The start of a city in Kansas. A grain elevator, a general store, a church and a railroad stop means a city, in a few years. Everybody gets behind and pushes. That’s the Kansas spirit —push, boost, and all the time working for the betterment of the place we call home.
The town of Reager is located on the Burlington railroad six miles from Oronoque and the same distance from Norcatur. It was named after W. W. Reager who homesteaded the land just south of the present town site, in 1882. The first church services were held in Mr. Reager’s sod house. Charles Orr built the first sod house on the land now owned by Mr. Keener, and Wm. Hicks built a soddie on the land owned by Mrs. A. L. Hicks. The present Methodist church known as Reager’s Chapel, was built in 1898. J. R. Thompson, of Norton was the first pastor. At the present time the pulpit is filled by a pastor from Norcatur or Oronoque.
The elevator was built in 1914 by Henry Westerman and the store that is now run by J. B. Shepherd, was built by him.
The post office is in the general store.
Reager has an elevator, a general store, a Methodist church, and recently the Burlington people built stock yards, and a large amount of stock is now shipped out from this little village. Reager is a large trade center for the country around and in time will be one of the important towns of Norton county.
J. B. Shepherd was born in Putman County, Missouri, in 1874 and came to Norton County in 1887 with his father David Shepherd, who homesteaded in Garfield township, and still lives at Norcatur. J. B. Shepherd was married in 1905 to Miss Kate Kious and to this union has been born two children, Benjamin V., born in 1906, and Minerva, born in 1913. Mrs. Shepherd is a member of the Methodist church and the Masonic lodge. He was elected county treasurer on the Democrat ticket in 1912 and serve until 1916. He now runs the store at Reager, is postmaster and manager of the elevator.