Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-09-18
Early Day History.

est landmarks of the town. It was
one of the first and at the time
one of the largest buildings erected
in the town and was built for use
as saloon and dance hall. For a
couple Of years '72 and 7S, Great
Bend was the end of the cattle trail
for the big herds from Texas and
the town was then full of gamblers,
cowboys and other characters. The
stories that could be told by the old
building, could it speak, would be of
vast interest.
Back in '72 Smith & Winefield
built the edifice and 1t was used as
a saloon. The next year new man
took charge of the place and named
it the New Aces" While tie town
was the end of the cattle trail it
was famous as dance hall and sa-
loon. The first killing in the build
ing occurred about this time. A crew
of Texas cattle men came to town
and after shipping their stock got
on a big drunk One Of them start
ed to shoot up things in the New Ace
and Marshal Winstead was sent for A
he stepped in the door the bad man
shot at him, the bullet missing his
head a few inches, lodging in the
door frame. Winstead's gun crack
ed a second lataer and the COW boy
fell to the floor, dead. Hewas shot
squarely between the eyes. For
this act the cowboys comrades
swore vengeance and hunted the
marshal for a couple Of days. He
was shot in the shoulder the next
day by one Of them who was outside
a building in which the marshal was
sitting. A few days later they left
town still swearing vengeance
which never took place.
The place continued as dance
hall and saloon until a couple OF
years later when the cattle men
commenced to ship from Dodge City.
The bad men always gave Great
Bend a fairly wide berth because Of
the fact that its citizens never stood
for bad men and several were buried
here who might have neoyjed life
of comfort and ease for years to
come had they followed paths Of
rectitude. Their deaths, however,
served some good purpose as the
balance of the bunch were inclined to
stay away.
Sunday morning May 26, 1885, one
of the most deliberate and cold
bloodiest murders ever known in tie
west occurred in this same building.
Frank H. Parker, who ran billiard
hall in the building was murdered
by Geo. F. Mack, negro who had
been working for him for about four
months. A few days later the dead
body of Mack hung from the roof Of
the porch in front of the building.
Parker's family lived in Ellinwood
and he was in the habit of taking
the six o'clock train for that place
Sunday morning and spending the
day with them, returning at night
During the week he slept in the hal
On the Sunday morning above men
toned Parker did not come hom'
and his little son came up from
Ellinwood to see what was the matte
The door was locked but he got il
the building through a window il
the back which was raised H
found the bed saturated with bloo'
and wnet outside whree he foun,
Jas. Savage, a newspaper deale
still living here, and asked him t,
help look for his papa telling him o
the condition of the bed.
The two entered the building an(
found a trail of blood from the bet
to back room where they discover
ed the body of Parker, PARTIAL,
covered with billiard cloth. TIL
head, neck and breast had bee
frightfully mangled with a hatchet
One blow had severed the nose an
split open one side of the dead man
face: His throat had also been Gu
with a razor. Mack had disappear
ed and 1t was suspected that he ha
committed the crime. His descril
ton was sent out at once by Sherif
Dalziel and the Kansas City polio
were asked to look for him, a rewar
Of 5000 being offered for his capture
This was effected by Hugh McGowa
the Indianapolis street railway mas
nate, then a sergeant on the Kansa
City police force. MCGOWAN boar
ed the train several blocks before
reached the Union depot and hurr,
ing through found a negro on tn
steps of the last car who answere
the telegraphed description. He
two valises in his hands and was ju