Winfield, Kansas

===19th century===
Winfield was founded in 1870.<ref name="book-hcck">[https://archive.org/details/historyofcowleyc00mill History of Cowley County Kansas; D.A. Millington / E.P. Greer; Winfield Courier; 162 pages; 1901.]</ref> It was named for Rev. [[Winfield Scott (chaplain)|Winfield Scott]], who promised to build the town a church in exchange for the naming rights.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ | title=Biennial Report of the Board of Directors of the Kansas State Historical Society | publisher=Kansas State Printing Plant | author=Kansas State Historical Society | year=1916 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ/page/n274 167]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Qi9cXyTWt9EC | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2 | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Qi9cXyTWt9EC/page/n908 926]}}</ref>  The first post office at Winfield was established in May, 1870.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page:2/county:CL | title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961, page 2 | publisher=Kansas Historical Society | access-date=6 June 2014}}</ref>  In 1873, Winfield incorporated as a city.<ref name="book-hcck"/>

====Railroads====
Railroads reached Winfield in the late 1870s,<ref name="book-hcck"/> and finished at [[Arkansas City, Kansas|Arkansas City]] in 1881.<ref name="Marion 1972">''Marion County Kansas : Past and Present''; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; [[LCCN]] 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972.</ref><ref name="Abandon Railway 1942">[http://www.abandonedrails.com/Florence_to_El_Dorado Railway Abandonment 1942]</ref><ref name="book-hcck"/> Eventually, a total of five railroads passed through Winfield.<ref name="book-hcck"/>

====State mental hospital====
In 1881, the State of Kansas established the Kansas State Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, temporarily established at Lawrence, but moved to Winfield in 1887/1888, where it served as a dominant local employer for 117 years.<ref name="disability">[http://www.ksde.org/Portals/0/SES/pubs/DisabilityAwarenessGuide.pdf ''Disability History and Awareness: A Resource Guide,''], 2009, Kansas State Department of Education, State of [[Kansas]]</ref><ref name="council_calls">Ranney, Dave, [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jun/29/council_calls_closing_state_hospital/ "Council calls for closing state hospital: Kansas no longer needs two state hospitals for the developmentally disabled,"] June 29, 2006, ''Lawrence Journal-World,'' retrieved April 6, 2017</ref><ref name="wsh_ctnewsonline">
[http://www.ctnewsonline.com/news/article_cd88c1ec-4faa-11e6-9eb1-ff24a7ab4833.html ""WSH reunion Saturday,"] July 21, 2016, Winfield / Arkansas City ''Courier-Traveler''</ref>
{{wide image|Winfield kansas 1910 b.jpg|1000px|alt=Winfield panorama (1910)|Winfield panorama (1910)}}