The Lamar register., 1914-05-27
LAMAR HISTORY
A Few of the Salient "Facts" of
Early Lamar Days

events and names connected with the
organization and early growth of La
mar, it will soon be impossible ever to
correctly chronicle the towns his
tory.
The idea of laying out a town here
was first conceived by John f. Godd-
ing and he interested |. X. Holmes of
Garden City, who was the prize town
boomer of that day. Together they
went to Topeka and interested sub
stantial men connected with the land
department of the Santa Fe.
The firm of Steele and Malone of
Denver, composed of Robert w. Steele
later Chief Justice, and VIM. II. Ma
lone, drew up the incorporation papers
of the Lamar Town & Land Co.
There were 36 shares of stock issued
of 800 cash paid in value. The ar
ticles of Incorporation were filed May
%, 1886, and John E. Frost, John f.
Godding, /. X. Holmes, Robert W..
Steele and VIM. II. Malone were the
incorporators. The officers were A.
S. johnson of Topeka, president; VIM.
H. Malone, vice-president, and John
E. Godding, secretary. They paid
$1,000 to Edward Fitzgerald for his
homestead on which the original town
was located, 5000 to Steele e. Ma
lone for attorney fees, and the bal
lance for advertising lot sale on
the ground on May "a, 1886.
The party arrived on the ground
on the day of sale and the surveyor
began the work of plating, but the
eager buyers bought the lots faster
than he could plat them, many being
bought from the plats brought with
the promoters. The first day sales
were $4,000. one third cash and not
one dollar of the deferred payments
on these sales were ever defaulted.
The first scrap was to obtain a de-
pot and as the station of Blackwell,
near the old Black ranch house, had
to be moved here, it was necessary to
scheme around that most superb
schemer, A. X. Black, to get it.
Taking advantage of Mr.. Blacks
absence and the fact that no injunc-
ton could be issued on Sunday, La
mars first Sunday celebration was
going down in a body and assisting
the railroad men in loading the sta
tion on a box car and bringing it up
here.
The Holmes and Parmenter addi-
ton was located on land which NJ. ID.
Parmenter gained title to by soldiers
additional scrip in the names of
Luther Branch and Louisa Slower,
guardian for Eliza ]. Enochs.
The McKeever addition was located
with soldiers scrip of Samuel S.
Reynolds by A. C. McKeever. The
West Side addition was proved up by
John E. Godding. The Bent Cottage
Place addition by DIR. VIM. Cummings.
The Highlands, Morehouse, and Buena
Vista additions by f. w. Fuller. The
Maxwell addition was proved up by
Edith p. Craddock, while John Nor
ris proved up the First Addition.
The town was incorporated by the
election of city officials on January 4,
1887. C. NJ. Morrison was the first
mayor, and F. w. Burger, U. H. Van
orsdale, S. ID. Rail and p. M. Noble
were the first trustees. At the first
regular election in April, 1887, A. d..
Rawlings was elected mayor, and F..
w. Burger, A. Deter, U. H. Vanors-
dale, f. l.. Koen, p. NJ. Noble and S.
ID. Rail trustees.
The first regular school board was
elected on December 18, 1886, and was
composed of D. E. Cooper, G. w. Hum
ter and DR.. VIM. Cummings. The
first big school scrap was in the sum-
mer of 1887 when it was decided to
build a new school house and an
election was called to select the site
for the building. Three elections
were held in one day. The first was
declared fraudulent and thrown out.
The second was tie and the third
resulted in the election of the site in
McKeever's addition by a majority OF
one. The building was constructed by
d. C. Marker and is now the Pioneer
building.
l.. R. Holmes, who was chief BOOM
er and congressional lobbyist for the
town, secured the passage OF an act