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The Kansas City, Kaw Valley Railroad, Ine., until recently Kansas' sole
surviving trolley system which can rightfully be called an interurban line,
can point to fifty-two years of chartered existence. It was conceived on paper
by one John W. McDanield, an energetic Bonner Springs resident, as early as
1893. With steam roads pushing farther west into Kansas, licDanield decheinee of
of an electric trolley line from Bonner Springs the full fourteen miles into
Kansas City. Another man by the name of Mr. =. E. Winner also sought to build
such an electric line and competition became swift between the two men and their
dreams. In July, 1902, icDanield and Edwin faylor secured a county franchise to
build their proposed electric line from Kansas City, Kansas to Loring, a town
west of Sonner Springs on the Union Pacific Railroad. Soon after, Winner started
at Edwardsville to build toward Bonner Springs. The McDanields & Taylor project
was named the Kansas City and Bonner Springs Electric Line. Work on that line
actually started on October, 1904.

In March of 1908, the line elected new officers, ces W. H. Caffey as pres-
ident, Chas. Knabb as vice-president, John MeDanield as superintendent, A. L.
Cooper as secretary, and J. D. Waters as treasurer. Waters was another booster
of the growing Bonner Springs community. He succeeded in organizing the Jonner
Springs Oil and Gas Company and later was important in starting the sonner Sp-
wines Portland Cement Company. This latef became the main factor in allowing
the electric line to continue in operation long after other lines had become
history. Un April 27, 1908, the first electric car made a trip over the new line
from sonner to the cement plant. By June of that year, the line was completed
to Lake of the forest, and served to carry picnic goers to the lake as well as
cement workers to the cement plant.

In June, 1909, the electric line purchased a new streetcar and the company
was chartered as [he Kansas City Kaw Valley Railroad. In September of that year,
work was started to extend the line eastward to Kansas City. McDanield became

president of that company in March of 1910 as Bonner Springs residents subscribed