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Barton Countys First Christmas Tree
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This 1947 photo of Santas visit to the Ellinwood Grade School echoes Santas visit to Ellinwood in 1874 in observance of the countys first Christmas tree and the community Christmas party organized by a handful of Ellinwoods philanthropists. This and several other vintage photos documenting Ellinwoods history can be found at the Ellinwood Historical Society museum which opened earlier this year. - photo by Photo courtesy of the Ellinwood Historical Society and the Museum of Ellinwood
In 1874, Kansas was plagued with locusts (grasshoppers), which descended on the area and ate all the crops and any other living plant material in the area. According to the Kansas Historical Society, “the invasion began in late July when without warning millions of grasshoppers, or Rocky Mountain locusts, descended on the prairies from the Dakotas to Texas. The insects arrived in swarms so large they blocked out the sun and sounded like a rainstorm.