USA > Kansas > Shawnee County > Topeka > Polk Topeka, Kansas, city directory, 1905 > Part 1
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37. 23951 34
KANSAS COLLI
RADGESI
1905
Direciony® V OF
AID SHAWNKK LOUKY
Gazetteer of General Information
PRIGE $ 490. +
THE HALL LITHOGRAPHING CO TOPEKA , KANSAS.
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
FORT WAYNE, INDIANĄ
Ket 3917.81 R
The Tall Lithographing Co. Offire and Salesroom 623 Kansas Auenue Hartory, 618-620-622-624 Jackson Street
Lunar Leaf Ledgers
HAML
UMATE
CZ
ACCIENT
We manufacture Graues for Any Binder
S teel Die Embossed Stationery. « Labor Saving Methods of Arrounting. * * Carbon Duplirating Monthly Statement Systems for Retailers. # Offire Stationery, Bruks and Filing Druirrs. & Globe- Mer- nirke Elastir Book Cases-
Bond Printing K Blank Books
3
GEO. M. NOBLE. .A. D. WASHBURN. J. H. NOBLE.
GEO. M. NOBLE & CO.,
5030233
No. 435 KANSAS AVENUE, TOPEKA, KANSAS. OPPOSITE THE POSTOFFICE.
INSURANCE.
MORTGAGES.
REAL ESTATE.
BONDS.
FINANCIAL AGENTS.
Real Estate in all its Branches.
Mortgages Bought and Sold.
We have six strong Insurance Companies, and protect our pol- icy-holders, securing best insurance for least money. Call and see us, or write.
GEO. M. NOBLE & CO., 435 KANSAS AVENUE, TOPEKA, KANSAS.
Both Phones 444. CABLE ADDRESS, "NOBURN."
-
TOPEKA'S POPULATION.
.
- For directory purposes, only adults -persons eighteen years of age and over " are enrolled, wives being omitted where their husbands' names are given. To ascertain the true population of the city, a system of calculation, adopted and proven by the Association of American Directory Publishers, and based upon many years of experience, is used. ` From the comparative statement below, it will be seen that the enrollment for this book shows an increase of 3,226 names over that for the last Directory, and that the total for this year is 20,622. The figures shown opposite each letter of the alpha- bet for both periods are the result of a careful, actual count.
Taking the total number of-names as a basis, 20,622, five per cent., or 1,031, are deducted for names of firms, corporations, and other paragraphs not actually names of persons, which leaves, 19,591, the adult population, except women not engaged in mercantile or. professional pursuits, which are estimated at 52 per cent., or 10,187. and these, added to the adult population, make a total adult population of 29,778, The official school enrollment gives 10,665 children of school age ; one-third of this number, 3,555, is added, to show the number of children under school age, and is found to be an accurate approximation. "These added to the adult population of 29,778, make a total of 43,998, the actual number of inhabitants in Topeka and adjoining additions, at this time. These additions are essentially a part of the city, and are rightly included' for directory purposes, as nearly all are engaged in business or are employed in and are dependent upon Topeka.
.. Last Directory.
This Directory.
Increase.
Last Directory.
This Directory.
Increase.
A ..
571
683
112
N.
· 354
392.
38
B.
1,588
1,973 .
385
268
292
24
C
1,324
1,537
213
P.
864
1,004
140
D
737
857
120
Q
20
23
3
E.
401
464
63
R .:
826
1,001
17
F.
600
720
120
S
1,867
2,416
549
G.
818
962
144
T!
558
656
98
H
1,514
1,698
184
U
52
47
5
I
81
96
15
V.
157
184
27
J.
497
600
103
W
1,289
1,456
167
K
555
672
117
X.
L.
692
784
92
Y.
58
68
10
M ...
1,655
1,976
321
Z ...
50
61
11
* Decrease.
Number of names in this Directory
20,622
Number of names in last Directory. 17,396
Increase.
3,226
. .
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COMP
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&
NTED
CRANE
PRI
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000
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THE ONLY GENERAL PUBLISHING HOUSE BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND THE PACIFIC OCEAN IS
CRANE & COMPANY
N ADDITION to the large output of school books for Kansas and neighboring States, we have a list of books containing a great deal of Kansas History. The works of Col. Henry Inman -" The Old Santa Fe Trail," "The Great Salt Lake Trail," and others. * Also a good list of special interest to Kansans : "Goss's History of the Birds of Kansas," "The Overland Stage to California," "Topeka Pen and Camera Sketches," "John Brown," and others, including the fine literary list of the Crane Classics. f Our list is being con- tinually added to, the latest being "Aesop's Fables" for children, a beautiful 140-page book, in two col- ors, at 50 cents. # Persons looking for suitable presents for Kansas peo- ple will be aided by getting one of our Book Catalogues.
CRANE & COMPANY
110-112 EAST EIGHTH AVENUE. ::
:: TOPEKA, KANSAS
IN ADDITION TO BEING THE OLDEST PRINTING HOUSE IN THE STATE UNDER THE SAME CONTINUOUS MANAGEMENT,
CRANE & COMPANY
ENJOY THE REPUTATION OF BEING THE BEST
F ROM the commencement of the business in 1868, we have continually led in quality, and our forms of blanks and records for public officers, abstract- ers, and lawyers have been considered as standard. We have published all the Kansas law books that have not been published by the State. If you want Kansas law books you must get them from this House, either directly or indirectly.
SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPPLIES
Such as Desks, Records, Libraries, Maps, Globes, and Charts, are always in stock, and on sale.
SECTIONAL BOOK CASES
Have been growing in favor during the ten years we have been handling them. We carry the best quality. Call and see them in stock, or ask for descriptive price- list.
If Accuracy and Good Quality are desirable in
LAWYER'S BRIEFS
This is the place to get them. We are rated as The Best.
GOOD PRINTING
Costs more than careless and inferior work, but our prices will average as favorable as those of inferior houses. OUR MOTTO IS " SATISFACTION GUARANTEED"
CRANE & COMPANY
110-112 EAST EIGHTH AVE. CCC TOPEKA, KANSAS
1868
WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON QUALITY
1905
Crane & Company PUBLISHERS
Topeka, Kansas
PRINTERS
BINDERS
Commercial Printers Binders, Electrotypers
Law and School Books . Blank Books to Order A full line of Books and Blanks for County, Town- ship, City, and School Officers, Corporations, etc.
REAL ESTATE LOANS.
- No Accepted Application ever has to Wait a Day for Money
MERRIAM MORTGAGE CO COLUMBIAN BUILDING.
THE PUBLISHER'S SALUTE.
What surer index of a city's growth and development than its directories? What a mint of epitomized history the apparently dull and uninteresting lists of names contain ! As the writer looks at the volumes of Topeka directories on the book-case shelves, representing thirty-five years of gradual advancement, he is to be pardoned if he drops into reverie. The first directory compiled by him in 1869-hardly larger than the old-fashioned blue-backed spelling-book -is diminutive, indeed, when compared with the last volume. Between them are books graduated in size as the city became more populous and its business interests increased and broadened. The lists of names they contain alone present to the early settler material for many volumes of interesting personalities, incidents and events that would give employment to a hundred novelists for years if they but knew just where to find the best story-tellers.
One wonders as the pages of names are scanned what has become of the people who once were the city's most energetic, laziest, rich- est, poorest, popular and unpopular, citizens of the early days. Where are the men who were considered among the town's best citizens when Topeka was in its infancy ? Each name recalls a bit of history, and the whole gamut of. emotions, from grave to gay, figures in these recollections of individuals. Some of the best and most substantial of Topeka's citizens of those days are still counted as such in greater Topeka. Some fought bravely the battles of life and won or lost as the wave of success caught them abreast or in its trough, and now sleep in the city of granite and marble on yon- der hill. Some have sought foreign lands and far-distant cities in this country, and are longingly looking Topekaward and waiting for Providence to send them to the old town which they regret having left. Others have won fame and fortune and become forced to seek broader fields for their talents. Still others are with us, loyally standing up for the town they helped to build. But enough of rev- eries. It is said that the past belongs to God, and the present only is ours. This is certainly a fitting motto for a directory, which, of all publications, must reflect the NOW. It must be up-to-date to be of value, and such has been the aim of the publisher.
BUY YOUR SASH DOORS AND MOULDINGS OF
W. I. MILLER LUMBER CO.
213 EAST SIXTH AVENUE.
BOTH PHONES 204.
تكسيد
Low Rates.
MERRIAM MORTGAGE CO. Every Accommodation to Borrowers.
Prompt Money.
18
RADGES' TOPEKA DIRECTORY.
If this is a perfect book it will be the first ever printed that could claim that distinction. That honor is not claimed, for the publisher, too well aware of the liability of man to err, knows that errors are bound to creep in. He rests his case with the people of Topeka, who must be judges of the work, and who must assume much of the responsibility if there be errors in the book. Its accuracy is meas- ured by the interest the people of the city themselves took in im- parting the information necessary for its pages. The enrollers were cautioned to spell for nobody but to have everybody in Topeka spell for them. If the owner of a name does not spell it correctly, he or she can hardly assume that the enroller can always guess the correct way. If people do not know where they live, they can scarcely demand that the directory man should know, when no numbers appear upon the houses. If the invitation extended through the press to all Topeka to do its share in making the directory complete was not heeded, it is no fault of the publisher." Suffice it to say, that every precaution has been taken to make the book as nearly absolutely accurate as human ingenuity and ex- pense could contribute to that end.
Topeka's business interests are reflected in the advertising pages of this directory. It is the business men of any town that are the real town-builders, and to them directories owe their existence and continued publication. True, all classes fill their particular niche in the city's economy, and nearly, if not quite all, contribute in some way to the city's good ; but if the directory man is permitted to particularize at all, it will always be in favor of the business man who advertises. It has been the desire of the publisher to give these men and women measure for measure at all times, and the renewal of space from year to year attests their approval.
With hearty well-wishes for all who have in any way manifested interest in the betterment of the Topeka City Directory for so many . years, and sincerely trusting that the 0 das ambition of the undersigned to make each volume just a little bit better than its predecessor may be realized in the future as it has been in the past, I have the honor to subscribe myself
Yours very truly,
I F you are going to shingle your house, figure with
W. I. Miller Lumber Co. 213 East Sixth Avenue.
Both Phones 204.
رق.
READY MONEY AT LOWEST RATES
ON FARM PROPERTY.
MERRIAM MORTGAGE CO.
TOPEKA.
BY JAMES A. TROUTMAN.
" The city is an epitome of the social world. All the belts of civilization intersect along its avenues. It contains the products of every moral zone, and is cosmopolitan, not only in a national, but in a moral and spiritual sense." - Chapin.
THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN CITIES.
The growth and development of American cities are the phenomena of our his- tory. A hundred years ago there were only two cities upon the western hemi- sphere larger than Topeka is to-day. New York was the nation's metropolis, with 60,000 inhabitants. Philadelphia was second, with 41,000; Baltimore third, with 26,000; and Boston fourth, with 24,000. Three decades of the eighteenth century had been erased from the calendar of time before we had five cities as large as the present capital of Kansas. When Topeka was founded, in 1854, there were only fifteen American citics having more than 38,000 people.
The era of city-building dates its greatest momentum from the beginning of the latter half of the last century. A hundred years ago a quarter of a million people lived in our cities ; now, 36,000,000: an increase in the urban population of over 1,400 per cent. At the beginning of the last century, five per cent. of the American people lived in cities, and at its close, 47 per cent.
When the municipal boundaries of Topeka were first defined, Chicago was the nineteenth city in rank, and had 29,000 inhabitants. The first popular election for President was just eighty years ago, when Andrew Jackson was the leading candidate and received 155,000 votes. Chicago had no existence at that time ; but Roosevelt received more votes in Chicago at the recent election than Jackson received in the whole nation.
Paris was founded in the days of Julius Caesar, and has a history antedating the Christian era. New York started sixteen centuries later, and has already passed Paris in the impetuous race for commercial supremacy, and, before an- other century goes by, will be the metropolis of the world. But New York was 170 years old, Boston 160 and Philadelphia 110 before they were equal to To- peka in population.
GROWTH OF KANSAS CITIES.
The first Kansas city was incorporated within the memory of those who are still young, but we now have two cities of more than 40,000 population, four of more than 20,000, fourteen of more than 10,000, twenty-three of more than 5,000, sixty-four of more than 2,000, and one hundred and nineteen of more than 1,000. There are 553,654 people living in these one hundred and nineteen Kan- sas cities.
Acme Cement makes
W. I. Miller Lumber Co.
213 E. Sixth Ave.
the Best Wall Plaster.
SOLE AGENTS.
Both Phones 204.
1
MINIMUM EXPENSE AND LOWEST RATES ON REAL ESTATE LOANS MERRIAM MORTGAGE COMPANY:
20
RADGES' TOPEKA DIRECTORY.
TOPEKA THE METROPOLIS.
The last State census gives Kansas City's population as 57,710 and Topeka's as 39,149. Kansas City, Kansas, is larger than Topeka, but the latter is the largest independent city in the State. Kansas City, Kansas, is an adjunct of Kansas City, Missouri. An invisible State line marks the boundaries of the two cities, but commercially and socially they are one. Topeka is not an appendage of some larger municipality, but is self-supporting and maintains.a distinct indi- viduality. In all of the attributes of an independent city, Topeka is the metropo- lis of the State.
Tecumseh, Auburn, Burlingame, Atchison, Lawrence, and Leavenworth, suc- cessively, have been envious rivals of Topeka. One by one they have all been distanced. To-day Topeka has but one competitor, Wichita, the youngest of the larger cities of the State. Topeka still maintains a comfortable lead, but the race is not uninteresting.
TOPEKA'S BIRTH.
The prescribed limits of this article preclude historical detail and statistical minutiæ, but the city's semi-centennial is an opportune occasion for a cursory glance at the past and a superficial analysis of the present. Topeka was fifty years old December 5, 1904; the initial step for the organization of a city having been taken December 5, 1854. On that day an article of agreement was entered into by nine men, in which it was agreed, among other things, that "one and a half miles square shall be surveyed as a town site." December 14, 1854, the " Topeka Association" was formed by the same men. The nine men signing this agreement were: C. K. Holliday, D. H. Horne, Enoch Chase, M. C. Dickey, L. G. Cleveland, F. W. Giles, Geo. Davis, J. B. Chase, C. Robinson.
The generous proportions of the new town site (one and a half miles square) are indicative of the sublime faith and tenacious hope of the founders of this city. Here were nine men dedicating nine quarter-sections upon which to build a city. This land was platted into about 11,000 city lots. The city was pro- jected upon a scale of grandeur and magnificence. Here was a "city " contain- ing within its geographical limits 1,440 acres of land, 11,000 town lots, one house 12x14 feet, and a population of nine souls, counting one soul to each man. What an ample field for the expanding energies of these progenitors of the future Capital of Kansas ! An eminent writer, in referring to the pioneers of the West, once said, " They have taken a touch of vastness from the mighty horizon." Fifty years only have gone by and the 11,000 town lots have all been occupied, and neighboring corn-fields and pastures, in every direction, have been absorbed by the city, and not only nine quarter-sections of land and 11,000 town lots are covered by a real city, but the original plat has been expanded to include twenty-
Dealer in all kinds of Building Material .. .
213 EAST SIXTH AVE. BOTH PHONES 204.
W. I. Miller Lumber Co.
LOW RATES, PROMPT MONEY. MEDIUM EXPENSE TO BORROWERS.
MERRIAM MORTGAGE CO.
RADGES' TOPEKA DIRECTORY.
21
five quarter-sections, and the present city embraces over 28,000 town lots, upon which live over 40,000 contented and progressive people.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS.
VALUATION OF PROPERTY. - The assessed value of all the property in Topeka in 1904 is $11,275,420. Upon the basis of one-third of the actual value this represents about $34,000,000. With six millions of money eluding the vigilance of the assessor, and probably a larger sum in notes, bonds, mortgages and personal property, not returned for taxation, $50,000,000 is a conservative value to place upon all of the property now owned in Topeka.
STATE CAPITAL. - The Wyandotte Constitutional Convention designated To- peka as "the temporary seat of government." This constitution was ratified by popular vote October 4, 1859, by 10,424 to 5,534. November 5, 1861, Topeka was chosen the permanent capital of the State, the vote standing: Topeka, 7,859; Lawrence, 5,194; Leavenworth, 815; Baldwin, 437; Emporia, 186.
Topeka had a clear majority over all competitors.
CHOSEN COUNTY SEAT. -- At an election held October 4, 1858, Topeka was chosen as the county seat of Shawnee county, in a spirited contest against Bur- lingame, Auburn, and Tecumseh. The officer to whom the returns were made was a strong partisan of Tecumseh, and refused to certify the result. But "new occasions teach new duties," and F. W. Giles, the county clerk, was equal to the "new duty " imposed by this obdurate official. "After he had endured the delays of the contumacious judge as long as his respect for the judicial ermine demand- ed, he became a little revolutionary in turn, and quietly loaded the 'county seat' into his buggy and carried it away to Topeka," where it has ever since remained. Now that I have betrayed the secret that there never was a publication or official certification of the election of Topeka, some litigious fellow, who fattens on in- junctions, quo warranto, mandamus, or coram nobis proceedings, will probably commence suit to have the county seat loaded into a buggy and restored to Te- cumseh.
FIRST LAWYER. - The first lawyer who " flung his shingle to the breeze," according to tradition, displayed this unique sign : , Attorney and Counselor at Law, Solicitor in Chancery, and Land Agent. Axe-Handles made to Order." There are some members of the bar here now, who might pur- sue a side line, such as making axe-handles, without destroying the efficiency or marring the harmony of our jurisprudence.
FIRST CITY ELECTION. - The first election for city officers was held January 28, 1858. The names of three men who were elected councilmen that day will appear in this Directory. These are G. S. Gordon, James A. Hickey, and Guil-
Best Grades and Lowest Prices on Lumber.
213 E. Sixth Ave. Both Phones 204.
W. I. MILLER LUMBER COMPANY.
Real Estate Loan Brokers,
MERRIAM MORTGAGE CO., NO ACCEPTED APPLICATION HAS EVER HAD TO WAIT A DAY FOR MONEY.
-
22 RADGES' TOPEKA DIRECTORY.
ford Dudley. The city marshal under this administration was Wilson L. Gor- don, and his first official duty, as shown by the records, was to " grade the street from the river to First avenue." Those who have observed Mr. Gordon of late years, incubating fables and generating fiction, at the St. Ananias Club, would pay handsomely for his picture, with spade in hand, grading lower Kansas ave- nue, in his official capacity as "marshal."
COURT HOUSE BONDS. - In 1867 county bonds were voted to build a court house. The issue was $65,000 and the interest 10 per cent. These bonds were sold at 823 cents on the dollar. Think of selling 10-per-cent. bonds at a discount of 173 per cent. ! In the bright lexicon of those days there was no such word as "rake-off," but if the critics of the Comanche county deal had been here then, the circumambient atmosphere would have been lurid with imprecations and anathemas.
THE ORIGINAL PROHIBITIONISTS. - The members of the Topeka Associa- tion were the pioneer prohibitionists of Kansas. March 12, 1855, they incorpo- rated in the by-laws of the association a prohibitory clause as follows :
"No member of this association shall be permitted to buy, sell, or give away, where profit accrues, any intoxicating liquors of whatever kind, nor permit them to be bought, sold, or given away, where profit accrues, upon his premises ; and the full force of this article shall attach in all its particulars to the entire shares which any member may sell, exchange, transfer, give away, or make over by any process, to any other person whatever, and shall be so mentioned in any article or deed of sale which may hereafter be made in the exchange of city shares or parts of shares."
Some of the authors of this drastic law, in later life, were the most implacable foes of our prohibitory policy. Fifty years of municipal history have demon- strated the wisdom of this early indictment of the liquor traffic. The enforce- ment of the law is effervescent and spasmodic, but, as Governor Stanley once expressed it, "Prohibition at its worst is better than any license system at its best."
STREET PAVEMENTS. - Topeka is the best paved city in the State. There are 390 blocks of asphaltum, brick, cedar and stone pavement, or about 35 miles of paved streets. It is related that the city council, one night, was having an acri- monious discussion as to the best kind of pavement to lay upon a certain street, when a member said: "Gentlemen of the council, let us settle our differences, put our heads together and make a wooden pavement." This was before any of the present councilmen were in office.
STARTING A CEMETERY. - The Topeka Cemetery was laid out in 1859, and the first burial was that of Mrs .. Marcia Gordon, wife of Wilson L. Gordon. There have been 10,800 Topeka people buried in this cemetery since. There are
Estimates Cheerfully W. I. MILLER LUMBER CO. Given on Large and Small Orders of Lumber 213 EAST SIXTH AVENUE. BOTH PHONES 204.
INVEST YOUR SAVINGS THROUGH MERRIAM MORTGAGE COMPANY:
RADGES' TOPEKA DIRECTORY. 23
three smaller cemeteries adjacent to Topeka. These facts are not calculated to elicit exuberance of expression, and I only advert to them to give Col. Murdock, Will White, Charley Finch, Ed. Howe, and other satirical writers, in Topeka's vanquished competitors, a chance to say that we have more dead people in our graveyards than live ones in the town.
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION. - Ruskin describes two irresistible im- pulses in human nature : whatever we have, to get more, and wherever we are, to go somewhere else. This passion to get more and to go somewhere else has brought many thousands to Topeka, and taken them away. A citizen of Topeka who travels much and meets former residents of this city by the score, or hun- dred, in New York, Washington, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Los Angeles, Oklahoma, Galveston, and other prosperous cities, is surprised when he gets home to find anybody left. Topeka's experience, in this respect, is but a duplication of that of every other western city.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
In the preliminary agreement signed by the nine founders of Topeka, pro- vision was made for a public school system. It was stipulated that one-sixth of all the lots of the town should be donated for the erection of a mill and a school- house. This was not a mere fortuitous step in aimless and purposeless history, but the deliberate plan of sagacious minds to build up an intellectual and moral city. The first lots selected were Nos. 194 to 204 Harrison street, the southeast corner of Sixth and Harrison streets, but the first school-house was built upon the rear end of lots 145, 147 and 149 Harrison street, fronting on Fifth street. This property is now owned and occupied by Jacob Smith and W. A. L. Thomp- son. The development of our school system is one of the most gratifying features of our local history. It cannot be recited in detail, but upon the wise foundation laid December 5, 1854, we have built 23 school-houses, valued at over $650,000, in which are employed 211 teachers, with an enrollment of 6,853. This includes the Oakland schools.
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