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About
History about our small town with a lot of pride.
The Story
OF THE LORRAINE
The railroads came; a town appeared. This is the history of many places, but to add that the town was,
named for a railroad official’s daughter makes the beginning extra special.
Such was the start of Lorraine, Kansas named after Lorraine Bendly in 1887.
The location of the first consolidated school in Kansas at Lorraine had been one of the factors in the town’s growth. This was done in 1898 after much time and work on the part of H.L. Steinberg.
In 1887 the first business building was erected. It was a General Merchandise Store. In 1914 the Ellsworth Reporter carried the following: “In a commercial way Lorraine has one bank, one lumber yard, three general stores, one furniture and hardware store, one exclusive harness shop, one physician, one barber shop, one hotel, one restaurant, one blacksmith shop, one telephone exchange, one millinery store, one butcher shop, three elevators, one livery barn, one cattle and hog buyer, one Percheron barn, two cream stations, one military band of fifteen pieces and a live commercial club. This was all before the fire.
Then in 1970 it was reviewed again. We had one bank, one elevator, a post office, a gas station, a grocery store, a café and a part-time depot. Times have changed a lot over the years, but for us that have seen the changes over the years we are still proud to call this our home town.
100 years of lorraine
faith. community. FIRE.
During its hundred years Lorraine has had its share of destructive fires. The depot, as told before, burned to the ground at the early part of the century. In 1912, the general store of frame construction owned by Paul Peters was destroyed by fire. He replaced it with a larger brick building (long a familiar part of downtown). Again in 1947, this store partially burned from a floor furnace malfunction. All merchandise was damaged beyond use. Then in 1957, the most disastrous of the fires occurred. Here is the story.
STORY
LORRAINE FIRE:
At eleven o'clock on the night of February 4, 1957, most of the residents of the town were sleeping. All businesses has been locked up for the night. Suddenly, the cries of help, help! and the flickering glow of fire broke the night stillness and woke some of the neighbors nearby. The fire stated in the cafe (possibly from faulty wiring, it has been said). The flames spread rapidly through the cafe and the living quarters in the back, then the adjoining buildings. " I never seen something burn so FAST" said Jim Myers - Mayor
the work begins
making Lorraine
great again
After the massive fire that wiped out most of the town. The Lorraine community started going to work cleaning up the mess the fire has caused. The Mayor asked for volunteers to assist in the clean up and rebuild process. Everyone chipped in to help as much as they could. As seen the photo to the left the downtown was able to get the bank, post office and cafe rebuilt to help keep the town alive. The fire station across the street was reconstructed as well with all new equipment. The small town has more of a unified and community feel since the fire.