The Hartford House
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This house is one of about ten prefabricated buildings brought on the steamboat Hartford to Kansas in the spring of 1855.
The Hartford left Cincinnati, Ohio April 26, 1855. Its passengers planned to settle in a town named Manhattan at the head of the Kansas River. After a difficult trip, the steamboat ran aground on June 1 close to the confluence of the Blue and Kansas Rivers, near the newly established town of Boston. The Boston settlers invited the Hartford passengers to join their town, and agreed to change the town's name to Manhattan.
The Hartford's cargo was unloaded and the boat headed downstream. It ran aground near St. Mary's and in October 1855 was destroyed by fire. Manhattan Methodists, who founded their congregation aboard the Hartford, salvaged the ship's bell, which now hangs in the Riley County Historical Museum.
In 1971 this house, a part of a larger house located on Colorado Street, was donated to the Riley County Historical Society by Mr. And Mrs. John Meisner. The Rotary Club and Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity assisted with the restoration and move to this site.
Erected by Riley County Historical
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Historic Bells series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1775.
Location. 39° 11.557′ N, 96° 35.769′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, Kansas, in Riley County. It is on Claflin Road. Marker and house are on the grounds of the Riley County Historical Society. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2301 Claflin Road, Manhattan KS 66502, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kansas and in the Flint Hills. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, on the prairies, and on the Southern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Civil War Memorial (approx. 0.8 miles away); a different marker also
Credits. This page was last revised on October 17, 2022. It was originally submitted on February 15, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,178 times since then and 48 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 15, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
