Simpson Building Then and Now

206 W Chestnut St / Wyatt Earp Blvd

Much like the Goddard’s Building, I had no idea what this structure actually looked like until about 10 years ago. I was completely unaware that Dodge City even had a Simpson Building, let alone one which just happens to be cute as a bug, on the busiest street in town.

To see how it got there, I went back to the 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, which shows frame dwellings in the middle of the block. The homes were removed by 1887 and the lot at what was then 303 Chestnut Street sat empty until 1902.

Foundation work for the real estate office of Russell and Crane was underway in September of 1902. The iron-clad frame structure was only about 28 feet wide and 27 feet deep. It was ready for occupancy by October 24. Russell and Crane used the east half and the west side was leased to Walter Chapman for his jewelry business.

Dentist Oscar Simpson purchased the building in January of 1907 with plans for a two-story brick structure in its place. The upstairs plans called for “two operating rooms, a laboratory, rest room, dressing room, and a large reception room.” Construction of the cream-colored brick building was moving along by the Summer of 1907.

Plate glass windows were installed that November. W. H. Chapman, who had temporarily relocated, moved his jewelry store into the new space that same month. He was joined by Dr. Simpson and his partner, Emery Ballou, as well as The Fair Store operated by James Martin.

Walter Chapman died in May of 1909 so M. J. Chapman assumed management of the jewelry store.

Dentist Howard S Kasey joined the partnership of Simpson and Ballou in the Fall of 1914. Kasey had played on a successful basketball team in Kansas City and was quickly recruited to play for the local team.

M. F. Dougherty purchased The Fair Store in September of 1915 and it went from being a general racket store to an establishment focused on musical instruments. The store expanded to occupy the entire first floor of the building.

Dr. Ballou died in January of 1920 at only 40 years of age. Simpson then added Ivan M Swaim to the practice, which became known as Simpson, Kasey, and Swaim.

Nason’s Ladies Shop replaced The Fair Store in February of 1921 but that only lasted nine months. George Nason then pivoted to a restaurant partnership with C. W. Boyd called “The Eat Shop.” I’ve also seen this establishment called Nason’s Cafe. Either way, it also lasted only a few months.

Dr. Simpson sold the building to H. C. Brown in May of 1922 but the dental offices remained upstairs.

The Mallonee Brothers shoe repair shop moved to the Simpson Building in July of 1922.

Brandenburg Bootery opened alongside the Mallonee brothers on September 1, 1922.

The shoe store closed in the late 1920s but the repair business operated until around 1947. At that time, the dental office was occupied by Dr. Charles Redfield.

Bond & Mattley, Inc. was formed on January 26, 1948 by Nolen Bond and Robert Mattley. The menswear store operated in the Simpson Building for about twenty years.

This photo was taken during the 1954 Boot Hill Fiesta Parade. You can see the bricks had already been covered up to the second-floor windows.

Robert Mattley died in October of 1960 and the store became known as Bond Men’s Wear. Dr. Redfield vacated the upstairs offices in the late 1960s and he appears to have been the last to have used them for their intended purpose.

The Simpson Building is shown in the weeks leading up to the Urban Renewal demolition of Front Street without a metal slipcover.

Nolen Bond retired while the Urban Renewal Project was in progress. By 1980, that space was occupied by Burke’s Country Squire clothing store.

The block was photographed from the Dodge City Flour Mill after it had been modernized with the ugly metal slipcover.

After Country Squire moved to the mall, the building was occupied by a State Farm Insurance agent. Barbara Gould, who owned Ford County Title Company on Gunsmoke, had the wall at the north end of the Simpson Building opened up so the title company extended all the way to the Wyatt Earp side. It seems like that was done around 1995.

That awful metal slipcover was removed around 2011, which made the building eligible for reconsideration as a contributing structure in the Dodge City Downtown Historic District. It is currently occupied by Doll Law Firm.

This is how the Simpson Building looks today:

I can’t wait to photograph this beauty again once the streetscape project moves to this block and the wooden awning is removed. The modern storefront could easily be replaced with one which more closely matches the original design. This building is so pretty. I wish we’d been able to see it sooner.

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