Wellsville: Proud past and growing future

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 27, 2002 by Capital-Journal

Photographs and story by John E. Chambers

Special to The Capital-Journal

WELLSVILLE --- This town of 1,600 people in the extreme northeast corner of Franklin County has a claim to fame as the hometown of three people who achieved at least national attention.

Born or reared in Wellsville were artist Elizabeth "Grandma" Layton, who also is buried in Wellsville Cemetery; Nashville country singer Chely Wright, winner of the MCA Young Artist of 1995 Award; and Lloyd C. Stearman, who was an aircraft designer, president of Lockheed Aircraft Co., and inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Three other people, although not nationally known, have established monuments in the town in the form of buildings that are influencing the life of the community.

Wellsville also has been known as "The English Blue Grass Capitol" of the world for its production of grass seed.

This is a town that is growing in the shadow of Greater Kansas City. It has reached its last census figure of 1,606 in 2000 --- just 40 years after its 1960 census figure of 984. It is located 20 minutes from the Kansas City metropolitan area, and sits on an undeveloped interchange of Interstate 35 highway and K-33.

The town is near several educational institutions, in addition to those in the Kansas City area. It is only eight miles from Baldwin City and Baker University, 12 miles from Ottawa and Ottawa University, 26 miles from Lawrence and The University of Kansas, and 55 miles from Topeka and Washburn University.

It also is about a mile from Douglas, Johnson and Miami counties, three of the fastest-growing counties in Kansas, as stated in a brochure that is distributed by City Hall and the Wellsville Chamber of Commerce.

Wellsville's history began with settlement of the area in the 1850s. This was part of the land that was ceded to the Shawnee Indians and then re-acquired from them. The town site was laid out in 1869-70 by three Chicago men. The railroad construction engineer was named D. L. Wells, for whom the city was named.

Growth of the community was linked to the completion of the railroad in 1870. E.P. Elder submitted the first plat of the city on May 1, 1872. The city was incorporated July 8, 1884.

Several early buildings still exist in Wellsville. One of them, the old bank building, 418 Main, was the town's first brick building. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A building that once was the Barabeau Hotel has been renovated for use as a private dwelling. Several early homes still exist, one of which is this the Hostetter House at the end of N. Main.

Elizabeth Layton, Wellsville's own "Grandma Moses," earned fame as an artist through blind contour drawing, which she began in 1977 at the age of 68. She healed herself from severe lifelong depression, which resulted from bi-polar illness. She began drawing her body, then pictures about her feelings and eventually issues of social justice. As part of the healing process, she wrote explanations of her feelings and her drawings.

Her pictures were exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Women in Art and the Smithsonian. They have been shown in Paris. Some of her work hangs in the Wellsville Library.

Grandma Layton, a native of Wellsville, died March 15, 1993, at the age of 83.

Chely Wright, who was born Oct. 25, 1970, in Kansas City as Richelle Renee Wright, was reared in Wellsville. Her first public performance as a singer came at the age of 11 in Kansas City. Her goal was to become a member of the Grand Ol' Opry. She recorded on the PolyGram label, began touring nationally in 1991, and hit No. 1 with "Single White Female" for MCA in 1999. Her album "Never Love You Enough" was produced by MCA last year. Lloyd C. Stearman was born Oct. 26, 1898, in Wellsville. He attended Kansas State College in Manhattan, where he studied engineering and architecture. He learned to fly Curtis N-9 seaplanes in the U.S. Navy Reserve in San Diego.

Stearman got into airplane manufacturing as a mechanic in the 1920s. Then, he and Walter Beach and Clyde Cessna formed the Travel Air Manufacturing Co., in 1925. Two years later, Stearman left the company to start his own company, where he built the Stearman C-2B and C-3B, and designed other aircraft.

He became president of Lockheed Aircraft Co. in the early 1930s, concentrating on building agricultural airplanes.

Stearman was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, in 1989.

The Wellsville citizens who established memorials in the form of public buildings in recent years were: Bob E. and Barbara J. Kleier, and Dupreeze Pearson. The Kleiers' gift of $270,000 paid for construction of the city hall that was dedicated in October 1999. Pearson's will left more than $300,000 to cover most of the cost of building the new library building, which is now in use. Pearson, who had been a member of the library board, died in 1990.

Wellsville, as a city of the third class, has a mayor and five- member city council. The mayor is Jeff Courter. Council members are Brian Kearney, president, and Dorsey Edwards, Kurt Taylor, Jack Ryburn and Jeanne Hogg.