Our ancestors who chose to settle in Reno County were a hearty lot. In 1871 and 1872 when they began to arrive, there was nothing of civilization to be found. A small one-room school was begun by Miss Jennie Hodgson in a small building with wooden planks set over barrels for student desks. A few homes began to dot the countryside and in Hutchinson proper. These were our beginnings, and those who chose to settle here weren’t seeking a life of comfort and ease. They rolled up their sleeves and went to work, clearing their farms and building their communities.

This website is intended to honor them, as well as the generations which followed them here. Their lives made Reno County the special place that it is, and their contributions must never be forgotten.