Lakin’s namesake, David Long Lakin, was born in Freeport, Harrison County, Ohio in May of 1830. Following his public school education, he attended and graduated from Denison University at Granville, OH, one of the earliest colleges established in the territory northwest of the Ohio River. Mr. Lakin then taught school for a few years before securing a contract with the U.S. government to survey and subdivide the public lands into townships and sections. In 1857, he located to Valley Falls where he conducted the supervision of the surveys in the north central part of Kansas. In 1862, Governor Robinson appointed Mr. Lakin to fill a vacancy in the office of the state auditor.
Shortly after arriving in Kansas, Mr. Lakin became associated with Cyrus K. Holliday, father of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. Mr. Lakin’s knowledge and experience in land matters made him valuable to the Santa Fe organization, and in February of 1864, he was elected as the first treasurer on the newly formed railroad’s board of directors. Four years later, Mr. Lakin was appointed as the company’s first land commissioner. He opened an office in Topeka in 1869 to develop the Santa Fe Land Department the duties of which were to begin and carry to successful completion the huge task of surveying, classifying, appraising, selling and colonizing the railroad land. In the spring of 1870, Lakin took to the field with a team consisting of a compassman, flagman, cook, outfit boss, wagon boss and three appraisers. The work of laying out routes and selection of townsites started at Emporia and proceeded westward to the state line. The group traveled well-armed in a covered wagon and frequently met bands of Arapaho, Cheyenne and Comanche Indians. While the surveying party often had to resort to vigorous diplomacy, they never had a conflict with the Native Americans.
Bad health compelled Mr. Lakin to resign from this task in 1872. As a reward for his faithful services, the railroad company named our townsite for him. Mr. Lakin was honored by the gesture, and although he never lived here, he became equally proud of Lakin’s development. A highly trusted, principled and respected man, David Long Lakin remained with the Santa Fe system until the close of his life in 1897 and was one of the organization’s most active and influential managers. Much of the railroad’s success and early prosperity were due to his devotion.
Sources: The Story of the Santa Fe by Glenn Danford Bradley; History of Shawnee Co. Ks and Representative Citizens by James L. King; Kansas State Historical Society; The Lakin Independent, August 27, 1948; History of Kearny County Kansas Vol. 1, and museum archives. Photo courtesy of KSHS.