Brief
History from Kansas State Historical
Society:
Rush County was
organized on December 5, 1874, by William
Basham; P. C. Dixon; Adolph Ashcoft; and
I. T. Templeton.
The county is named for Alexander
Rush, Captain of Company H, Second Colored
Cavalry, killed at Jenkins Ferry,
Arkansas,
in April, 1864. It contains the
cities of McCracken, Timken, Alexander,
Liebenthal, Rush Center, La Crosse, Bison
and Otis.
There was a county
seat struggle between LaCrosse and Rush
Center lasting 10 years until LaCrosse
finally became the
county seat. In 1943 the federal
government constructed a helium plant near
Otis. Although no longer in operation, it
was one
of the largest producers of helium
in the United States. The location of many
trails, including the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge
Trail,
the Fort Hays-Fort Larned Trail and
others played important roles in the
county's history.
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