USA > Kansas > Smith County > Smith Center > The history of Smith Centre, Kansas, 1871-1971 > Part 2
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Perry Stafford
Perry Stafford, his wife and two children, came to Center Township in 1879. Mrs. Stafford was the former Margaret Isabel Logan. The Staffords homesteaded on a farm one mile east of town on the road leading out from Kansas Avenue. They were the parents of four children, John, Hattie, Fannie and Nellie. Mr. Stafford bought the L. L. Allis general store and conducted it along with farming. Hattie and Nellie lived here most of their lives. Hattie married Clarence Starbuck and had six children. Three of the children survived, Perry Lee, Paul Clarence, and John Robert. Robert married Opal Windscheffel of Center Township. Nellie married Jeptha Wilkerson had six children, Frances, Hazel, Beverly, Ruth, Betty and Margaret.
Tom M. Har dacre
Tom Hardacre and his wife, Lydia Ann Mollison Hardacre, came to Center Township in 1873. They lived on their homestead for several years then moved to town. In 1888 they moved to Lane Township. Their children were Frank, Fred, Anna Bessie and Mary Velma. Bessie Gardner and Velma Mannering still live in Smith Center.
John Mollison
John Mollison and his wife came to Center Township in 1877 and settled on his homestead 2 miles from the homestead of his sister, Mrs. Tom Hardacre. The Mollisons lived on their farm for a time, then moved to town where he started a grocery store. In iso" the Mollisons sold the store to John Ferris and N. L. Morrisen and moved to Colorado. They had six children but Orva was the only one who remained in Smith Center. Orva lived here until his wife died in 1939 and then moved to Colorado.
J. W. Henderson
Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Henderson and children homesteaded in the southeast section of Center Township. Mr. Henderson was elected Probate Judge in ISS, and served four years, Their children were Wynne, Will, Jay, Meade, Clyde, Juliette and Stella. Their daughter Stella married Will F. Smith and their children were Hobart, Ray and May.
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Center Township Early Settlers Prior to 1900 Relatives Living In Smith Center Vicinity
Captain McDowell
Charles Aldrich
Joseph Werts* Dan Dyer
Joel Randall Burrow J. S. Myers
W. H. Nelson
David Relihan*
Ed Williams*
A. C. Coolidge
Daniel Relihan* Elijah Ferbrashe*
H. H. Reed
H. F. Ahlborn*
Hoag Williamson*
Lair Dean
Henry A. Ahlborn*
Jule Jarvis
R. M. Pickler
Lewis C. Ahlborn
William Rugger*
J. H. Hill
Henry Stone
Schuyler Stevens Isaac Mahin
Jacob Brunner
Claude Stone
Frank Mahin*
J. H. Ferris*
G. Elmer Hommon
W. B. Hannan*
Daniel Fleming*
Frank Hommon*
S. J. Eply
R. D. Bowen
Harry Smith
Elmer Wentworth
Vete Hutchings
Edgar Barger
C. S. Sargent
A. S. Kingsbury*
Verne Barger
Roy Sargent
John H. Detwiler*
Alex Montgomery
Frank Timmons
T. J. Wyland
John H. Moorman Lee Starbuck
James A. Cameron*
Mrs. E. R. Smith
George Church
Paul Arnold*
Truman Badger*
Arnold Haberly*
Ambrose Buntin*
Kate-Hattie Mollison
A. S. Kingsbury
A. S. Kingsbury and Grace Simpson were married March 3, 1893 and Smith Center was always their home. Their children were Edith, LaRue, and Mildred. Mrs. Kingsbury died in France in 1930 and Mr. Kingsbury died in 1953. Their daughter, Edith Detwiler, is the only one of this family now living in Center Township. Another daughter, Mildred Lee, lives in Portis.
John H. Detwiler
Mr. and Mrs. John Detwiler moved to Smith Center in 1892. Their children were Rudy, Emma, Elsie, Eva and Eli. Mr. Detwiler served two terms as Register of Deeds from 1894-1898 He was in the farm loan depart- ment and a director of the First National Bank for several years before his dea . Eli (Dutch) Detwiler is the only one of this family living in Center Township now. Their grand daughter, June McDonald, lives in lowa.
James A. Cameron
In May, 1899, Mr. and Mrs. James Cameron moved to Smith Center with their 10 children. He established a shoe repair shop and made men's boots. Their children were Albert, Tom, Will, Catherine, George, Harve, Harry, Bertha, Gertie and Charles. Bertha Cameron was a long- time teacher in Smith Center. Catherine married Dr. D. W. Relihan. Of this large family only two grandsons are living, Charles Cameron of Smith Center and Red Cameron of Athol. Mrs. Doris Chamberlin and Mrs. Eleanor Hesterman, of Smith Center, are great grand children.
Paul Arnold
Paul Arnold came to Smith Center in 1874 and his wife, the former Lydia Ann Burr, came here in 1872. They were married in 1877 and they had nine children. The children were Edna, Edith, Carrie, Elsie, Ward, Clyde, Harve, Helen and Roger. The survivors, who still live in Smith Center, are the grand daughters Sylvia Bolton and Marjorie Barron. The great grandson, James Bolton and his family, live here also. Bonnie, daughter of Marjorie, lives in Denver.
Ambrose E. Buntin
Ambrose and Elizabeth Buntin moved to Smith Center in 1888. They had five children, Minnie, Effie, Emma, Charlotte and Lurinda. Their daughter Minnie married Ed Miller. Ruby Miller Smith, who resides in Smith Center, is their grand daughter. Their daughter Lottie, married Alex Ogle. She resides in Smith Center. Her children are Melba, Waldean, Treva, Walter and Beverly.
Daniel W. Relihan
In 1881 D. W. Relihan came to Smith Center to be Superintendent of Schools. On March 13, 1881 he married Catherine Cameron. He later enrolled at Rush College in Chicago and received his M.D. in 1896. He returned to Smith Center and practiced medicine here the rest of his life. Two sons were born to the Relihans, Harry James, who died in 1913, and Francis Henry who received his M.D. in 1910. He married Miss Bess Kenne on October 8, 1910. Their daughter, Esther Catherine, lives in Smith Center.
Henry A. Ahlborn
Henry Ahlborn come to Smith Center in the early 80s. He and Sophia Smith were married in 1882 and to this union were born three children, lda Margaret, George and Karl. lda Margaret was a professor of Nutrition at Kansas State for 15 years and one of the college homes is named "Margaret Ahlborn Lodge". She married Dr. Royal Montgomery. George, after graduating from Kansas University, lived away from Smith Center all his life. Karl married Katherine Relihan in 1908 and their children were Karl, Jr. and Frances Gripton. Frances Gripton still lives in Smith Center. Mrs. Karl Ahlborn lives in the family home in Smith Center.
David M. Relihan
David Relihan and Hattie Kingsbury were married in 1878 and moved to Smith Center in 1886. Mr. Relihan was an early day lawyer and was twice elected County Attorney. The Relihans had four children, Agnes, Katherine, Ted and Arthur. Ted, Arthur and Katharine still live in Smith Center. Katharine married Karl Ahlborn, Ted married Mona Derge, Arthur married Loreda Berridge and Agnes married Clark Weldon. The grand children living in Smith Center are Francis Gripton and Terry Relihan. Other grand children are Don Relihan, David Weldon and Kathryn Weldon Washburne. The great grand children in Smith Center are Janet Gripton, Dayne, David, Nancy, Kathy and Jimmy Relihan. Other great grand children are Judy Gripton Jenkins, Ann, Jane and Ted Relihan.
Frank M. Hommon
Frank Hommon came to this area in 1879. He and Clara Ellen Pletcher were married in 1893. They purchased a farm in Center Township in 1898. To this union were born three daughters, Mabel, Bertha and Mildred. Mabel and her son, Alvin Luse, Jr., and Bertha and her husband, Elmer Pounds, and their son Lowell still live in Smith Center. A grand daughter, Mildred Pounds, lives in Kansas City.
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Frank J. Pattee
Wardie Stone
John T. Pattee Abe Curry
Dr. B. W. Slagle
*
Truman C. Badger
Truman Badger and Clara Eunice Meachem were married in 1880. They had four daughters, Ethel, Genevieve, Grace and Ruth. Mr. Badger was County Clerkfor several years. Ethel married Wesley Olson, and their daughter, Irene Hooper lives in Smith Center and their son, Eugene lives in Denver. Genevieve married Guy Barrett and their children living in the vicinity of Smith Center are Inez Overmiller and Lorene Lambert. Charles, Glenn, Phyllis and Ralph live out of the state. Ruth married Mac Werts and had two children, Edith Jean and Merrill. Mr. and Mrs. Werts still live in Smith Center.
Joseph E. Werts
Joseph Werts married Blanche Culbertson in 1885. In 1889 they moved to Center Township, 3 miles north- east of Smith Center. Five children were born to this couple, Bertha, Lulu, Jack, Gwenevere and Mac. Mac married Ruth Badger in 1920 and they lived on the family farm until they moved to town in 1946. They are the only ones residing in the Smith Center vicinity.
Elijah Ferbache
Elijah Ferbache and his wife Harriett came to Smith County in 1886. There were six children born to this family, Ruth, Carrie, Mary, Edith, Helen and Walter. Mrs. Carrie Williams and her son Henry are the only members of this family living in this vicinity. Alden Williams is in Alaska and Walter Williams is in Oregon.
Ed Williams
Ed Williams and his wife, Adelaide Webster Williams, came to Smith Center in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Williams raised four children, Clifford, Blanche, Cora and John. Cora, married Howard Rorabaugh, and is the only one of this family living in Smith Center.
William H. Hannan
William Hannan came to Smith Center in 1892. He married Linnie Williamson in 1892 and six children were born to them, May, Guy, Russell, Pauline, Howard and Lawrence. Howard, and his wife llene, are the only ones still residing in this city.
William Rugger
William Rugger and his wife, Nancy Buchanan Rugger, were married in 1879 and settled in Smith Center in 1888. They were the parents of eight children, Edwin, Ernest, Cecil, Arch, Katharine, Mattie, Thelma and Ray. The family still living in Smith Center is Phyllis Rugger Creamer, Mattie Rugger Smith, Thelma Rugger Colburn, Agatha Colburn Ray and Mrs. Arch Rugger.
Frank W. Mahin
Frank W. Mahin and Inez Dennison were married May 19, 1886. To them five children were born, Irene, Ethel, Ross, Hilary and Mason. Mr. Mahin was admitted to the bar in 1898 and he moved to Smith Center to join his brother, Isaac, in a law office. Irene Williams is the daughter who is still living in Smith Center. A grandson, Urban Ross Myers, also lives in the city. Mason Mahin lives in Maryland. Frank's brother, Elmer Mahin, resides in Smith Center.
Arnold Haberly
Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Haberly were married on September 17, 1890 and in 1891 they moved to Smith Center. There were four children in this family, Geraldine, Pauline, Ruth and Otto. Mr. Haberly was manager of the Smith Center Lumber Yard for 49 years, retiring in 1940. His son, Otto, joined his father in the work in 1922 and retired in 1964. Otto Haberly is the only immediate relative living in this area. Pauline Henderson lives in Arizona and Ruth Harper lives in Nebraska.
John H. Ferris
John H. Ferris, his wife Mary Genette, and their three children, John, Nettie and Minnie came to Smith County in 1874. In 1887 they moved to Smith Center when Mr. Ferris became County Clerk. He then owned a general merchandise store and operated it until he sold it to J. H. Detwiler and H. C. Smith in 1899. John lived in Oklahoma. Nettie married George Douglass and lived at Athol. Minnie married Warren Fleming.
Daniel H. Fleming
Daniel Fleming and his family homesteaded in Center Township. They left after the grasshopper scourge but returned to Smith Center. In 1880 he served four terms as County Superintendent and also was in the grocery business. Mr. and Mrs. Fleming had elevenchildren, Lillis, Warren, Will, Festus, Beulah, Flora and Fenton (twins), Mabel and Marion (twins), Carl and Daniel. Lillis married E. E. Dugan who had an abstract office and later a general merchanidse store which he sold to E. E. Matson in 1907. Warren married Minnie Ferris in June, 1894. He was a druggist in the city in the early days. Their children were Irl, Richard and Marjorie Kirkland. Marjorie still resides in the city. Mr. and Mrs. Fleming returned to Smith Center in 1938, after being gone several years, and lived here the rest of their lives.
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FIRST SODA FOUNTAIN in Smith Center in the Fleming Drug Store operated by Warren and Festus Fleming.
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Fairs Started in 1873
Smith Centre was settled in 1871, Smith County was organized in 1872 and the first County Fair was held just 19 months after the county was organized. There have been four locations for the Fair, all in Center Township.
Elmer Pounds remembers his father, William Pounds, tell that the fair grounds used to be a mile east and a mile north of Smith Centre, in the southwest corner of the second mile north. Guy Barrett verified this by the fact that his father was marshal of the Fair when it was held at that location. Guy Barrett also said that later the Fair was held on a tract just north of the present site of the St. Mary's Catholic Church. The Fair was also held on the site of the Smith County Memorial Hospital for a few years.
In 1885, the daily admission price for the Fair was 25¢ for an individual or $1 for a family or $1.50 for a family for the entire Fair. In 1885 Smith Centre had a population of 600.
In February of 1903 ten men organized the Smith County Fair Association. They were Henry Williams, Frank Williams, J. D. Mollison, B. W. Slagle, W. H. Nelson, F. H. Burrow, William Peck, Scott Rice, Ben Baker and E. W. Agnew. They bought 117 acres a half mile west of Main Street (part of which is now Higley Field) for $2,800 and began planning improvements, a half-mile race track, a baseball diamond, a football field, an amphitheater and stalls for race horses.
The first fair held there was on August 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1903. The attendance on the biggest day, August 20, was between 6,000 and 8,000.
On July 18, 1909 the grandstand at the fairgrounds burned down just a few weeks before the annual Fair was to begin. Arson was suspected. The loss was $3,000,which was a sizeable sum of money when money was worth something.
The stockholders of the Fair doubled their shares and business men bought stock to build a new grandstand. On July 29, 1909, eleven days after the fire, a force of men were building a new grandstand for the Fair which would be held August 17, 18, 19 and 20. It was ready on time and seated 700 people. It was a 24 by 84 structure
OLD GRANDSTAND at the fairground, now known as Higley Field. It was an all-wood structure.
with a shingle roof to ward off the elements. A. W. Relihan said there were numerous complaints about the prices charged to the Fair and races - 50¢.
The fair grounds were sold in the 1930's or 1940's and then part of the original ground was bought back by the Smith Center Chamber of Commerce in the late 1940's. The field was operated as an amusement area until the early part of 1960 when it was given to the Smith County Fair Association.
Mayors of Smith Center
1886 - 1888 W. H. Nelson
1921 - 1923 E. B. Cox
1888 - 1890 Eugene Slocum
1890 - 1892 D. W. Relihan
1892 - 1894 Henry Ahlborn
1921 - 1931 A. L. Headley
1931 - 1933 Miles Elson
1933 - 1935 G. M. Stoops
1897 - 1898 J. H. Johnston
1935 - 1940 Seth Myers
1898 - 1899 A. S. Kingsbury 1899 - 1900 E. S. Barger
1940 - 1943 R. W. McLeod
1900 - 1901 J. H. Ferris
1901 - 1902 Henry Slater
1902 - 1903 J. W. Detwiler
1903 - 1905 E. S. Barger
1905 - 1908 J. H. Hill
1908 - 1911 C. S. Sargent
1911 - 1913 E. S. Barger
1913 - 1917 E. S. Rice
1967 - 1968 L. C. Kramer
1917 - 1918 J. N. Jones
1968 - 1971 Harry Jones, Jr.
1918 - 1919 N. E. Dow
1919 - 1921 J. D. Flaxbeard
Young Men Wake The Town On July 4, 1892
This story was taken from the diary of Clare Holmes, who was a young man of 18 in 1892, living in Smith Center.
"Several young men of Smith Center decided to wake up the citizens of the town at 4:30 in the morning to start the celebration of July 4. Clare Holmes was asleep when the school bell started ringing, giving the prearranged signal, so he hastily dressed and joined Ralph Barger and Theo Landman who had been ringing the bell. They went to Mr. R. D. Bowen's blacksmith shop, located where the Center Implement Co. is now, and the boys placed gunpowder on the hot anvils and soon there was booming loud and clear. After about 20 minutes of the booming the boys separated to ring the bells - Ralph Barger and myself rang the school house bell, Fred Wentworth rang the Methodist Church bell and Bill and Virgil Winslow rang the Congregational Church bell. After everyone in Smith Center was up the boys went home to do the chores and get themselves ready for the long trek to Park's Grove for the day of celebration."
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1943 - 1947 R. F. Hoover
1947 - 1949 Harold Beason
1949 - 1951 Arch Rugger
1951 - 1955 Ray Cole
1955 - 1959 Loyal Albrecht
1959 - 1963 1. E. Nickell
1963 - 1967 W. H. Ormsbee
1971 - Elmo Bennett
1923 - 1925 W. S. Rice
1925 - 1929 L. C. Uhl, Jr.
1894 - 1897 J. R. Burrow
Smith Centre Incorporated In 1886
On April 12, 1886 there was filed in the office of the county clerk of Smith County, Kansas, a petition signed by a majority of the legal electors of the town of Smith Centre, asking that the town might be incorporated, to be voted upon at the next city election and, at which time, a mayor, police judge and five councilmen would be named.
Said election was on Tuesday, May 4, 1886. J. W. Brandon, S. D. Cummings and C. D. Henderson were designated as judges and W. H. Nelson and John Q. Royce as clerks. W. E. Mosher, W. G. Reid and Henry A. Ahlborn acted as a board of canvassers. The petition was signed by the county commissioners, C. H. Lloyd, P. C. Glenn and Ora Jones with J. N. Beacon as county clerk. The election was favorable and since the spring of 1886 Smith Centre has been an incorporated city. The approximate population was 250 which classified Smith Centre as a third class city.
The first ordinance passed by the city government was the Ordinance of Organization. It named the term of office and duties of the mayor, the councilmen and police judge, the place of meetings and the date and time of meetings. This ordinance is still followed today.
An ordinance making allowance for a water works was passed in 1889 and the amount of money alloted was $41,000. In 1905 the city bought lights from the Smith Center Mill and Elevator power plant for homes and businesses. The Smith Center Mill and Elevator put up the lines and power poles. In 1909 the city bought electricity for street lights from the Mill and Elevator. In 1919 bonds were sold and a city sewer disposal system was installed. In 1921 the Community Building bond was passed. In 1923 paving contracts were let to pave Main Street from the railroad tracks north to the present highway 36.
The population of Smith Center grew from approximately 250 in 1886 to 1440 in 1910. Since then, the population of the city has grown as follows: 1910 - 1440 1950 - 2040
1930 - 1630
1960 - 2470
1920 - 1640
1940 - 1670
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EARLY DAY PICTURE, east side of Main Street looking south from Kansas Ave. Note team and muddy street.
Pioneer Woman Remembered Early Days
In 1933 Elaine Lattin (Mrs. Ray Carpenter) was given an assignment at school to interview some person in Smith Center. She chose Mrs. Laura Goodale and the following is excerpts from the interview. (By the way, Elaine got an A for her work.)
"Mrs. Goodale, Laura Logan, migrated from Ohio with her sister and brother-in-law, the F. M. May family, in 1873 and settled on a homestead northwest of Smith Center. When they arrived her brother-in-law started breaking sod and they planted corn by using a spade or an axe to make a hole in the ground and dropping the corn then stepping on the sod to bury the corn. A good crop was raised in 1873 but the next year in July 1874 the grass- hoppers came. The sky looked as if it were snowing and the sun was nearly ready to shine. The grasshoppers remained for 3 days and after they left there wasn't much vegetation left. That year they lived on buffalo meat. Delicacies were pot-pies, wild grapes and plums. Some of the pioneer women tried making pie crust out of cornmeal.
There were not any Indians to speak of except civil tribes who went through in the spring. Buffalo were plentiful until the people realized that they could eat the meat. Not many wild animals roved the country except coyotes, wolves and timber wolves. Timber wolves would kill horses and eat them. When the people found what was happening to their horses they would stake the horses out to pasture.
Mrs. Goodale started teaching soon after they came here. She had 16 pupils ranging in age from 6 to 18 in grades 1 to 7. The school house was made of native lumber but there was no floor or stove. Mrs. Goodale would build a fire in the middle of the room and let the smoke go out the cracks in the roof. She rode 3 miles to school on a mule and got $10 a month. She would teach when the weather was warm and when it got cold she would dismiss school.
The nearest market was Hastings, Nebraska where they would take their products to sell. The first hogs they sold brought $2.50 a hundred pounds, dressed.
They threshed wheat by clearing off a place on the prairie and put the straw down and had the horses tramp it. Then they would remove the straw and scoop the wheat up and let it sift out so the wind would blow the chaff away.
The furniture in the houses was homemade. They made bedsteads out of poles cut along the creek, the mattresses were made from corn shucks and the pillows from duck feathers, if you were "well to do". The bed clothing was a buffalo robe or a comforter.
Necessities were very high priced - kerosene was 50¢ a gallon and matches were 10¢ a box. It cost a nice sum of money to have logs split into lumber to build anything. It cost 5¢ an ounce to have a letter carried.
In those times it was very easy to get lost. There were no township roads. Mrs. Goodale's brother-in-law struck a wagon trail north of Smith Center - the only one there at that time in this part of Center Township."
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Pleasures Of Early Day Pioneers
The majority of our early settlers were a sturdy, hard working people who stayed on their homesteads in spite of the fact that our vast prairies were often swept with hot winds, frozen in by blizzards or scourged by grasshoppers. Pioneer life was not all dark and dreary, the old settlers often told of the pleasures of their day. They had spelling schools, singing schools, literary societies and old time dances. Quilting, husking bees, house and barn raisings and house warmings were important social events. Visiting around, especially on Sundays, for news and laughter was counted a very important occasion. "Play Parties" for the young group were common events. Baseball soon became a popular game and croquet sets were set up in nearly every yard. Everybody was everyone else's friend and well-wisher. If there was a dance or other "social doings" people were there from miles around. The men especially enjoyed trapping for beaver, otter, raccoon and wildcats along the streams and on the prairies they hunted the gray wolf and coyote. The sale of the pelts from these animals often formed a substantial income. The wild fowl hunted were wild turkeys, prairie chickens, quail and pheasant. This hunting was a sport for the men but provided meat for the family.
In the earliest days the buffalo hunt was one of the pleasures of the pioneer men. In the fall parties of men with their teams and hunting outfits would set out for the buffalo range to secure a meat supply for winter. The buffalo were often called "hup-backed ox." The meat of the buffalo provided the food and the buffalo hides were shipped east.
A buffalo story as told by Henry Clark: "In September of 1874, while the family was eating supper, they heard the cattle bellowing. A buffalo was outside the corral pawing the ground. Mr. Clark, then a lad, grabbed a pitch- fork, got inside the corral and jammed the fork into the side of the beast which galloped away to the south. William Barnes, who lived on the next claim, came riding after the fleeing buffalo. He overtook him a half mile south of our dugout and shot him. Mr. Barnes gave generous hunks of the buffalo meat to all the neighbors and Mr. Clark remembered the wild taste and remarked, "Oh, How darned tough!"
As the town grew and developed it became necessary to provide places available for public entertainment. The old stone schoolhouse was used for this purpose after it was built in 1874. One of the most popular entertainment buildings was the circular wooden Tabernacle and later, in 1888, the Opera House was built.
The Tabernacle was built on four lots owned by the City across the street north of the Courthouse. Home talent shows were given there as well as dancing and roller skating. Traveling stock shows were popular attractions at the Tabernacle. It was used for political conventions and the largest gathering was the one on the night that the Rock Island Railroad laid the first rail in the east limits of Smith Center in 1887. A very famous home talent play was presented there in September of 1884 with a cast of 40 local people. It was deemed a most successful venture!
The Tabernacle was finally abandoned and the Opera House, on the east side of Main Street between Kansas and Court, took its place in 1888. The Opera House was the center for attractions for years with theatrical troupes and minstrel shows performing before large crowds.
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