Alta vista or Altavista Kansas.



Alta vista or Altavista.
Picture taken 1910.



Altavista is a very active, enterprising town of almost five hundred people, on the Main line of the Rock Island. It is situated in the southwest corner of Wabaunsee County, just at the junction of three counties, and draws a large amount of trade from each, there being no other town of importance between Alma and Herington. Besides the town trade, Altavista has a steady trade of about 560 country families. To the South and West is a vast area of level farming lands. The increasing prosperity of the farmers has caused the population and business of Altavista to double within the last four years. The town is booming, but the boom has the firm reliable backing of a rapidly developing farming community to sustain it.

Alta Vista, one of the larger towns of Wabaunsee county, is situated in Garfield township, on Mill creek and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R., 15 miles southwest of Alma, the county seat. It was settled in 1887, was incorporated, as a city of the third class in 1905, and in 1910 reported a population of 499. Alta Vista is one of the busy towns of Kansas. It has two banks, a weekly newspaper, a number of high class mercantile houses, a good public school system, express and telegraph offices, telephone connection, does considerable shipping, and its money order postoffice is the starting point of three rural delivery routes which supply mail to the surrounding country.

Altavista or Alta vista
Post offices

The first post office was at Albion and opened October 10, 1880 through January 4, 1883.  Albion name was changed to Pike, who open it's doors on January 4, 1883 through March 22, 1887.  This post office was moved to Altavista or Alta vista, and opened it's doors on March 22, 1887 through ?

It amazes me that there's so many people in Kansas that one can find so little or no information on, but then it's not only Kansas.  It seem every time I find someone interesting to research there's nothing to find.  Take Union Thomas the subject of this page I ran across a picture of his business and liked it and his name also was interesting, but there was no information to find, " now what?".  Do I put the picture aside and forget about it?  I decided I would not put the picture aside I liked it and I know others would too.

Union Thomas Meat Market.

Union Thomas entered business in Altavista in 1888, he sold meat in connection with the restaurant.  He closed the restaurant business in 1890, but continued the meat market.  In 1897, Mr. Thomas dug a ice pond north of town, from which he got not only his own supply of ice, but also supplied his customors.  It is said that the ice from the pond is as pure as well water.  The ice pond was still there in 1919.