Hope, Kansas

Founder Newell Thurstin, a pioneer merchant from Michigan, arrived in the area in 1871 and staked his homestead claim in the bounds of what became the town of Hope.

With no source of supplies nearby, Mr. Thurstin began selling a stock of merchandise from his home. When the business outgrew the space, he built a store on the townsite.

Hope was incorporated in 1886, with a population of over 700 at the time. The arrival of the Topeka, Salina & Western Railroad in 1885, followed by the Santa Fe in 1887, gave Hope access to the grain and livestock markets in Chicago.

As the area boomed with new homes and businesses, an 1886 a news item proclaimed, "Hope sends and receives more mail than all other towns on the Topeka, Salina, and Western Railroad put together."

Presidential Connection

David Jacob Eisenhower, the father of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, lived on ranch near Hope as a young man and briefly operated a general store in the community in 1885.