Bio
Born in Ireland in 1829, William Poole came to the United States in 1840 and worked for a tanner for 10 years. After saving up his money, he journeyed West, settling just south of Manhattan, Kansas. (Because the steamer he was a passenger on going up the Kaw River got stuck on a sandbar, Poole disembarked and started a homestead.)
Poole began a small ranch and opened a freighting business.
He expanded his ranch and soon bought and bred horses to sell to settlers and the cavalry at Fort Riley. On his ranch, he eventually raised shorthorns and commercial Herefords.
He is considered one of the most respected pioneering cattlemen in Kansas.
