William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas
was first published in 1883 by A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL.
http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/kancoll/books/cutler/osage/osage-co-p1.html
BARCLAY.
This is a station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad, and is about six miles southwest from Osage City. The town contains
about twenty houses and has a population of about one hundred.
In the center of a rich farming country, quite an
extensive business is done, though it is all a local trade. It is also within
the coal belt of the county, and when the mining interests of the locality
becomes developed, it seems that Barclay is destined to become as prosperous a
town as most others of the county.
The town is the center of a Quaker settlement; formed
through the labors of John M. Wetherell, who was a member of the sect. After he
had sold his large tract of land about Osage City, to T. J. Peter, he conceived
the idea of forming a large settlement of his own people around Barclay. Quite a
large number of them located, bought land, and began farming. Several of them
became discouraged during the hard times and left the country, but those who
remained have been very prosperous and are fast becoming wealthy.
Though at Barclay no coal mines have yet been opened,
there are shafts on either side of the town, and it is only a question of a
short time as to when this great interest will be developed here.
