And!They’re Off!

Posted on by hchm-curator

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Today, it might be hard to imagine the cheering crowds and the pounding of hooves on a dirt track speeding around the circle drive at Athletic Park, but in 1897, a horse racetrack was one of the primary purposes of Athletic Park. The paved round drive around the park is a remnant from that long ago time.

“Athletic Park A Go”

“The object of the association shall be to own real estate and provide and maintain a park for public gatherings, driving bicycling, baseball, foot-ball, gun club, boating, bathing and other innocent sports and amusements.” (Newton Kansan, 2 September 1897)

The park was a project of the Commercial Club and was established in fall 1897. The park was 40 acres with a dam for Sand Creek. Also included was a “half mile regulation horse track and inside of this a regulation one third mile bicycle track.” There were stables with ten box stalls, and additional stables were added over the years. The addition of a baseball diamond and grandstand made it “one of the most complete athletic parks in the country.”  (Newton Kansan 12 August 1897)

There was a great deal of pride in the new park and especially the racetrack. On March 31, 1898, the editor of the Newton Kansan declared that Newton was “To Be A Great Horse Town!”  With the new facilities, Newton had “good prospects of being the horsiest town in central Kansas.”

“Horsiest Town in Central Kansas”

Several local men owned and raced horses including Samuel Lehman, Dr. J. T. Axtell, and Jack Kraus. In addition, some well-known horse trainers worked in Newton including Vandever, Barron and Moore in 1897 – 98. The editor reported that Vandever was training eight horses for Dr. Axtell and eight for Fox Winnie in addition to several others. Barron was working with horses belonging to W.G. Pearson, John Bender and George Schell, noting that “these goers are expected to make a record this summer.” Moore came from McPherson will train horses belonging to S.P. Byers, F.S. Steinkirchner, Conductor Ferfuson, J.A. McGaughey and Dr. Boyd.

Managing the track was the responsibility of Giles Smith. By May a rule was created giving Smith “complete control” of the park and especially of the track. Due to changing weather conditions, no one was to use the track without a permit from the president of the organization, Dr. J.T. Axtell or the secretary, J.C. Nicholson. Even with a permit, Smith still had the authority to refuse use of the track. (Newton Kansan, 5 May 1898)

“Famous Horses Here”

“It is reported that a race has been matched between Fred Rowland’s black “Kidnapper” mare and Henry Steinkirchner’s gray “McGrego” mare. The “dough” has been put up on each side, and the contest promises to be quite lively.” (Newton Kansan 31 March 1898)

In 1903, the Newton Kansan  reported that Athletic Park has been a favorite place for training race horses with the horse owners of central and southern Kansas.” The horses trained in Newton in the spring and summer, then in the fall went on the circuits in either Missouri, Oklahoma, or the Arkansas Valley circuit at Hutchinson. The Arkansas Valley circuit included horses from Hutchinson, Wichita and ElDorado.

In November 1907, the Newton Kansan announced that there would be “Famous Horses Here.” 

“”For twenty-four hours yesterday, Newton was the location of two of the most famous horses in the world. Dan Patch, the famous pacing stallion . . . and Cresceus, who holds the stallion trotting record.”  The horses were travelling from Phoenix, AZ to Milwaukee, Wis and needed a break from the train.

 

Dan Patch

Crocseus

“Local horsemen  . . . flocked to the park but were not allowed to look at the famous animals, it being the wish not to disturb the animals.”

“Playing Smash with the State Record”

The races at the county fair in September of 1906 were particularly exciting as a state record was on the line.

Evening Kansan Republican, 27 September 1906

The front page of the September 29, 1906 Newton Kansan proclaimed “Castlewood paces mile heat in 2:09 1/4. ” Going on to note that “the crowd was hardly prepared for such a burst of speed and their enthusiasm was nearly equal to that of the horsemen.”  G.J. Thomas, Waterloon, was Castlewood’s owner. The world record set by Dan Patch September 8, 1906 was 1.55 for the mile. A record that has been equaled once but never broken. Castlewood’s time of 2:09 1/4 was a record for Kansas.

Evening Kansan Republican, 29 September 1906

Beat the Heat at the Races!

To encourage people to come to the park to watch the races, racing matinees were started in 1902. Every Friday beginning at 2:00 pm, it was free to watch the races. There were twenty plus horses in training and the writer promised “nearly all of them are speedy. “

On July 20, 1905, the editor of the Newton Kansan encouraged people to go to the race matinee, noting it was “as cool there as anywhere . . . it’s so hot there is little doing in the trade and many merchants . . . do not hesitate to take a few hours off and enjoy the sport the races at the park afford.” He assured his readers that “the breezes have full play at Athletic Park and if there’s any coolness . . . you will feel it there.”

Newton Driving Club

The Newton Driving Club was established in the spring of 1905. They also planned to use the track by extending the fence around it to give room for automobiles. Friday afternoon matinees were also planned. Many of the same men were involved in both horse racing and the driving club. At the same time, a new barn with fourteen stalls was constructed at the park.

The regulation bicycle track was also well used.

Evening Kansan Republican, 30 August 1899

The Harvey County Fair

On December 24, 1904, the Newton Kansan reported that the Athletic Park and County Fair Association Agree on Terms.” 

For several years the Harvey County Agricultural Society held the county fair at the Athletic Park.  The agreement gave the privilege to the fair association to rent the grounds necessary to erect barns and stalls, at their expense, and to hold fairs at Athletic Park.  The track and grandstand would only be available during the fair. The Athletic Park Association received compensation of ten per cent of the profits from the fair.

“A reminder of what Newton once possessed.”

In July 1909 came the disappointing news that the county fair would no longer be held. All of the buildings at Athletic Park were sold. The stated reason included poor attendance in recent years and “no disposition on the part of the farmers to help out by bringing in their best livestock . . .the result being that the exhibits were very tame.” In addition, there were not enough horses entered in the races, “eliminating one of the main attractions of the fair.”  (Newton Kansan, 15 July 1909)

In August, the grandstand was torn down, the Newton Kansan editor noted “the spot at the Park where the old grand stand stood is a sorry looking sight now and serves only as a reminder of what Newton once possessed.” (Newton Kansan, 14 August 1909)

In November, a special election was held on the question of the City of Newton buying Athletic Park. 

The vote for the proposition of the city issuing bonds of $5,000 to buy Athletic Park was largely in favor. The disappointment of the editor comes through as he noted that “there was not particular excitement, as it seemed a foregone conclusion . . . and fully half of those who were registered did not vote.”   (Newton Kansan, November 1, 4, 17, 1909)

It was the end of an era. Twelve years of exciting horse races, fairs and other activities, now it was time to reimagine what would be next for Athletic Park.

Barely Escaped with Their Lives: The First Train Wreck in Harvey County

Posted on by hchm-curator

by Kristine Schmucker, Archivist/Curator

Railroad work was dangerous. Working with heavy machinery meant the possibility that fingers, and other limbs could get caught and severely damaged. Sometime the work resulted in loss of life.

The first major train accident that occurred in Harvey County happened early in the morning of December 23, 1872 about thirteen miles west of Newton.

The eastbound train, consisting of a locomotive, a dozen freight cars, a baggage-express mail car and a passenger coach, became stuck in drifting snow.  The engine was uncoupled to break through the drifts, returning to pull the train as progress with the snow was made.

An extra freight train had departed Hutchinson about an hour and a half behind the regular train. Passengers on the first train reported seeing the headlight of the second train for three quarters of an hour. The brakeman from the first train put two lights on the rear platform and another approximately 100 yards from the train to alert the second train to the first one’s position.

Flying snow and frosted windows in the engine cab prevented the engineer of the freight train (2nd train) from seeing the warning lights and “without slackening its speed, it telescoped the two rear cars.”

“Barely Escaped with Their Lives”

The passengers in the first train “barely escaped with their lives.”  The conductor of the second train, J. M. Sprague, was in the mail room trying to warm himself. Upon impact, he was thrown down with the red-hot, coal-burning stove landing on top of him. He burned to death and was the only fatality.  Another employee, Campion, was in his bunk at the time but was pulled out of the car by two passengers.

The first engine went to Newton to report the accident and send a relief crew to go out to the wreck. Many of the passengers were coatless in the extreme cold. Both the coach car and the baggage-mail car were completely destroyed when the wood construction caught fire due to the coal stoves.

Newton Kansan, 26 December 1872

The accident was made worse by the wood construction of the cars and the use of coal stoves. Accidents like this one were common in the 1870s and 1880s. When steam heat replaced the coal stoves, the danger of the stoves catching on fire was diminished. In 1906, all steel cars were introduced which eliminated the threat of this type of accident.

Sources

  • Newton Kansan, 26 December 1872.
  • Stagner, L.E., July 1983 in Newton, Kansas #1 Santa Fe Rail Hub 1871-1971, by L.M. Hurley, (Newton: Mennonite Press) 1985.

 

When Jesse James Came to Visit

Posted on by hchm-curator

By Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Archivist/Curator

In any community there are stories that fall into a category that can only be called myths and legends. Stories that have been passed down through generations that may have started with a real event but embellishments have been added. Or stories that seem probable but cannot be proved by other documented sources.  This is the case with Nellie Young’s account of an interaction that involved Jesse & Frank James on a Harvey County homestead.

In February 1936, an unknown reporter visited 90-year-old Nellie Young at her home “for the purpose of obtaining some first hand information regarding the life of early settlers.”  The typewritten account is one of the many stories that are part of HCHM’s Archives.

Nellie and her husband, H.N. Young and two small girls arrived in Harvey County in the spring of 1873. They had been living in Cameron, MO. The family homesteaded in Macon Township, seven miles west of Newton.

First Years

Nellie described living in a dugout for two years while her husband broke several acres where they were able to raise a few bushels of sod corn. In the spring of 1875, they were able to build a one-room sod house with a low flat roof. She described the house as sixteen feet long and twelve feet wide with walls three feet thick, a door at one end and one window on the side. Nellie recalled that the rattlesnakes enjoyed sunning themselves on that flat roof, much to her dismay.

Harvey County Sod House similar to the Young’s sod house, 1870s.

Summer 1875

By summer 1875, they had developed a small acreage for wheat and it had been cut, bundled and stacked by the house. Nellie tells the story:

“At about 5 o’clock one afternoon the girls called my attention to two horsemen riding leisurely along the prairie trail in the hot August sun. We watched expecting them to pass, we were somewhat surprised to see them turn into our yard and go directly to our new straw stack.. . . they dismounted, unsaddled the horses and picketed them out near the straw stack. They then came to the door of our sod house and asked if the might stay at the straw stack over night, and after being told they should secure the permission of Mr. Young who was at that time out in the field at work, they remarked, ‘Well, we’ll stay anyway, our horses are tired and need rest.'”

“Splendid Looking Man”

Nellie noted that they did not have access to many newspapers. In fact, the only one they saw regularly was the St. Louis Weekly Democrat that a neighbor several miles away loaned to them. Even so, Nellie recalled, “I at once recognized our uninvited guest as being Jesse James and one of the other members of his notorious gang.” She felt that the newspaper pictures had not done him justice as Jesse “was indeed a splendid looking man. He wore a blue suit of expensive material and with his broad rimmed hat and fine leather belt filled with cartridges, and his holster buttoned over his revolver he was indeed the original of what the movies now attempt to imitate.”

Jesse James (lt) Frank James (rt), 1872

She observed the horses were well cared for and the saddles and bridles “were of the heavy cowboy pattern and were of expensive leather, beautifully hand carved.”

They had given their horses feed from the Young’s “small pile which were we carefully hoarding to furnish feed for our own team.”

At that point Mr. Young came in from the field and agreed with Nellie’s identification – it was indeed Jesse James at their farm.

“A Restful Night’s Sleep . . .for the Guests”

Then, Nellie realized she would need to feed the “guests.” She recalled that she increased “the portions of our limited menu . . . we all ate heartily of boiled potatoes, and corn dodgers with sorghum molasses and Arbuckle’s coffee.”

Night came and Mr. Young was afraid that the guests would steal their horses if they were allowed to sleep outside, so he insisted that they sleep in the house. Nellie provided quilts and pillows and “they apparently enjoyed a restful night’s sleep on the floor of our shanty, while we slept but fitfully at the end of the room.”

“Chatting and Visiting Like Old Friends”

For breakfast she prepared a freshly killed chicken, fired potatoes and hot soda biscuits and coffee. Jesse and his friend did not seem to be in any hurry to leave and remained with the Youngs for close to two hours “chatting and visiting like old friends. . . Jesse told us he was returning from Texas and frequently mentioned his mother remarking that she disapproved of the long trips which he frequently took. When finally ready to leave Jesse inquired as to the amount of their bill and on being informed that there would be no charge insisted on leaving two silver dollars and bidding us a hearty goodbye. They mounted their horses and were soon out of sight as they crossed a ridge a mile to the east.”

Truth or Myth?

Did this really happen? The story is difficult to prove or disprove. In 1875, the James brothers and their gang were all over the United States. On December 8, 1874, they robbed the Kansas Pacific train at Muncie, Ks. They were in Kearney, Mo in January 1875 and by September at least some of the gang was in W. Virginia and Nashville. At some point in 1875, they reportedly cased the 1st National Bank in Wichita but passed on a holdup due to the high security of the huge basement vault. Documentation for this visit is also scarce.

 

Delano District, Wichita, Ks, 1875

It is possible that the James brothers were in Harvey County in August 1875 and that they stopped at a remote homestead for the night.  At this writing we only have the memories of 90-year-old Nellie Young who shared her story in 1936.

Sources