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Lindsborg Historical Society and Coronado Heights History
~ Three (3) accounts by Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg, former SVHA secretary
Lindsborg Historical Society and Coronado Heights History
~ Three (3) accounts by Mrs. Elizabeth Jaderborg, former SVHA secretary
Lindsborg Historical Society and Coronado Heights History
Account 1
"The Olsson Trail"
a chapter from
Mrs. Jaderborg's
1967
Living in Lindsborg And Other Possibilities
Pages 18-21
This account has received some editorial notations in smaller font for a quick review for those viewers who have little time.
Based on "first" Lindsborg Historical Society Secretary G. N. Malm's notes.
> The formation
"A meeting had been called for the Citizens of Lindsborg in the City Hall on July 9, 1919. But 'owing to the extreme heat, the meeting was held outdoors.' So say some old pencilled notes in G. N. Malm's handwriting -- the only scraps of information now available on the formation of the first Lindsborg Historical Society.
"Rev. C. P. Eklund called the meeting to order. He said that the citizens had been called together 'for the purpose of organizing an Historical Society or Country Club, whose mission it would be to improve the roadway and the top of the Bluffs, part of which could be secured by long term deed through the generosity of Mr. Ferm; to possibly build a shelter for visitors there and also secure data pertaining to the history of the community; and preserve historic buildings and places of interest.'
"Dr. Beckman was there, and he made a speech. Chas. Ferm, Birger Sandzén, and G. N. Malm made speeches. Everyone agreed that 'an organization of this character would be worthwhile and highly desirable.'
"Everyone" included (besides the speechmakers) Luther Swensson, Aug. Palmquist, C. A. Nelson, J. M. Nelson, A. J. Fredrickson, John Holmberg, William Hagstrom, Elmer E. Peterson, George Eberhart, E. O. Deere, R. Johnson, and W. K. Henry. (Women were conspicuously absent.)
"Despite a warning in a letter on July 17th from William E. Connelly, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, that 'The secretary must be a man or a woman who will devote time . . . go to considerable inconvenience, and hard labor. . . expect ingratitude at times and be accused of prying into other people's business . . .,' G. N. Malm took the position of Secretary with the first board of directors on September 25th, 1919. E. O. Deere was vice president of that board.
> Acquiring the land
"Deere, Dr. Eklund, and William Hagstrom negotiated for the purchase of the land on the Bluffs from "Pete" Elving. Sixteen acres were bought and paid for in full, and 9 acres were leased from Chas. Ferm.
> Assignments of work projects, naming the Smoky Hills
"Deere, Nelson and Malm were in charge of seeing that a bridge was built over the draw to the southwest, and that a temporary shelter was built on top of the Bluffs.
"The name 'Coronado Heights' is first mentioned in notes dated May 20th, 1920. The late Dr. E. O. Deere tells on tape how he and William Hagstrom were watching the setting sun reflect on golden wheat one evening when Hagstrom suggested that here, indeed, was the gold for which Coronado had been searching nearly 400 years before, and why not call this Spanish lookout 'Coronado Heights.'
"At the May 20th meeting, the "Olsson Trail" to the top of Coronado Heights was staked out by E. O. Deere, Birger Sandzén, G. N. Malm, Wm. Hagstrom, C. A. Nelson, and R. Johnson. In a letter to Malm dated February 24, 1924, Anna Olsson expressed her appreciation for the honor bestowed on her father in the naming of the road to the top of Coronado Heights 'Olsson Road.' 'He always wrote it 'Olsson,' not 'Olson.' Not that it matters very much, but he spelled his name the old Swedish way.
> Respectfully requesting Bethany College to begin a Historical Museum
"The final gem in the Malm collection is a letter to the Board of Directors of Bethany College dated May 27th, 1926. A committee of three (B. Sandzén, Malm, and Eklund) had been appointed 'to go before your honorable body with a proposition of cooperation in work of collecting and preserving historical objects of the pioneer days.' And they suggested in this letter ' . . . (an) historical museum (on the) college campus.'
"The museum was established, and for 58 years Dr. Emil. O. Deere was its curator. It is one of the most valuable collections in the State and has some items which have attracted national recognition."
> The formation
"A meeting had been called for the Citizens of Lindsborg in the City Hall on July 9, 1919. But 'owing to the extreme heat, the meeting was held outdoors.' So say some old pencilled notes in G. N. Malm's handwriting -- the only scraps of information now available on the formation of the first Lindsborg Historical Society.
"Rev. C. P. Eklund called the meeting to order. He said that the citizens had been called together 'for the purpose of organizing an Historical Society or Country Club, whose mission it would be to improve the roadway and the top of the Bluffs, part of which could be secured by long term deed through the generosity of Mr. Ferm; to possibly build a shelter for visitors there and also secure data pertaining to the history of the community; and preserve historic buildings and places of interest.'
"Dr. Beckman was there, and he made a speech. Chas. Ferm, Birger Sandzén, and G. N. Malm made speeches. Everyone agreed that 'an organization of this character would be worthwhile and highly desirable.'
"Everyone" included (besides the speechmakers) Luther Swensson, Aug. Palmquist, C. A. Nelson, J. M. Nelson, A. J. Fredrickson, John Holmberg, William Hagstrom, Elmer E. Peterson, George Eberhart, E. O. Deere, R. Johnson, and W. K. Henry. (Women were conspicuously absent.)
"Despite a warning in a letter on July 17th from William E. Connelly, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, that 'The secretary must be a man or a woman who will devote time . . . go to considerable inconvenience, and hard labor. . . expect ingratitude at times and be accused of prying into other people's business . . .,' G. N. Malm took the position of Secretary with the first board of directors on September 25th, 1919. E. O. Deere was vice president of that board.
> Acquiring the land
"Deere, Dr. Eklund, and William Hagstrom negotiated for the purchase of the land on the Bluffs from "Pete" Elving. Sixteen acres were bought and paid for in full, and 9 acres were leased from Chas. Ferm.
> Assignments of work projects, naming the Smoky Hills
"Deere, Nelson and Malm were in charge of seeing that a bridge was built over the draw to the southwest, and that a temporary shelter was built on top of the Bluffs.
"The name 'Coronado Heights' is first mentioned in notes dated May 20th, 1920. The late Dr. E. O. Deere tells on tape how he and William Hagstrom were watching the setting sun reflect on golden wheat one evening when Hagstrom suggested that here, indeed, was the gold for which Coronado had been searching nearly 400 years before, and why not call this Spanish lookout 'Coronado Heights.'
"At the May 20th meeting, the "Olsson Trail" to the top of Coronado Heights was staked out by E. O. Deere, Birger Sandzén, G. N. Malm, Wm. Hagstrom, C. A. Nelson, and R. Johnson. In a letter to Malm dated February 24, 1924, Anna Olsson expressed her appreciation for the honor bestowed on her father in the naming of the road to the top of Coronado Heights 'Olsson Road.' 'He always wrote it 'Olsson,' not 'Olson.' Not that it matters very much, but he spelled his name the old Swedish way.
> Respectfully requesting Bethany College to begin a Historical Museum
"The final gem in the Malm collection is a letter to the Board of Directors of Bethany College dated May 27th, 1926. A committee of three (B. Sandzén, Malm, and Eklund) had been appointed 'to go before your honorable body with a proposition of cooperation in work of collecting and preserving historical objects of the pioneer days.' And they suggested in this letter ' . . . (an) historical museum (on the) college campus.'
"The museum was established, and for 58 years Dr. Emil. O. Deere was its curator. It is one of the most valuable collections in the State and has some items which have attracted national recognition."
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(Saline County Book of Records. Book 109 p. 313-314)
(Saline County Book of Records. Book 109 p. 313-314)
January 22, 1936, The Lindsborg Historical Society sold Coronado Heights property, Saline County, Kansas @ $1.00 and other considerations the following land to Saline County Commissioners: beginning at a point 400 feet along north of the southeast of Sec. 31-16-3, then east 430 feet along north line of cemetery, then north 1,730 ft., then west 430 ft., then south 1,730 ft. to the place of beginning, containing 16 1/2 acres.
If the Saline County fails to maintain it as a public park it will revert back to the Lindsborg Historical Society.
If the Saline County fails to maintain it as a public park it will revert back to the Lindsborg Historical Society.
H. J. Thorstenberg
Emil O. Deere
Birger Sandzen
A. W. Carlson
John A. Altenborg
C. A. Nelson
C. R. Rooth
John A. Holmberg, Pres.
G. E. Eberhart, Sec'y.
The above property was sold to The Lindsborg Historical Society by Peter Elving and Christina M. Elving on July 21, 1920. (See Saline County Book of Records 105 pp 178-179.)
Emil O. Deere
Birger Sandzen
A. W. Carlson
John A. Altenborg
C. A. Nelson
C. R. Rooth
John A. Holmberg, Pres.
G. E. Eberhart, Sec'y.
The above property was sold to The Lindsborg Historical Society by Peter Elving and Christina M. Elving on July 21, 1920. (See Saline County Book of Records 105 pp 178-179.)
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Lindsborg Historical Society and Coronado Heights History
Account 2
"Coronado's Lookout"
a chapter from
Mrs. Jaderborg's
1973
Talk About Lindsborg
Pages 47-48
a chapter from
Mrs. Jaderborg's
1973
Talk About Lindsborg
Pages 47-48
"Coronado Heights was sold to the Saline County Commissioners on Jan. 22, 1936, 'for the sum of $1.00 and other considerations.'
"'If the Saline County fails to maintain it as a public park,' the records show, 'it will revert back to the Lindsborg Historical Society.'
"'Reversion' is hardly practicable, but 'conversion' to a state or national park is both reasonable and potentially expedient, not only to the welfare of the eroding slopes of the hill, but to the promotion of the historical significance its name implies.
"William Hagstrom, a young man from Lindsborg in 1919, suggested the name 'Coronado Heights' for old Smoky Hill.
"He and Professor E. O. Deere were sitting on the eastern slopes of the hill one evening watching the reflection of the sunset on fields of ripened wheat. Hagstrom was struck with the "gold" displayed in light, of the gold which Coronado was seeking when he came to the Smoky Valley -- the end of the Quivira -- in July,1541.
"A National Geographic historical map points to Lindsborg and refers to the spot as 'The Capital of Quivira.'
"The Spaniards explored Quivira for a month. It is hardly conceivable that explorers would not climb to an observation point such as Coronado Heights to have a look around the countryside. They had come right off the undulating prairie, after all.
"Coronado Heights is the only natural landmark in Kansas which distinctly commemorates the visit in 1541 of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and 30 Spaniards into territory which is now the State of Kansas.
"The Lindsborg Historical Society bought half of the land which included Smoky Hill (now Coronado Heights) in 1920 and permanently leased the other half.
"On May 8, 1924 they christened the hill 'Coronado Heights.' By then they had established a foot path to the summit. It was named the "Olsson Trail" in honor of the pioneer pastor, Olof Olsson, who had brought 80 families to the area in 1869.
"Society members built a road to the summit in their spare time -- and sometimes during non-spare time -- to which they gave the name 'Swensson Drive' in honor of Rev. Carl Aaron Swensson, the founder of Bethany College.
"There was a wooden visitor's lodge on top of Coronado Heights in 1924 called 'Fernebo Lodge.' Inside, there was a public telephone. And 80-foot flagpole was erected and parking space for 300 cars was provided by the Society. Hundreds of perennials and small trees were planted to beautify the bare hill.
"The lodge finally succumbed to picknickers' axes and the telephone had to be removed; the flagpole was ruined by lightning, and the perennials were dug up and carted away by admirers. Most of the trees were destroyed by a grassfire started by the sparks of a campfire. The flagpole was struck many times by lightning, but it was bent over and broken off (using three tractors) because the Air Force required a red light and there was no source of power on the Heights.
"The parking space remained intact. It was improved upon and a Spanish-type fort and picnic sites were built nearby by the WPA [Works Progress Administration] after the park was sold to the Saline County Commissioners. A new road was also built at that time. This has been improved by the Saline County Highway Department several times.
"There is an 11 p.m. curfew on Coronado Heights, but it is waived occasionally for special campouts and picnics, according to the Saline County Sheriff's Office."
"'If the Saline County fails to maintain it as a public park,' the records show, 'it will revert back to the Lindsborg Historical Society.'
"'Reversion' is hardly practicable, but 'conversion' to a state or national park is both reasonable and potentially expedient, not only to the welfare of the eroding slopes of the hill, but to the promotion of the historical significance its name implies.
"William Hagstrom, a young man from Lindsborg in 1919, suggested the name 'Coronado Heights' for old Smoky Hill.
"He and Professor E. O. Deere were sitting on the eastern slopes of the hill one evening watching the reflection of the sunset on fields of ripened wheat. Hagstrom was struck with the "gold" displayed in light, of the gold which Coronado was seeking when he came to the Smoky Valley -- the end of the Quivira -- in July,1541.
"A National Geographic historical map points to Lindsborg and refers to the spot as 'The Capital of Quivira.'
"The Spaniards explored Quivira for a month. It is hardly conceivable that explorers would not climb to an observation point such as Coronado Heights to have a look around the countryside. They had come right off the undulating prairie, after all.
"Coronado Heights is the only natural landmark in Kansas which distinctly commemorates the visit in 1541 of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and 30 Spaniards into territory which is now the State of Kansas.
"The Lindsborg Historical Society bought half of the land which included Smoky Hill (now Coronado Heights) in 1920 and permanently leased the other half.
"On May 8, 1924 they christened the hill 'Coronado Heights.' By then they had established a foot path to the summit. It was named the "Olsson Trail" in honor of the pioneer pastor, Olof Olsson, who had brought 80 families to the area in 1869.
"Society members built a road to the summit in their spare time -- and sometimes during non-spare time -- to which they gave the name 'Swensson Drive' in honor of Rev. Carl Aaron Swensson, the founder of Bethany College.
"There was a wooden visitor's lodge on top of Coronado Heights in 1924 called 'Fernebo Lodge.' Inside, there was a public telephone. And 80-foot flagpole was erected and parking space for 300 cars was provided by the Society. Hundreds of perennials and small trees were planted to beautify the bare hill.
"The lodge finally succumbed to picknickers' axes and the telephone had to be removed; the flagpole was ruined by lightning, and the perennials were dug up and carted away by admirers. Most of the trees were destroyed by a grassfire started by the sparks of a campfire. The flagpole was struck many times by lightning, but it was bent over and broken off (using three tractors) because the Air Force required a red light and there was no source of power on the Heights.
"The parking space remained intact. It was improved upon and a Spanish-type fort and picnic sites were built nearby by the WPA [Works Progress Administration] after the park was sold to the Saline County Commissioners. A new road was also built at that time. This has been improved by the Saline County Highway Department several times.
"There is an 11 p.m. curfew on Coronado Heights, but it is waived occasionally for special campouts and picnics, according to the Saline County Sheriff's Office."
Coronado Park, Coronado Heights, north of Lindsborg.
* * *
Lindsborg Historical Society and Coronado Heights History
Account 3
"CORONADO ET AL"
a chapter from
Mrs. Jaderborg's
1975
Why Lindsborg?
Pages 13-14
'Quivira, and all that'
"The opening declaration made in chapel oration by Student St. John, according to Dr. E. Nelander, Bethany's first president was:
'The first Swede who settled in Kansas was a Spaniard.' "
"On Sunday, February 23, 1540, a gallant army of 300 Spanish noblemen with the desire to find the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola with their golden walls, silversmith shops and turquoise doors, left Mexico City and headed north.
"These men, the "flower of Spanish aristocracy," were accompanied by another 1,100 men and servants, 3 women and 600 animals. The whole Spanish kingdom had been at a fever pitch of excitement--not least of all the King himself, who would receive one-fifth of all the gold, no matter what.
"Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, 30, headed the expedition bedecked in his gilded armor and plumed helmet. Captain Jaramillo would keep the records.
"They found the Seven Cities, all right. They were a seven-storied Zuni Indian pueblo full of fighting-mad Zunis --"a small rock pueblo, all crumpled up," the Captain wrote. There was no gold. In fact, it is doubtful that the poor Indians knew what gold was. But there were beans, corn, fowl and salt in crystals. After the unbelievable privations of the long journey thus far, these commodities looked better to the Spanish than gold.
"The greater number of Spaniards eventually turned back home in bitter disappointment. Coronado and about 30 hand-picked men headed north into the Texas panhandle guided by one "The Turk," an Indian who wore his hair like a Turk and had the features of one. He had such fabulous tales of the riches to be had in the Province called "Quivira," that the Spaniards could not resist the temptation to investigate.
"They had struggled through the 1540-41 winter in the Rio Grand Valley, they had encountered cannibalistic and unfriendly Indians and the privations of the prairie. Now they began to doubt the integrity of "The Turk," and they put him in irons. As they approached the Province of Quivira, it became quite apparent that he most certainly had been lying about the riches to be found, and had just led them along hoping to get them helplessly lost and exterminate them.
"They reached Quivira in the first week of July--probably July 6, 1541. It began at the great bend of the river St. Peter and St. Paul (so named by them, later named the "Arkansas River"). This, then was the beginning of Quivira. In their wanderings they had discovered many things, including the Grand Canyon. Now they had discovered Quivira and "Kansas."
"A historical map issued by the National Geographic Society in 1953 has an arrow pointing to Lindsborg as the "End of Quivira," where "The Turk" was executed for treachery. However, historians disagree on this. Some place the End of Quivira near Junction City, Kansas.
"There are many reasons to believe, though, that the Coronado party was in the Lindsborg vicinity. Spanish artifacts dug up at the Paint Creek Village Site to the southwest prove nothing, really. But descriptions of flora, fauna and topography would seem to be evident enough--if anyone feels the need of such.
"At a spring near the summit of a hill (which hill is unknown) on Gypsum Creek about Roxbury, near the so-called Tarnstrom (Indian) Village Site, is an old and weathered inscription on a rock that is said to be of Spanish origin, according to J. V. Brower's published memoirs in 1898. (The stone has either disappeared or been turned over to preserve it--no one has seen it lately.) Gold Spanish coins have been found in this area. A Spanish coin was also found in the spring at the base of Coronado Heights. The latter was sent off for appraisal and never returned.
"Many smaller parties were sent out on expeditionary ventures during the month Coronado was in Quivira. It is quite possible that some of these had the curiosity to climb "Smoky Hill" (Coronado Heights), but Jaramillo, the official expedition recorder did not record such a climb.
"Coronado fell off his horse on the return trip south, and was ingloriously toted into Mexico City on a stretcher. He had found no gold, his health was broken, and he died at age 44 before reaching middle age--just as a fortune teller had predicted many years before."
-----
Based on Dr. E. O. Deere's 1907 Master's Thesis "Geology of the Smoky Valley Buttes," and the 1937 "Coronado and Quivira" by Paul Jones, and other sources.
-----
"The opening declaration made in chapel oration by Student St. John, according to Dr. E. Nelander, Bethany's first president was:
'The first Swede who settled in Kansas was a Spaniard.' "
"On Sunday, February 23, 1540, a gallant army of 300 Spanish noblemen with the desire to find the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola with their golden walls, silversmith shops and turquoise doors, left Mexico City and headed north.
"These men, the "flower of Spanish aristocracy," were accompanied by another 1,100 men and servants, 3 women and 600 animals. The whole Spanish kingdom had been at a fever pitch of excitement--not least of all the King himself, who would receive one-fifth of all the gold, no matter what.
"Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, 30, headed the expedition bedecked in his gilded armor and plumed helmet. Captain Jaramillo would keep the records.
"They found the Seven Cities, all right. They were a seven-storied Zuni Indian pueblo full of fighting-mad Zunis --"a small rock pueblo, all crumpled up," the Captain wrote. There was no gold. In fact, it is doubtful that the poor Indians knew what gold was. But there were beans, corn, fowl and salt in crystals. After the unbelievable privations of the long journey thus far, these commodities looked better to the Spanish than gold.
"The greater number of Spaniards eventually turned back home in bitter disappointment. Coronado and about 30 hand-picked men headed north into the Texas panhandle guided by one "The Turk," an Indian who wore his hair like a Turk and had the features of one. He had such fabulous tales of the riches to be had in the Province called "Quivira," that the Spaniards could not resist the temptation to investigate.
"They had struggled through the 1540-41 winter in the Rio Grand Valley, they had encountered cannibalistic and unfriendly Indians and the privations of the prairie. Now they began to doubt the integrity of "The Turk," and they put him in irons. As they approached the Province of Quivira, it became quite apparent that he most certainly had been lying about the riches to be found, and had just led them along hoping to get them helplessly lost and exterminate them.
"They reached Quivira in the first week of July--probably July 6, 1541. It began at the great bend of the river St. Peter and St. Paul (so named by them, later named the "Arkansas River"). This, then was the beginning of Quivira. In their wanderings they had discovered many things, including the Grand Canyon. Now they had discovered Quivira and "Kansas."
"A historical map issued by the National Geographic Society in 1953 has an arrow pointing to Lindsborg as the "End of Quivira," where "The Turk" was executed for treachery. However, historians disagree on this. Some place the End of Quivira near Junction City, Kansas.
"There are many reasons to believe, though, that the Coronado party was in the Lindsborg vicinity. Spanish artifacts dug up at the Paint Creek Village Site to the southwest prove nothing, really. But descriptions of flora, fauna and topography would seem to be evident enough--if anyone feels the need of such.
"At a spring near the summit of a hill (which hill is unknown) on Gypsum Creek about Roxbury, near the so-called Tarnstrom (Indian) Village Site, is an old and weathered inscription on a rock that is said to be of Spanish origin, according to J. V. Brower's published memoirs in 1898. (The stone has either disappeared or been turned over to preserve it--no one has seen it lately.) Gold Spanish coins have been found in this area. A Spanish coin was also found in the spring at the base of Coronado Heights. The latter was sent off for appraisal and never returned.
"Many smaller parties were sent out on expeditionary ventures during the month Coronado was in Quivira. It is quite possible that some of these had the curiosity to climb "Smoky Hill" (Coronado Heights), but Jaramillo, the official expedition recorder did not record such a climb.
"Coronado fell off his horse on the return trip south, and was ingloriously toted into Mexico City on a stretcher. He had found no gold, his health was broken, and he died at age 44 before reaching middle age--just as a fortune teller had predicted many years before."
-----
Based on Dr. E. O. Deere's 1907 Master's Thesis "Geology of the Smoky Valley Buttes," and the 1937 "Coronado and Quivira" by Paul Jones, and other sources.
-----
For "Coronado Expedition Chain Mail and Bethany College Museum" History ~ An account from Dr. Lungstrom's, go HERE.
Lydia Sohlberg Deere Coronado Heights project photograph with her husband Emill O. Deere,
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