidelis Cemetery contains over 100 traditional German iron cross grave markers, the most iron crosses of the cemeteries in the Volga-German settlements.[52] This cemetery also has a number of gravestones that were carved from the region's unusual Fencepost limestone by John Linenberger.[53]
Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Victoria include:
^ ab"George Grant Villa — National Register of Historic Places Inventory — National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form". United States Department of the Interior. 1972. Retrieved February 2, 2024. Grant and his first group of 30 colonists arrived at Victoria station on May 18, 1873. Most were of English or Scottish nobility; some were remittance men, younger sons of English nobility, sent off to America to live on a monthly allowance from the family. Some were the so-called "small farmers" of England who were attracted by the possibilities of huge estates.
^ abc"Victoria Original Plat"(PDF). Geospatial Data Portal. City of Hays / Ellis County / GIS Division. 1880. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
^Collins. Kansas Pacific. p. 13. [After Fort Hays, it] would then enter the country of three nomadic Indian tribes: the Cheyenne, Arapahoe and Kiowa. ... mile and a half per day. ... Then the Indian raids began.
^George Augustus Armes (1900). "Chapter VI. 1867". Ups & Downs of an Army Officer. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 237, 253. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
^Raish, Marjorie (Spring 1937). "Chapter I Purchase Of The Land". Victoria, The Story of Western Kansas Town (Masters thesis). Fort Hays State University. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
^ abcJim Hewitson (1995). Tam Blake & Co.: the story of the Scots in America. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. pp. 55–56. ISBN0862415594. ... all thoroughbreds and some from the Queen's own herd at Windsor. ... The Kansas Pacific Railroad constructed an impressive hotel-depot out on the plains, which became known as The Victoria Manor and served as the headquarters for the colony.
^"Victoria, Kansas depot". Kansas Memory. 1880. This photograph shows the Kansas Pacific Railway depot at Victoria, Kansas. The two-story stone structure was originally built by the railroad company as a hotel to accommodate the settlers until they could complete their homes.
^ abCutler, William G. (1883). William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, Illinois. pp. Ellis County, part 5, Victoria. The first church in the county was built by this colony in 1877. It was intended for Episcopal services, nearly all of the colony holding the faith of the established church of England.
^ abCutler, William G. (1883). William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, Illinois. pp. Ellis County, part 2, General History. ... a handsome stone church ... In 1879, the originator of the scheme, George Grant, died, and his remains are interred in front of St. George's Chapel at Victoria, ...
^George Grant Villa. "Hired overseers managed most of the estates, ..."
^Cutler, William G., General History, (1883). "Herzog is regarded at the capital of this Russia Minor, and there is established the chief patriarch and priests. "
^The Golden Jubilee of German-Russian Settlements of Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas. 1926. p. HERZOG (Victoria). They built their humble sod houses, erected a large cross about which they gathered for services, ... Divine services were first held at Herzog in the dwelling of A. Dreiling, but the floor proving unequal to the weight, a frame church was built adjoining the house, the south wall of the dwelling serving as north wall of the church. This structure was about 40x24 feet, and could accommodate but part of the congregation.
^Cutler, William G., General History, (1883). "The place has a very fine stone Catholic Church, which was erected by Sir Walter Maxwell, ..."
^The Golden Jubilee of German-Russian Settlements of Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas. 1926. p. HERZOG (Victoria). Hon. Walter C. Maxwell, a Catholic Englishman then living south of Victoria, undertook to build a stone church for the settlers on Section 1, north of the present dwellings. In June, 1877, he had collected $700, the total sum subscribed was $1,500, and the only condition attached was that the settlers haul the necessary stone. In August, 1877, plans and specifications had been completed by Henry Bergsland who also received the contract. This church, which measured 60x30x16 feet, soon proving to be too small, ...
^The Golden Jubilee of German-Russian Settlements of Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas. 1926. p. HERZOG (Victoria). ... the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company, ... donated ten acres in the northwest quarter of Section 7 for a church and school, ... which measured 168x46x35, and had a seating capacity of 600. The cornerstone was laid on June 1, 1880; consecration by Rt. Rev. L. M. Fink took place on October 19, 1884.
^Cutler, William G. (1883). William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, Illinois. pp. Ellis County, part 5, Victoria. St. Fidelis Church, of Victoria, Ellis County, Kan., was founded by Rev. Father Anthony Mary, and the erection began November 1, 1881, and will be completed in the fall of 1883. The size of the church building is 50x123 feet; including sacristy, it is 169 feet long. ... He has built many churches, monasteries and schoolhouses in his ife-time (sic) ...
^The Golden Jubilee of German-Russian Settlements of Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas. 1926. p. HERZOG (Victoria). The plans for the present church were completed as early as December, 1905, by John T. Comes, of Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1908, these were revised and modified by Jos. Marshall, of Topeka. Building operations began November, 1908, the cornerstone was laid October 4, 1909, by Rt. Rev. J. F. Cunningham, and the structure was completed in 1911. The total length of the building is 220 feet, the breadth 73 feet, in the transept 107 feet.
^ ab"Victoria". Directory of Kansas Public Officials. The League of Kansas Municipalities. Archived from the original on December 14, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
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