From towns like Liberal and Beer City to Kismet and Arkalon, Seward County has been the home of a tough, yet imaginative, people. Seymour Rogers, who homesteaded in the southern portion of the county, hand-dug a well and provided travelers with free water. Before long, the "liberal well" became the town of Liberal. The late 1880s saw settlers making their way to southwest Kansas to claim their 160 acres and hopefully fulfill their dreams. Farmers, ranchers, newspaper editors, shopkeepers, and a few ne'er-do-wells populated Seward County. Liberal became the county seat after a battle between...