Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

Topeka in the 1870s was little more than a frontier town striving to survive. 1870 brought financial panic and a grasshopper plague worse than any could remember. Approximately 8,000 people lived in the area around the current downtown area. A hot news item was the reporting of a new iron toll bridge that linked the separate municipality of North Topeka and Topeka proper. For 10 cents there was omnibus service between 10th & Kansas and the Kansas Pacific depot.

Also in the news was the new Lincoln School. The new school was the last word in public education, and newspapers were lavish in their praise. The local government was concerned with the question of whether or not cattle should be allowed to roam at large throughout the city between sunrise and sunset. Also of concern were bogus 50 cent notes that were circulating and creating a stir with businessmen.

Whiskey was under attack by the temperance forces. In 1870-71, Lorenzo Costa's new Opera House opened to house a theatrical company. Topeka's Black population had celebrated the passage of the 15th amendment and received favorable comments from the press because of their industry and interest in the city's progress. The city street department was accused of "utter shiftlessness" because of the streets and sidewalks. If it rained, there was an over-abundance of mud in downtown Topeka. Topeka had its problems in the 1870s, but overall it was a good place to live and on its way out of its frontier childhood.

The financial climate was such that certain residents could give serious thought to cultural advancement. The stage was set and the timing right for the organization of a library association that would eventually grow into today's Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.

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