From a spring wagon pulled by mules, A.W. Purinton found his home.
It was fall 1878 and settlement was only beginning. Western Kansas was vast and empty. Trego County hadn’t been organized. The only community center was a small settlement north of the Smoky Hill River that would become WaKeeney.
Yet, for a few days on the sparsely settled prairie, the pioneer and a couple others from his native Vermont searched for the best free land to stake their hopes and dreams and build a future.
Purinton found it along the Hackberry Creek in the southwest part of the county, not far from Castle Rock. The settlers then marked a trail north so they would remember where to go when they returned with family that spring.
It was the beginning of a community they called Banner. Those first residents built sod homes, a sod church and established a post office.
Read more: High Plains Journal.