Carson Family

                                                           Tommy Carson.
Winfield Courier, March 11, 1880.
We had occasion to visit the north part of Richland town­ship, last week, in company with Mr. Lemmon, and saw many things on our way which are encouraging for the future of Cowley, and which add to our pride in our county.
We particularly noticed the large farm of T. R. Carson, of 640 acres, well fenced with miles of wire, stone, and hedge, with a large windmill that can be seen in the distance for miles, with large reservoirs for water and conductors carrying the water to several stockyards, with a stone viaduct through which his cattle pass under the roads to the stockyards and water tanks, with plenty of large barns, sheds, stables, and everything convenient for large operations. The farm is well stocked with hogs and cattle of best grades, and his large mule teams were busy plowing for spring crops.

Thomas J. Carson married Pearl Douglass. Their only child, Lois Carson, was born in Winfield in 1918. The Carson family migrated from New York state and her paternal grandmother's family, the Footes, who settled near Atlanta, Kansas, originally came from England. The Douglass family had come from Mexico, Missouri, via Nebraska, in the early 1900s. They originally came from Scotland.
Tommy Carson rented the Bish bakery on east Seventh street in the early 1920s. Lois Carson married Vern D. Livengood in September of 1940 and their story is told in the 1990 book entitled "Cowley County Heritage."

The Cowley County Historical Society, while holding its annual meeting in 1972, had Tommy Carson as a guest speaker.
Tommy Carson was born in 1893 in Atlanta, Kansas. His family moved to Winfield. He was a baker who built and ran his shop at 216 West Ninth Street.
In his speech he commented on several things.
At one time the city water works were two blocks east of the Baden Flour mill.
There was a pest house, the size of a box car, at the fairgrounds by the barn. There was an oil well in the Fair­grounds.
The Hill park included Wildcat Glen/canyon.
The Hiatt park had a cave and a mineral water springs.
The Barnes Pecan grove, south of the fairgrounds, became Riverside park and later a part of the Hiatt park. It is now part of the Fairgrounds.
After you washed your buggy at the 19th street ford, you could cross the ford and drive up Cedar canyon past the lime kiln and the way station onto the hill where the Country Club is.
The Hackney block housed the Winfield Plumbing and Heating Co., the Hudson automobile agency, The Winfield Wholesale Grocery and the original Winfield Dillon’s store.
The Baptist church had the first pipe organ west of the Mississippi River. The bellows were run by water.