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A t the extreme southeast tip of Doniphan County, KS, a prosperous town called Doniphan once spread over rolling hills that overlooked a wide curve of the Missouri River. Now the river flows about a mile away, separated from the bluffs by acres of rich bottomland, and only a few derelict buildings offer evidence that a town ever existed.

Doniphan Vineyards Wine Company in 1900. (Atchison Historical Society photo)

A town company in St. Joseph formed Doniphan, named for the county, in 1854. The town fathers believed the town had a bright future; writers of the day boasted of an outcropping that extended across the river, "making Doniphan the head of navigation for heavy-draft steamers." Town lots were sold the next year for as much as $2,000 each.

Over the next few years, several store buildings, sawmills and warehouses were built, including the town's first hotel, erected in 1856. Along with other guests, the hotel would provide lodging in 1859 for an aspiring presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln, who campaigned for eight days in northeast Kansas.

According to the Doniphan County 1882 Plat Book, compiled and posted online by Roger Pyle, a descendant of early-day residents, Doniphan's population declined sharply at the beginning of the Civil War, but quickly recovered, with several brick buildings erected, including a large warehouse, and a "fine brick schoolhouse, built in 1873, at a cost of $8,000." The book reported that by 1882 Doniphan had three general stores, two drug stores, two billiard halls, a wagon shop, two blacksmith shops, a wholesale liquor house, a meat market, a hotel, a feed stable, three millinery and dressmaking establishments, and a shoe shop.

Professionals in town included three physicians, three carpenters, three stonemasons, a plasterer, a cooper, and a surveyor. There were three church organizations and two secret societies.
A writer for the Kansas Crusader for Freedom in 1858 listed Doniphan's population at 1,500, with "100 houses being built in the last six months." Other sources suggest the population of Doniphan in the late 1800s was "more than 2,000."

'General' Jim Lane lived in Doniphan

One of Doniphan's most controversial landowners and residents was Jim Lane, who became a member of the town company in 1857. He acquired a large part of the town-site, known as "Lane's Addition," and lived in Doniphan for two years before moving to Leavenworth.

Considered by most of his contemporaries as being charismatic but unstable, Lane was known as the leader of the Jayhawkers, militating against slavery in the Kansas Territory in the 1850s. During the war, he commanded "Lane's Brigade," engaging the Confederate forces of Gen. Sterling Price during the Battle of Dry Wood Creek in Vernon County, MO. Lane and his raiders lost the battle, but stayed behind to sack and burn the small town of Osceola. The atrocity earned Lane reprimands and his brigade was disbanded.

Lane served as one of Kansas' first U.S. senators and was re-elected to a second term despite his worsening depression and deranged demeanor. He shot and killed himself in Leavenworth a year after re-election.

Keeping Doniphan's wine heritage alive

Robert Nourie and his wife, Kittie, began the Doniphan Heritage Vineyards 21 years ago, after Robert had retired from the U.S. Marine Corps. The Nouries live at the end of a country lane that winds atop river bluffs overlooking much of what's left of the old town. Nourie showed me plat plans, old photos and other artifacts of Doniphan, most involving the wine industry that grew up on the town's outskirts.

The Jacob Brenner house, part of the Doniphan Historic District. (photo by Ken Weyand)

"Adam and Jacob Brenner, experienced winemakers, came here from Bavaria," Nourie said. "They settled on separate farms, and their wine companies and vineyards were separately incorporated. Unlike most German homesteaders who settled the area, the Brenners undoubtedly had money and resources, and were able to establish themselves quickly as successful businessmen."

The wineries produced as much as 150,000 gallons in their peak years, shipping to buyers all over the country. "Initially, Doniphan, with its access to steamboats, was ideally suited for their business," Nourie said. "Then the steamboats gave way to the railroad, but the Brenners continued to prosper. "Adam Brenner died in 1890, and his brother Jacob died 363 days later."

In another four months, the Missouri River flooded, creating a new channel and leaving Doniphan landlocked. Surrounding towns took much of the town's trade. From then on, Doniphan went into a steep decline. The post office that had opened in 1855 finally closed in 1944.
Nourie said that second-generation Brenner family members carried on the winemaking tradition with two companies, the Jacob Brenner Wine Company and the Doniphan Vineyards Wine Company, headquartered in Atchison. The Brenner family winemaking enterprises finally ended in 1912.

Monument marking the Brenner family plot in the Doniphan Cemetery

Today little is left of Doniphan, except for a few crumbling buildings, and the old cemetery. In 2005, the Brenner Vineyards was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to wine historian and writer Nancy Yos on her website, www.atfirstglass.com, The Brenner Historic District includes the St. John's Catholic Church, a two-story winery building, a barn, corncrib and pump-house, a smokehouse, and the ruins of Adam Brenner's house and winery.
To reach Doniphan from Atchison, take River Front Road north from Riverfront Park, and follow it to Mineral Point Road. After about seven miles the road traces Doniphan's main street, now unmarked. Watch for the Doniphan Heritage Vineyards sign on your right.
Ken Weyand can be contacted at kweyand1@kc.rr.com

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Discover Vintage America | Traveling with Ken Wayand

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A t the extreme southeast tip of Doniphan County, KS, a prosperous town called Doniphan once spread over rolling hills that overlooked a wide curve of the Missouri River. Now the river flows about a mile away, separated from the bluffs by acres of rich bottomland, and only a few derelict buildings offer evidence that a town ever existed.

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http://discoverypub.com/columns/ken/0613_ken/index.html

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http://inwanderlust.weebly.com/blog/ghost-towns-and-lost-cities-kansas

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Interconnection of natural world and human society

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Spark

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Nicole will run Spark
Script Sandy
Media finder
Media finder/facilitator BC

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Social Studies and Science tie ins

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Open with two kids finding something in a field. Where did it come from? How did it get there? Is it worth money?

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Open with two kids finding something in a field. Where did it come from? How did it get there? Is it worth money?

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How old is it? Where can we get answers to our questions?
Use

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19th century NE KS/NW NO
Influenced of MO river