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Jon Vansoyoc, another Civil War veteran, had some land along the Wolf Creek that he used for sheep ranching. This land was selected by the railroad as the site for a depot. The railroad added the y onto the name of Lura, the settlement that was already in the area, and Luray was born. Capt. Vansoyoc sold his land north of where the tracks would be laid to a husband and wife that ran a land company in Lincoln, Kansas. Before they had land to sell, land was bought from the Union Town Company in Salina, Kansas. The new land company that could sell the lots was named the Luray Town Company. Luray was platted out in April of 1887.
A newspaper, the Luray Headlight, started up in 1887 just before the railroad came in. The editor was there to record the history of the train company through and then getting as far as Waldo where the tracks ended. This paper, as other papers in that time did, touted Luray as the place to build.
Speculators poured into the town and started building. Soon there were more people than houses. The paper called for a bank, a hardware store, a church and a lumberyard to be built---but no saloons or pool halls.
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Contact Charma Craven mailto:ccraven@gorhamtel.com
