The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-05-26
NORTH SIDE NEWS
Incidents in the History of Gar
field Park.
Was Once Controlled by Famous
~ MarshaII's Band.
FOUNDEDBYHARTZELL
Story of Promoter of First To-
peka Car Line.
Partly Responsible for Big Boom
in 1880.
FOUNDEDBYHARTZELL

Agitation to invest the $500 ralseu
from the percentage OF tire street La ..I.
receipts in a fountain for Garnela pa n
recalls many interesting incidents os
the history of the park as a tract OIL
land, the story of J. w. Harlem Pr
noter. who was the founder OF the
park proper. Int
Early settlers will remember tnal
Benjaman Franklin Van Horn oMne &c
much of the park land ana mucn u
what is now Paramore's addition apoue
90 years ago. Van Horn pousnI
from the Indians who parted with thelr
happy hunting grounds on SoIoder u TL
for a comparative small trlne, NJ
Van Horn tract included aDoG is 9 9fii1 1iv-
By the WY, Mr.. Van Horn is sun ~ Ne
ing-at Minneapolis and IS salo To NC
hale and hearty. for his age -
Afterwards through various ueals Inc
land came into the possession Oh AnuIe No
jackson Paramore, and also was ollce
owned by Dewitt Norris. Mr.. Para
more laid out the big tract known as
Paramore's addition. The land was
sold and divided until the park proper
is now about IS acres in extent. -
J. w. HartzeI was the man VINO ma ND!
be considered the father or the park
also the founder of the first street car
line in Topeka and probably largely re
snOnsible for the boom of 1850 Wnen
Lukens' opera house, the Welman res
idence, the Pence home and seVeraI
MT. Hartzell and the Bank Of To
nelxa secured control of the park from
Mar.nalFs band, which had pought 1t
frcZ other owners, but COULDN'T max
i4IrO About this time HartZeII con-
Ieive5 the idea of running busses from
Tenth street to the North side at ten
cents a trip. This line became SO pop
1lar that the promoter planneq anu
built the first street car line; II eA-
tended from Tenth street to the Union
pacific depot with branch down t1tth
street to the Santa Fe depot. and was
onerated by mules. It's length was
about a mile and fve-eighths total
ON the night of october IT, 1881, the
stables and several cars and animals
was quickly replaced. F. w: Giles,
speaking of this in his Forty Years IN
Topeka," says: "Since that event, the
company has steadily progressed-at
This writing, in 1885, the road operates
81 miles of road uses 20 coaches' anu
employs 30 men and % animals"
But to return to Mr.. Hartzell. he
was a. professional promoter. He had
more enterprise and nerve than money
but would gain the confidence OF capt.
talists who would back his projects
Meanwhile he was generous with Whdt
means he possessed. He believed in
printers ink and in being good TEL
low with the newspaper boys And as
reporters are really human Eyes, they
really are) and often very human they
reciprocated as much as they could.
Hartzell gave the press representatives
ali the tickets they want on his bus
line and often treated them to lunch
at a hotel on Kansas avenue wherein
he had an interest. And Mr.. Hartzell
cleaned out the brush and plotted road
ways in the park in connection with the
street car line.
However, when the line began to pay
HartzelI. not having enough capital to
hold his own was gradually frozen out:
He went from here to Wichita and
again promoted several enterprises, but
again luck was against him. He after
words drifted to California.
A few years ago the city acquired the
park from the Bank of Topeka. A
benefit district was created in the First
ward and the land was appraised and
taxed to raise the funds of about $1,000.
Not long after it came into possession
of the city G. E. Jordan, eX-councilman
from the First ward, originated an
ordinance and introduced into the
council and forced it through that any