A Well-furnished Store

A Well-furnished Store. . , "Those who have occassion to stop at Council Grove, on the Santa Fe Road, will do well to 'put up' with Charles A. Gilkey [Hays' hotel clerk]…[?] host of the Hayes House. [They]…cannot but help feeling quite at home. , - Kansas Press, July 11, 1859, "At Council Grove, there is a large, well-furnished store, where a constant supply of everything required for the road is kept." , - G. Harris Heap, 1854, Seth Hays came here in 1847 to trade with the Kaw (Kansa) Indians, who purchased guns, blankets, flour, and tinware from him. About 1857, he replaced his log store with this frame building, which has served citizens and travelers as a trading post, courthouse, post office, printing office, and meeting and social hall., Business was lively: in a four day period in 1860, the Kaw Indians spent $15,000 here and across the street at the Conn Store., The Santa Fe trade became increasingly lucrative. In 1863, Hays' former partner, G. M. Simcock, estimated that $40 million in freight was hauled in ox- and mule-drawn wagons through the town. In addition to supplies, the Hays House offered meals and rooms to weary travelers on their eight-week trip between New Mexico and Missouri., [Photo inset] Seth Hays, a great-grandson of Daniel Boone, was Council Grove's first permanent settler. He helped to organize the town and to create a thriving trade center here during Santa Fe Trail days., [Background photo caption reads] Hays' frame store in 1868.