Where did the city of Gentry get its name? I've always heard that the town was named in honor of a railroad official instrumental in the building of the current Kansas City Southern rail line which passes through the city, but the specifics of the name were usually left out.
It's true that Gentry is named after a railroad official. His name was Richard Gentry, second vice president and general manager of what is now the Kansas City Southern Railroad.
He was one of the incorporators in 1889 of the Pittsburgh & Gulf Railway, now the Kansas City Southern. He acted in the capacity of general manager, chief engineer and vice-president and built the first 300 miles of the railroad extending south of Kansas City, Mo., according to the Jan. 1, 1916, "Railway Review," which was published in Chicago, Ill.
According to "Kansas City, Missouri: Its History and Its People - 1800-1908," by Carrie Westlake Whitney, Richard Gentry was born in Boone County, Mo., on Nov. 11, 1846. He was raised on a farm and went to school in a log schoolhouse and later was sent to the Kemper School for boys in Booneville. He fought in the Civil War under General Price. After the war, he attended Missouri State University and graduated in 1868. He worked as a civil engineer and was employed by a number of railroads and built sections of railroads and bridges. He later became involved in banking, real estate, cattle ranching and mining. In 1889 he was one of the incorporators of the Kansas City, Nevada & Fort Smith Railroad, according to the book.
Gentry "was its first chief engineer and general manager and one of its largest stockholders," Whitney wrote. "In the fall of 1895 he retired from his connection with this railroad, having sold his interests. Under his management the first three hundred miles were built and operated, and the next two hundred miles were located and partly constructed."
The history goes on to speak of additional enterprises in which Gentry engaged, including mining operations in Arizona and Mexico.
According to Whitney, Gentry was "a son of Richard Harrison Gentry and Mary Wyatt, his wife, of Columbia, Missouri, and a grandson of Major General Richard Gentry and Ann Hawkins, his wife, of Columbia, Missouri, who served in the war of 1812 with the Kentucky volunteers under General Harrison, and was an ensign at the glorious victory at the battle of the Thames. In 1883 General Gentry commanded the Missourians in the Black Hawk Indian war, and in 1837 he commanded a regiment of Missouri volunteers in the Florida war and was killed at the head of his regiment December 25, 1837, at the decisive battle of Okeechobee."
But how did Gentry come to be named after Gentry? While many assume it was done by local residents in appreciation for what Richard Gentry did for the town in building a railroad, the facts seem to indicate that the railroad probably named the townsite after Gentry and then sold lots to businessmen and others who wished to locate along the railroad. In Gentry, that would have drawn businessmen and businesses from Springtown and Bloomfield who needed the railroad for the shipment of goods and supplies.
According to "Images of Rail: Kansas City Southern Railway," by Thad Hillis Carter, Fred Hornbeck was hired by Arthur Stilwell to "look after the offering of free townsites to new comers. Hornbeck, a resident of Kansas City, was a real estate man who went ahead of the actual railroad construction, bought large tracts of land, and then sold the land for a profit."
The same source says that "Stilwell acquired timberland running 30 miles along the right-of-way south of Sulphur Springs. That profitable investment provided capital to help build the KCS through the Ozark Mountains."
And Gentry wasn't the only town named after railroad executives. There's Stilwell, Mena, DeQueen and other towns.
Early Gentry history would also seem to indicate that some Gentry residents were not pleased with the name and wished to have their town named Orchard or Orchard City because of the many apple orchards in the area. Beginning with the Nov. 5, 1897, issue of the Journal-Advance, the name Orchard was used in the newspaper's masthead. It changed back to Gentry in the April 6, 1900, issue. The papers in between had ads and stories which continued to use Gentry even though the newspaper itself used Orchard.
And so, what of the name "Gentry"? The word used to apply to a person of "gentle birth" and came to refer to those who owned lands and held status. Richard Gentry was certainly a man of entrepreneurial spirit who helped shape the course of our land and nation, though he fought on the side of the South in the Civil War, his ancestors took part in the Revolutionary War and other wars which helped shape America and make it what it is today. The name may not have been the first choice for those who moved here and settled the town, but the city of Gentry could have done much worse. I still remember driving through Flush, Kansas, a town probably so named before modern-day indoor plumbing.
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 05/31/2017