Until recently, I had no idea that Dr Pepper was bottled independently in Dodge City. We have actually had several bottling operations over the years and Dr Pepper opened up on what was then West Chestnut Street around 1930.
Early that year, Nellie Anderson of the B. R. Royse Company hired Parham Construction (of course) to build a brick garage measuring 50 by 75 feet at the corner of Military Avenue and Avenue D.
The Owens General Service Station held their grand opening on April 26, 1930.
Dodge City Daily Globe, April 25, 1930
This new full-service station was located directly across the street from a smaller Derby filling station. The 1932 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a garage with space for 40 cars and gas tanks out front.
By 1932, the business was owned by Howard Croft and C. L. Hamby, who called it C and H Super Service Station.
Dodge City Daily Globe, November 2, 1932
Hamby bought out his partner in February of 1933 and the business became known as Hamby’s Service Station.
Dodge City Daily Globe, February 13, 1933
It changed hands a couple more times in the 1930s before being purchased by N. E. Cooper around 1936. Cooper enlarged the structure and became a Pontiac distributor in January of 1937. Leroy Bretz operated the filling station at the south end.
Dodge City Daily Globe, January 30, 1937
Things were a bit quiet from 1939 until Barton Electric Co. moved to the building in 1945.
Dodge City Daily Globe, July 25, 1945
Barton moved again to a spot on Chestnut less than a year later. The location became occupied by Danford Bus Line by March of 1946 followed by Kansas Motor Coaches, which was operated by Ted Chester.
Dr. Pepper Bottling Company moved to 500 Military in April of 1950. An addition was constructed at the north end of the building around that time.
Dodge City Daily Globe, April 21, 1950
Fun fact: The period after Dr was removed in the 1950s but this 1962 photo shows the exterior branding hadn’t been updated. Sun-drop Cola and “Mr.” Cola were also bottled at this location.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection
Nold, Inc. was the Pepsi Cola bottler in those days. The Nold plant in Garden City bottled Dr Pepper and they assumed Dr Pepper operations in Dodge around 1965. A real estate ad listed the building as vacant in April of that year but it was used as a warehouse by Nold until Cox Produce Company moved in around 1967.
Cox Produce became Cox Food Service, Inc. in the 1980s and they occupied the building until around 1984. Multiple trucking companies used the facility from then until around 2005, some of which were operated by Robert VenJohn.
The building has been home to Asian Lucky Market since about 2006. The north addition has been used as a liquor store since that time and is currently Twisted Liquor.
This is how the former Dr Pepper Bottling Co. looks today:
I feel like the understated architecture from the 1920s and ’30s is underappreciated. In its natural state, this building was aesthetically pleasing. I’m happy it still exists and is being used.
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Ham Bell’s Elephant Livery Stable has been thoroughly documented so I’m not going reinvent the wheel. The original sod structure at the southeast corner of Third Avenue and what was then Locust Street, later Santa Fe Trail Street, and now just Trail Street was replaced by a wood stable around 1877. It was expanded around 1884 to accommodate nearly every animal west of the Mississippi.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Robert Eagan Collection
Henry Sitler and Ham Bell built a fancy Victorian building directly east of the stable in 1886. Bell’s furniture and undertaking business was located on the main floor and he lived upstairs. I wrote about that beauty back in 2022 but my focus was more on the east end, which stood until 1989. If you’re a longtime reader, you may recall my confusion over when and why the west end of the building disappeared. I’ll get back to that shortly.
Ford County Republican, January 18, 1888 – red marks mine
Ham Bell relocated his Elephant Livery to what is now Central Avenue and Gunsmoke Street in the 1890s and sold the old location to Joe Miller in the Summer of 1897.
The Ford County Leader, August 6, 1897
The 1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the Sitler and Bell Block at what was then 345-346 Locust Street. At that time, the main occupant was the Park Hotel. Rooms were upstairs and the west storefront space was vacant. Directly to the west was a carriage painting business. The next storefront at 343 Locust was used as an implement warehouse. The main part of the livery stable stretched all the way from Locust to Maple Street. I should also note the block of Maple directly behind the stable was closed because the street had been fenced off for the horses and mules.
The hotel changed hands several times and operated as the Palmer House and the Grand View.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society
Ultimately, the Sitler and Bell Block was separated into east and west parcels. By 1914, Joe and Mary Miller were also operating a rooming house above the west end. Sam Stubbs, Jr., who owned the South Side Grocery in the east storefront, rented rooms at the opposite end. Joe Miller and Henry Stein sold the stable business to J. L. Wright in August of 1914 but Miller retained ownership of the property.
By 1917, the stable had been replaced by H. Williams Feed Store with a feed grinding operation and storefront at the north end of the building. Hay was stored in the south end.
Dodge City Daily Journal, December 23, 1917
Mary Miller continued operating the rooming house after Joe died of Bright’s Disease in 1919. The feed store was briefly operated by the firm of Hensley and Hensley and ultimately became known as Bernard Askew’s South Side Feed Store in the early 1920s.
The Dodge City Journal, April 26, 1923
An intense fire destroyed the feed store on October 31, 1931. Firefighters were able to prevent the flames from reaching Mary Miller’s boarding house next door.
Dodge City Daily Globe, November 2, 1931
Dodge City Daily Globe, November 2, 1931
Dodge City Daily Globe, November 2, 1931
Mrs. Miller listed the entire property west of Otto Souder’s grocery for sale with George Cochran soon after but there were no takers.
Dodge City Daily Globe, December 1, 1931
The 1932 Sanborn shows the four empty lots with the west side of Sitler and Bell block still intact.
The Dodge City Parts Company, which was located in the building just to the north of the Globe on Second Avenue, merged with Scheufler Supply Company and Woolwine Supply Company in the Spring of 1936. This created a new entity called Woolwine, Scheufler and Dunn, commonly referred to as the WSD Parts Company.
The Dodge City Journal, March 12, 1936
The Dodge City Journal, March 12, 1936
This growing company needed more space and Mary Miller still had four lots and a rooming house for sale on Trail Street.
Dodge City Daily Globe, July 16, 1936
George Scheufler bought the four vacant lots in August of 1936.
Dodge City Daily Globe, September 1, 1936
That November, implement dealer Claud Cave’s name popped up in relation to the site. Both Scheufler and Cave were involved in highway commission business and also Kansas is a small state.
Dodge City Daily Globe, November 11, 1936
Claud Cave (left) and his son, Ellis, are pictured here with some of their equipment in Sublette.
Photo courtesy Skip Cave
If you’ve ever wondered why the parapet of the Scheufler building has stones spelling “CAVE” in a spot just left of center, it’s because that slightly taller section was built to house Claud Cave’s implement dealership.
Dodge City Daily Globe, January 19, 1937
This answers my question about the west end of the Sitler and Bell Block. The section sold by Mary Miller was demolished to make room for this new Cave Implement building which was completed in 1937.
Scheufler Supply Company bought out WSD in April of 1940.
Dodge City Daily Globe, April 4, 1940
At some point, Scheufler expanded into the old Cave Implement building shown here in 1947.
Dodge City’s Diamond Jubilee, 1947, published by the Dodge City Chamber of Commerce
The remaining east half of the Sitler and Bell Block was designated a historic landmark by the City Commission in 1978. This designated landmark became a victim of demolition by neglect in July of 1989.
You can see the Cave-Scheufler building smashed up against what was once the central staircase wall.
Photo by Troy Robinson
Scheufler Supply became Big A Auto Parts in 1979 but people talked about going to Scheufler’s as long as the store was open on Trail Street.
Dodge City Daily Globe, May 2, 1979
Big A moved to 50 N Second Avenue around 1986 leaving the Trail Street building vacant for a few years. Around 1990, Virginia Korf-Melton opened the Happy Trails Flea Market and Designs by Virginia gift shop in the massive building. Virginia sold the flea market to the Besser family and they operated it until around 2015.
Since the flea market closed, the building has been used for various sales and events. People were carrying out party tables and supplies when I stopped by to grab some photos.
This is how the Cave-Scheufler building looks today:
In a determined effort to focus on what we have rather than what we’ve lost, I will simply remind everyone that the east wall of this unassuming building includes a thin brick sliver of the Sitler and Bell Block. That’s all I have to say about that.
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If you’re interested in Dodge City’s history, you’ve likely heard all about the Third Ward School at the top of Boot Hill. What about the other two? There are still postcards floating around showing the Second Ward School, which was later replaced by Central. However, I have never seen a postcard for the First Ward School. Surely, they must exist. Right?
In the olden days, Dodge was divided into wards with a voting location in each ward, which was usually the schoolhouse. As I’ve said repeatedly, our schools have always been overcrowded so sometimes that “schoolhouse” was a room located in a church or store building. In March of 1888, a building near the South Side Hotel was used as the First Ward School. Ward boundaries were adjusted over time as the population shifted.
Voters were asked to consider a $10,000 bond issue in the Spring of 1910 to build a new school somewhere on the east side of town.
The Dodge City Kansas Journal, March 25, 1910
This new school would only accommodate the four lower grades and it was meant to be ready that September.
The Dodge City Kansas Journal, May 27, 1910
Bids were supposed to be due by July 25, 1910 but the district hadn’t even chosen a site by July 15. All received bids were rejected and the architect was forced to revise the plans, which meant a September completion date was pure fantasy. A site was chosen in late July on the east side of Avenue G between Spruce and Vine Streets. George Hoover sold the entire block for $1,200.
The Globe-Republican, July 28, 1910
Contractor William Foley had excavation underway in August and the school was completed in December of 1910. Because this school had no electricity, great care was taken to ensure students could complete their work without eye strain. The windows and seating arrangements were configured for optimum lighting conditions. Heat was provided by stoves and each classroom had a separate flue for better ventilation.
The Dodge City Globe, December 22, 1910
Classes were held in the new building beginning January 2, 1911. The younger children reported to rooms on the first floor with the first-grade class in the south room and a combination second and third-grade class in the north. A combination fourth and fifth-grade class used the south room on the second floor. Sixth and seventh graders were taught in the north room. That year, all eighth-grade work was done at the Second Ward School.
The Sou’Wester Volume Two: Nineteen Fifteen
This photo shows the iron fire escape at the back of the building.
Sou’Wester Volume One: Nineteen Thirteen
This school was overbuilt to accommodate first ward students for many years but it was overcrowded by 1912. An additional room was added for the 1913-14 school year.
The People’s Church held services and Sunday School in the First Ward building but many railroad workers were unable to attend morning services. In December of 1913, Reverend W. E. Rose announced electric lights had been installed in the church room so they could switch to evening services beginning January 1, 1914. Sunday School was still held at 9:30 a.m.
A wood frame classroom was moved from the Third Ward property in November of 1915 to eliminate combination classes.
Dodge City Daily Globe, November 25, 1915
In 1916, the school district began experimenting with Victrolas in the schools and the First Ward received the first machine. The music teacher made it clear there would be no cheap or trashy music.
The Dodge City Globe, February 3, 1916
Enrollment kept growing and another bond election was held in April of 1917 for an $18,000 addition which would add four more classrooms and modernize the school. At that time, the sixth-grade room was actually a cloak room or an office. Health department officials said it lacked appropriate lighting and ventilation. The bond issue was approved by voters and work was expedited to have the addition ready by September.
Dodge City Daily Globe, March 22, 1917
Santa Fe employees took up a collection for a flagpole to be installed on the school grounds. Reported measurements varied but it was approximately 90 feet tall. The 8 by 12-foot flag was raised on April 15, 1917.
Dodge City Daily Globe, April 16, 1917
In June of 1917, the flag was shredded by a windstorm before Santa Fe workers could get it lowered. They once again passed the hat to buy a bigger flag measuring 12 1/2 feet wide and 25 feet long. The patriotic display could be seen from many miles away due to the school’s location up on the hill.
Photo courtesy Kansas Heritage Center
Around 1928, students and teachers voted to change the name from First Ward to Roosevelt School.
You can see the vertical brick seams where what little ornamentation the front of the school had in the beginning was removed.
Photo courtesy Kansas Heritage Center
Enrollment continued to climb and a barracks building from the old Army airfield was moved behind the school for additional classrooms.
Photo courtesy Kansas Heritage Center
By the end of the 1940s, plans were underway for a new Roosevelt School to be built a few blocks north of the old one.
Dodge City Daily Globe, January 15, 1949
Work began later that year and during the process it was decided to name the new school after longtime Roosevelt principal, Flora B Miller.
Roosevelt students Gene Hefner, Lawrence Brown, Myrna Albertson, Lois Hammar, and Frances Calloway are shown here handing principal Lloyd Shank community cleanup pledge cards in April of 1951.
Dodge City Daily Globe, April 7, 1951
Classes were held in the new Miller School at the beginning of the 1951-52 school year but the official dedication didn’t take place until October of 1951. The old barracks building behind Roosevelt was advertised for sale shortly afterward.
Dodge City Daily Globe, October 30, 1951
The school district and recreation commission decided to use the old Roosevelt building as a community recreation center. Fire safety updates were made and the commission moved to their new offices in April of 1952. Work to set up the various learning and recreation spaces was still in progress at that time.
Dodge City Daily Globe, April 8, 1952
The formal opening was held after a high school football game on October 24, 1952. There were areas designated for dancing as well as arts and crafts, checkers, and woodworking.
Dodge City Daily Globe, October 25, 1952
This aerial photo taken on September 16, 1953 shows Roosevelt School (red arrow) a few blocks south of Miller School (green arrow).
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection
Over the years, organizations like the Quarterback Club and Boot Hill Saddle Club maintained offices in the building. Hall’s Firestone hosted a Power Tool School, which seems like a terrific idea.
Dodge City Daily Globe, February 4, 1955
In August of 1966, “A READER” wrote a letter to the editor saying the old building had seen better days and should be torn down and replaced with something bigger.
Dodge City Daily Globe, August 9, 1966
That’s exactly what happened, for a while anyway. A bland two-story concrete block replacement built south of the demolished school was ready for action in the Fall of 1970.
Dodge City Daily Globe, July 30, 1970
It has been used as an adult learning center for decades and is owned by Dodge City Community College.
A crumbling asphalt parking lot, cracked basketball court, and play area with more goat head stickers than grass occupy the spot on the hill where the Roosevelt School proudly stood for nearly 60 years.
I don’t have anything clever to say in closing. If you have any family photos or mementos from Roosevelt School, please consider donating them to the Ford County Historical Society. We need to do a better job of preserving the history of our entire community and we need your help to do it.
If you like what you see, be sure to subscribe (way at the bottom of the post on mobile devices) to receive an email each time a new post is published and share on social media. You can also support my work by donating below. This content is 100% funded by history fanatics such as yourself. Thanks for reading!
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It can be very confusing when people ask me about the “old post office.” The questions usually pertain to the blonde brick building on Second Avenue, which if my math is correct, became the fourth post office location in Dodge City.
The 1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows Dr. Thomas McCarty’s opera house, which was later used as a skating rink, on the east side of Second Avenue between Spruce and Walnut Streets. In those days, the building was lit with kerosene lamps.
The third post office location in the old City Furniture building ran out of room after less than a decade. The McCarty Realty Company was formed in March of 1916 to construct a new building on the opposite side of the street. Unfortunately, the skating rink was in the way and had to be demolished.
Stockholders included Dr. Thomas McCarty, Sam Stubbs, Walter Locke, Victor Carson, George Rose, A. Russell, C. E. and P. M. Imel, Doolittle and Traynor, H. R. Brown, James Arment, C. T. Benbow, A. C. Scates, George Martin, Otto Theis, W. J. Fitzgerald, Chris Behl, Mike Sutton, William Foley, L. L. Taylor, and P. H. Sughrue.
Excavation was well underway in April of 1916. The Dodge City Kansas Journal was located in the building directly south of the new post office site and their north wall fell into the foundation pit when the equipment apparently got a bit too close.
Dodge City Kansas Journal, April 13, 1916
Dodge City Kansas Journal, April 13, 1916
It was hoped the new building would be completed by November 1 but contractor Julian Parham just missed it.
Dodge City Daily Globe, October 10, 1916
Dodge City Daily Globe, October 10, 1916
Postmaster Heinie Schmidt officially opened the new post office on November 6, 1916.
Dodge City Daily Globe, November 4, 1916
Attorneys Edgar Foster and Charles W Milton moved to offices upstairs that December and the Palace Drug Store opened a second location with a newsstand in the south side of the lobby.
Dodge City Daily Journal, December 21, 1916
Hiram T Burr’s real estate and insurance office moved to the southwest corner of the second floor.
Dodge City Daily Globe, December 26, 1916
Leonard-Drake Auto Co. occupied the north storefront of the building.
Dodge City Daily Journal, December 27, 1916
Drs. Thomas and Claude McCarty situated their upstairs offices in the suite along Second Avenue with the big windows. Francis McAdam’s real estate office was located in Room 212.
Dodge City Daily Journal, January 4, 1917
One of the defining features of this building was a giant terra cotta eagle which extended above the parapet.
Dodge City: The Buckle on the Wheat Belt courtesy Ford County Historical Society
Plans to expand the post office quarters were underway in the Spring of 1920. Palace Drug Store had vacated their space in the south part of the lobby and that area was used for postal operations and an office for Postmaster Schmidt.
The Dodge City Journal, April 29, 1920
Partnerships came and went but Hiram Burr maintained a constant presence.
Sou’Wester, 1924
The Drs. McCarty vacated their offices in the post office building around 1925 and consolidated their practices in the McCarty Hospital at Central and Spruce.
In 1926, things became very muddled. McCarty Realty constructed a building directly north of the post office which became known as the McCarty Building. I won’t drive myself crazy trying to determine which dentists and barber shops were in each building because street numbers meant nothing in those days. However, it’s worth mentioning the Dodge City Daily Globe occupied most of the first floor and the entire basement of the new structure.
The 1926 Sanborn shows the new McCarty Building in the spot between the filling station and post office.
Photographer Unknown
The upper floor lost several tenants when the new First National Bank opened in September of 1930. By this time, Hiram Burr was President of the McCarty Realty Company. The fifth and current post office building was completed in 1931 after about five years of planning struggles.
W. W. Virtue Dry Goods Company of Dodge City was formed on May 27, 1932 and occupied the former post office building by the end of June.
The Ford Progress, July 1, 1932
This April 1, 1939 photo taken during the parade celebrating the premiere of Dodge City shows the building in background with the Hiram T Burr Investment Company sign painted on the south wall.
Photographer Unknown
Pauline (Younger) Wagner is shown here during the 1940s braving a snowstorm outside Virtue’s dry goods store.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Dodge City Daily Globe Collection
Hiram Burr and L. B. Hancock formed Burr-Hancock, Inc. in June of 1946. This firm eventually became Coldwell Banker Hancocks of Dodge City.
Burr’s offices moved to 209 W Spruce Street around the early 1950s. Controlling interest in W. W. Virtue, Inc. was sold to the J. M. McDonald Company of Hastings, Nebraska effective February 1, 1954. At that time, Virtue operated 33 stores in five states and they were gradually rebranded over the next couple years.
After the F. W. Woolworth Co. moved to their new location up the street around 1954, the McDonald store expanded northward into their old space. Some people say McDonald’s was in the old post office while others insist it was one building north. They’re all correct!
The second image in this slideshow shows the eagle was still in pretty good shape during the 1960s.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection
McDonald’s moved to the new Village Square Shopping Center around the Summer of 1970, serving as the south anchor where Ollie’s is now.
Dodge City Daily Globe, 13th Special Travelers’ Edition
The main floor of the old post office sat vacant for a while after McDonald’s left and finally became home to Litwin’s Clothing Store in the mid-1980s, followed by Alle’s Art Gallery on the main floor and The Doctor’s Office in the basement.
After Alle Craig moved her gallery over to the Ham Bell Block around 2003, the old post office was occupied by Q’Moda Women’s Apparel. Ensueño Boutique has been in that space since around 2007.
A ton of work has been done to the building since Ensueño moved in. The sketchy awnings have been removed as well as the modern storefront cladding. Unfortunately, previous modernization efforts damaged the brickwork to the point where new brick veneer was applied from the ground to above the transoms. That new brickwork unified the two McCarty buildings, which were combined into one parcel many years ago.
This is how the fourth old post office looks today:
I love walking by this building every day and seeing the Hiram T Burr, Inc. mats in front of the doors as well as the Burr ghost signs on the south wall. Unfortunately, the location of that magnificent tile eagle is currently unknown. If you find it, please bring it to me. I’m not saying there will be a reward but I’m also not *not* saying that.
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As is usually the case, I stumbled upon an advertisement for the Little Chef Cafe when I was searching for something else. When I saw it was on Highway 50S east of town, I thought it must have been the place where Tacos Jalisco is now. It was not.
On January 2, 1954, the Globe reported a permit was issued to Frank Baird to move a steel building to 304 E Chestnut Street. That street number could have been a typo or the block, which was completely residential until that time, could have been renumbered. And since there were a few Frank Bairds in Dodge, this was Andrew F Baird who had been a blacksmith for the Santa Fe Railroad. Frank’s wife, Ann, was a bookkeeper for Bishop Oil.
It is unclear whether this was a new building or one bought used and moved from another site. Either way, I believe it was a Little Chef sandwich shop model made by Valentine Manufacturing, Inc. of Wichita. By 1947, Valentine had shipped their portable steel sandwich shops to 38 states.
The Wichita Sunday Eagle, October 19, 1947
Over the years, Valentine developed a complete line of buildings in various shapes and sizes. They came pre-branded with names such as Frigid Queen, Frigid Creme, Burger Bar, Nifty Nine, Big Chef, and Little Chef but buyers could also have the shops customized at the factory.
Des Moines Tribune, April 16, 1948
Financing was available and the buildings shipped fully assembled after the down payment was received. Owners would then deposit ten percent of their daily receipts in the Valentine wall safe to be collected by a Railway Express employee until the balance reached zero. Because they were portable, these buildings could be repossessed. However, I did find several ads placed by Valentine offering established businesses for sale at the site where they were operating.
The ten-stool Little Chef model was among the most popular layouts so there were Little Chef cafes, diners, etc. sprinkled all over the country. Everything owners needed to get started was included: cooler, restroom with outside entrance, air conditioning, furnishings, tile floors, and plumbing, etc. They just had to buy food.
At the time the Bairds set up their Little Chef, the building was set back from the street far enough to have a small parking lot out front. This was long before the widening projects on East Wyatt Earp.
1956 Howdy Greeter Guide Courtesy Ford County Historical Society
The restaurant even had a basement with room for food storage.
Dodge City Daily Globe, April 28, 1954
This aerial photo with taped-on street labels was taken February 15, 1962. I added an arrow above the tiny cafe.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection
The Little Chef changed hands a few times in the 1960s and ’70s, ultimately being owned by Ed Bradley. Elsie Moreno renamed the cafe Taco Place in 1976.
Dodge City Daily Globe, July 21, 1976
Bradley listed the cafe for sale by February of 1977 and it then sat vacant. The lot was cleared sometime before 1981 and I’m not sure if the building was moved or simply scrapped. Being less than 30 years old, it should have been suitable for reuse.
This is how the site of the Little Chef Cafe looks today:
Since the building is long gone, it’s impossible to check for the Valentine branding and serial number. However, I feel confident the Bairds’ Little Chef was a Valentine because I found an image on the Kansas Historical Society website showing the same stripe pattern as the one in the 1956 Howdy guide. If anyone can verify this information, please send me a message or leave a comment!
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It’s kind of amazing to realize the intersection of Central Avenue and Hickory Street was considered suburban until the 1920s. Earl and Marie Zweig bought a six-room bungalow at the southeast corner of that intersection around 1922. In those days, Earl owned a Franklin automobile dealership with Robert Rath and he also operated the projector at the Beeson Theater.
The Zweigs built the Fairview apartments next door to the south and decided to add another building in the Spring of 1925. The firm of Arthur R Mann and Co. was hired to design the Monterey Apartments. Initial plans called for a three-story building with a total of 12 apartments, four on each floor.
The Southwest News, June 11, 1925
Mann’s final design consisted of a two-story brick building with eight apartments and a basement. This new structure would occupy the lot where the Zweigs’ home stood so the bungalow was moved to the northeast corner of the property at 103 E Hickory Street. Construction began in August of 1925.
Dodge City Daily Globe, August 31, 1925
Newspaper accounts of construction costs always vary and I’ve seen estimates anywhere from $30,000-$40,000 for the Monterey, which is equivalent to $541,000-$726,000 in today’s money. That’s even with Earl installing all of the electrical since by that time, he owned Z-Y Electric Shop.
The Monterey is shown here as construction was wrapping up with the Fairview to the right and the Zweig home to the left.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society
This modern building boasted electric refrigerators and ranges, both Simmons automatic day beds, which were basically futons, and disappearing (Murphy) beds. There were oak floors and linen window shades throughout. The building had a garbage incinerator and a private garage for each apartment out back. It was a nice place!
An open house for the Monterey was held on June 13, 1926 almost exactly one year after the Zweigs’ plans were announced.
Dodge City Daily Globe, June 12, 1926
In July of 1932, the Zweigs sold the Monterey along with the Fairview building next door and the exact sequence of events is a bit murky. It was reported that Mrs. Emery R Ray would be managing the apartments after the sale.
Dodge City Daily Globe, July 1, 1932
United Investment Company handled the sale and it just so happened Emery and Sadie Ray were the primary officers of that firm.
The Dodge City Journal, September 25, 1930
United Investment Company went into receivership in November of 1932 and legal notices for a December 24 Sheriff’s sale began appearing in the Globe the same month. The Rays were arrested for making false financial reports which made the company appear more solvent. When auditors arrived, they were told the Rays had discarded the records because they needed to make room in the office. Who among us…am I right?!
Emery pled guilty, probably to spare his wife, and received a sentence of one to seven years in a state prison.
The Hutchinson News, December 21, 1933
Meanwhile, Norval White managed the Monterey in the mid-1930s and early 1940s. The building was sold to brothers Maurice and J. D. Mullin in October of 1942. Property values hadn’t yet recovered from the Great Depression so the purchase price was only $30,000.
Dodge City Daily Globe, October 31, 1942
Aside from a small furnace explosion in 1956, things were pretty quiet until the 1970s.
Dodge City Daily Globe, January 16, 1956
That’s when the arrests of Monterey residents for petty drug offenses started popping up in the newspaper. In those days, your address would appear in the paper if you were arrested or even got a speeding ticket. Bob Johnson managed the Monterey in the mid to late 1970s followed by Laurin Jones in the 1980s.
During junior high and high school, I drove by the building every day and it didn’t look great. The whole neighborhood has really turned around over the past several years and the Monterey seems to be in pretty decent shape. I love that most of the windows are the correct size and understand why concessions may have been made in the bathrooms.
This is how the Monterey Apartments look today:
In case you’re curious, Emery and Sadie Ray lived in Wichita after he served his time and Emery became an award-winning car salesman. He also operated his own real estate agency. The Rays later divorced and Emery moved to Arizona with his third wife, where he worked for A BANK until his retirement.
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You may have noticed I intentionally avoid delving into the adventures of the Wild West. Because this particular building was right in the middle of it, I’m making an exception just for you.
Herman Fringer and A. J. Peacock built a drug store at the northwest corner of Second Avenue and Front Street in 1872. Fringer was appointed Postmaster and the post office was located in the back of the store.
The Leavenworth Daily Times, November 7, 1872
Dr. Thomas McCarty and his wife, Sallie, occupied a small room attached to the back of the building and that is where Claude was born the following year. Charles and Carrie Rath lived in the room next door and that little lean-to was the site of the famous Chief Spotted Tail escapade.
The Fringer and Peacock partnership was dissolved in August of 1873. Dr. McCarty worked as Fringer’s assistant in the drug store, which sounds weird because he was Dr. McCarty.
Dodge City Messenger, July 2, 1874
It didn’t take long for McCarty to open his own establishment one door east of F. C. Zimmermann’s store. That business became known as the City Drug Store.
Ford County Globe, January 1, 1878
George Hoover bought the post office drug store from Fringer in September of 1881 and flipped it to Dr. McCarty about a week later for a small profit. Lloyd Shinn was appointed Postmaster that October and the post office remained in the building until 1886.
McCarty sold all of his buildings along Second Avenue from Chestnut to Front Street to the ill-fated Merchants State Bank for $20,000 in July of 1887.
The Globe Live Stock Journal, August 2, 1887
Merchants State Bank imploded in February of 1891, still owning the east end of the block from Chestnut to Front.
This parade photo shows the City Drug Store just south of the doomed Merchants State Bank.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Eagan Collection
It was announced in March of 1892 that Walter F Pine and G. H. Lawrence had bought City Drug. Pine began working there around 1887 and became manager in February of 1889.
The Globe-Republican, March 3, 1892
Meanwhile, George Hoover finally conducted a sale of bank assets on December 19, 1893.
The Globe-Republican, November 24, 1893
The Ford County Commissioners bought the City Drug building and other properties, hoping to recover some of their losses from the bank failure.
The Dodge City Democrat, December 30, 1893
The Commission voted to rent the City Drug building to Walter Pine for $20 per month effective January 1, 1894. George F McKinney bought the building from the County in November of 1899.
Pine moved City Drug to the Gwinner Building in the Union Block in late January or early February of 1900. At that time, the building constructed by Fringer and Peacock was said to be the oldest remaining structure in Dodge City.
The Globe-Republican, January 18, 1900
William Robison then remodeled the building and positioned his City Hardware store on the busy corner.
Western Kansas Live Stock Journal, March 15, 1900
An adjoining structure was built on the west end of the hardware store in the Summer of 1900 to make room for additional stock.
The Dodge City Democrat, August 31, 1900
This postcard shows the enlarged City Hardware store with a most unusual roofline.
Postcard courtesy Ford County Historical Society
Robison operated the hardware store until 1924 and “Dodge City’s oldest building” was demolished in January of 1925. Its replacement was a new service station with adjoining storefronts built by the Kennedy Brothers.
The Southwest News, January 22, 1925
The Southwest News, January 22, 1925
The new building had mostly glass along the south and east sides with the service station positioned at an angle on the corner.
Kennedy Brothers Hardware moved to the new location the first part of June.
The Southwest News, June 4, 1925
The grand opening of the service station was held on June 13.
This photo was taken during an ag show in the early 1930s with the filling station front and center.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Sam Zygner Collection
Hoffman bought out Walker’s share of the jewelry store around 1929 and moved to the south room at 607 Second Avenue in the mid-1930s. Around that time, the filling station was Bud’s Certified Service. It changed hands a few times becoming Swede’s and later Andra’s Service Station.
Postcard courtesy Ford County Historical Society
Vernon Beatty opened a tavern called Bar X in the old service station around 1947, which he immediately tried to sell.
The Wichita Eagle, May 14, 1947
Schafer’s Cafe was next door at 403 Second with Lucille’s Beauty Salon on the north side of the cafe. In the early 1950s, Bar X was replaced by the William Cook Insurance Agency. Southwestern Bell rented the former beauty salon for additional office space while they expanded their spot on First Avenue.
A fire at Schafer’s Cafe gutted the building but it was reopened in March of 1953.
Great Bend Daily Tribune, March 14, 1953
Around 1957, an osteopath named Carl Hammer occupied the former filling station with the Cowboy Cafe next door at 403 Second Avenue. Walker’s Sportswear was located between the cafe and Lester Butler’s insurance agency.
The former Kennedy Building is shown here around 1957. Fact check me, auto enthusiasts!
Photo by Hoover Cott
Around 1959, the National Farm Loan Association and Zimmer’s Abstract and Title Co. moved to the former Walker’s location. The whole building seemed a bit boring until the Blue Lounge Tavern moved to the spaces which previously held the filling station and cafe around 1964. It remained there until Urban Renewal took the 45-year-old building away in 1970.
Lettering for the Blue Lounge is visible just beyond the traffic signal.
Photo by Joleen Fromm
Photo by Joleen Fromm
Photo by Joleen Fromm
This is how the site of the City Drug Store looks today:
I would love to recreate the angle of the historic photos, which were taken from the top of the flour mill…but it was demolished, too.
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My grandmother was the person who told me about the Fairmont Creamery. She took me over to Maple Street and showed me where the old rail siding had been paved over with concrete. I couldn’t believe there were railroad tracks in the middle of the street. By that time, the massive Fairmont complex was extremely dilapidated and it was difficult to imagine what had been.
The south side of Maple between First and Second Avenues was home to a series of flimsy wood structures until after the turn of the 20th Century. A saloon was replaced by a feed mill and the rest of the block was dotted with tiny dwellings, sometimes punctuated by a tent here and there. Outhouses were positioned near the alley to the south.
Dodge City Poultry and Egg Company was purchased by the new partnership of Paden, Thompson, and Buckley in February of 1921. The company planned to build a new facility as soon as they could find a suitable location.
The Dodge City Journal, February 3, 1921
Lots were purchased just east of the Woolwine and Connaway Transfer Company, which was located at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Maple Street. Construction finally began in January of 1923 on a two-story facility costing approximately $30,000.
The Dodge City Journal, December 21, 1922
The 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows Paden-Thompson Produce Company at 211 – 215 Maple Street. The main building was mostly brick and the complex also had separate frame structures for the office and storage. A wooden dock was added along the new rail siding which ran through the alley. A large creamery addition was built in the Spring of 1927 at a cost of $75,000.
The Paden-Thompson Produce Company merged with Omaha’s Fairmont Creamery Company in August of 1929 with plans for even greater expansion.
Dodge City Daily Globe, December 31, 1929
An open house was held at the facility covering 52,300 square feet on August 30, 1930.
The Dodge City Journal, August 28, 1930
In addition to processing poultry, Fairmont also produced milk, butter, ice cream, and cottage cheese.
The Dodge City Journal, August 28, 1930
The 1932 Sanborn shows the expanded fire-proof facility stretching from 205 to 215 Maple Street. Poultry was housed on the top floor with windows and a raised ceiling.
These flood photos from the 1940s show the southeast side of the Fairmont facility when they used what became the Casterline elevator as a feed mill.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
Fairmont Creamery Company became Fairmont Foods Company around 1947 to reflect the company’s expanded offerings.
This photo from June of 1965 shows the Fairmont building standing tall east of Second Avenue.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
After the flood of 1965, the area along Second Avenue where the transfer company had been located was used as Fairmont’s loading lot.
Photographer Unknown
Steffen Dairy Foods Company bought the Fairmont facility in the Fall of 1979.
The Wichita Eagle, November 6, 1979
Steffen vacated the plant and listed it for sale in 1982. The property changed hands a few times but it was built for a specific purpose and bringing it up to code would have been virtually impossible.
The loading area finally hosted a used car lot for Co-Ed Motors beginning around 1988.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Dodge City Daily Globe Collection
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Dodge City Daily Globe Collection
The vacant Fairmont Creamery facility was demolished by Gladden Excavating, Inc. in February of 1995.
Dodge City Daily Globe, February 25, 1995
A new NAPA Auto Parts building was constructed on the lot around 2008. It’s a metal building positioned right up against the narrow sidewalk, most of which appears to be the old driveway for the loading docks.
This is how the site of the imposing Fairmont Creamery looks today:
I agree that the Fairmont facility probably needed to be demolished. It would have been great to see a replacement which complemented the historic neighboring structures but I fully understand the financial considerations. That doesn’t mean I have to like them.
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I was a Sunnyside kid, just like my mother and my grandmother. My great-grandfather would have been a Sunnyside kid if the school had been built earlier. In Merritt Beeson’s day, school was held wherever there was space because the dedicated school buildings were overflowing with students.
Indeed, the original South Side School met in a store building during the mid-1880s at what is now 208 S Second Avenue. A Santa Fe land office building was later moved to the current Sunnyside site and it was used until around 1890 when it was sold and moved to the Mayrath farm. That left South Dodge without a school for several years. This was around the time of the exodus from the townsite of South Dodge so that makes sense.
The area south of the river began growing again and by 1911 parents were considering establishing a rural district if Dodge City couldn’t accommodate them.
The Dodge City Kansas Journal, July 21, 1911
The Dodge City district was able to provide a building on the same Sunnyside site and by the Fall of 1912, it was “practically overflowing.” An addition was approved in July of 1913.
Chalkboard, May 1981
The students kept coming so voters approved a $10,000 bond for a new South Side School in April of 1920.
The Dodge City Journal, April 8, 1920
Construction began later that year and students moved to the new building, which they renamed Sunnyside School, in the Spring of 1921. The upper floor had four classrooms and the basement held a playroom and assembly hall. In the beginning, only three of the classrooms were used but a fourth teacher was added by 1924.
Postcard courtesy Ford County Historical Society
This photo has been through some things but that’s my grandmother, Irene Beeson (shielding her eyes) with her class on the front steps of the school. It was taken around 1926 or 1927.
A new addition was built around 1927 and by 1928, Sunnyside had seven teachers for 199 students.
Dodge City Daily Globe, December 12, 1928
The population continued growing and another large addition was promised around 1946 but it took a few years to break ground. Construction was underway in 1950 for a massive project which included a new combination gymnasium/auditorium/cafeteria, kitchen, kindergarten room, music room, etc. The dedication was finally held on February 25, 1952.
Dodge City Daily Globe, February 25, 1952
Another addition was approved in June of 1958 and I believe this was for four more classrooms and new restrooms which were added on the west side of the school in 1959. A wing was also added at the southwest end at some point.
Side note: I was so jelly when I learned my mother took her pony to school for show and tell.
Enrollment kept increasing and by the time I began kindergarten in the Fall of 1980, we were stashed in a mobile classroom at the south end of the school. There were just so many kids. It was a good thing we had an enormous playground because we needed that space!
This is how Sunnyside looked when I started school. I remember using the bike rack.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
The district made plans to replace the original section of the school in 1981 and of course, had to figure out the funding. They also had to find classroom spaces for the displaced students. During the 1981-82 school year, additional time was tacked onto our school days so we could end our year a few weeks early. That allowed the demolition and reconstruction project to get underway.
Dodge City Daily Globe, May 27, 1982
The lower grades continued to attend Sunnyside throughout construction of the addition. Some classes were held in the gymnatorium and the older kids were possibly sent to Richland Valley, which was vacant by that time.
The new addition with those fancy cursive letters was dedicated on May 15, 1983. I don’t remember much about how it looked inside but I do remember the new school smell. The hallways were like a maze. I don’t know how I ever made it to Mrs. Roesti’s fourth grade classroom.
Dodge City Daily Globe, May 11, 1983
The new classroom space still wasn’t enough and several of us were bussed to Richland Valley for fifth and sixth grades. Since that time, the west end of Sunnyside School has been utterly transformed by multiple additions.
This is how Sunnyside School looks today:
I’m old enough to remember when certain people thought they could close Sunnyside after building Beeson Elementary. It’s nice to see the *still* growing population of South Dodge continuing to prove them wrong.
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Sometimes people ask me if I’m ever going to run out of buildings to write about. Probably not! The challenge is the “then” photo or in this case, the engraving. I’ve wondered about the Sunset Roller Mills for quite some time and it turns out the facility actually didn’t start as a roller mill at all.
Newspapers had been regularly nagging about the need for a flouring mill by 1878. H. F. May and Company of Decatur, Illinois purchased land for this purpose from R. W. Evans in January of 1879.
Ford County Globe, January 14, 1879
Construction was in progress by March and the mill equipment arrived that April. The building was completed in May and Dodge City Flouring Mills ground their first wheat on June 11, 1879. There were three runs of stone burrs; two were used for wheat and one for corn.
Dodge City Times, July 5, 1879
Oliver Marsh bought half interest in the business in March of 1882 and purchased additional shares that September. H. F. May & Co. was dissolved effective November 16, 1882 and the facility was operated by O. Marsh & Co.
Ford County Globe., January 2, 1883
Improvements were made in July of 1883 to double processing capacity. In November of 1883, F. M. Reamer bought half interest and the new firm was called Marsh & Reamer. That partnership was dissolved in February of 1884. Marsh then sold the operation to George M Hoover in July of 1884.
The 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows Dodge City Mills as an inset without a definite location. It just shows the four-floor frame structure directly south of the railroad tracks with no exposure on the east side. The smutter was located in the basement with grinding on the first floor, bolting on the second floor, and cleaning on the third floor.
In March of 1885, work was underway to replace the stone burrs with rollers to increase production capacity. The name was changed that summer to Sunset Flouring Mill.
The Dodge City Times, August 6, 1885
Or Sun-Set Mills. It depended on who was creating the display ads.
The Globe Live Stock Journal, September 1, 1885
The 1887 Sanborn shows the mill at the west end of South Front Street. Yes, Virginia, there were two Front Streets. If Pala Dura (now 7th Avenue) had been a through-street, it would have run right through the middle of the property.
This engraving shows the mill with a rail siding to the north, a wagon loading dock to the south, and a warehouse to the west.
Hand-Book of Ford County, Kansas, 1887, courtesy Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection
The Sunset Roller Mills buildings were destroyed by a fire on April 8, 1890, presumably due to a spark from a Santa Fe locomotive. It was a total loss and despite Hoover’s substantial investment, he carried no insurance on the property. By this time, the Rock Island line ran to the southeast of the building and several railroad ties were burned.
There was immediate talk about rebuilding, but not by George Hoover. Instead, Chalk Beeson recruited Gund and Ballard of Nebraska to establish a new mill in 1891. This facility was constructed south of the Santa Fe Depot.
Hoover’s property sat empty for several years, aside from a couple small frame railroad structures. Finally, the site was selected by the Farmers’ Elevator and Supply Company for a new grain handling facility in March of 1906.
The Globe-Republican, March 29, 1906
The foundation was completed in early May and operations commenced in August of 1906.
The Journal-Democrat, August 24, 1906
By November, the elevator was shipping an average of two cars of wheat daily.
The Journal-Democrat, November 16, 1906
The 1911 Sanborn shows the ironclad wood frame Farmers’ Elevator situated north of the power plant on West Santa Fe Trail Street. A coal shed was located at the southwest end of the rail siding. The office and scales were located just to the northeast of the elevator. This map includes a rare error; The year of construction is incorrectly shown as 1905.
The company began selling Colorado coal in 1909.
The Dodge City Kansas Journal, May 7, 1909
That July, the best wheat tested at 63 pounds per bushel and the company was paying $1.06 per bushel. People were excited!
In June of 1915, it was announced that Farmers’ Equity Union bought the elevator effective July 1 of that year.
Dodge City Daily Globe, June 1, 1915
However, Dodge City Cooperative Exchange was formed June 21, 1915 and that entity actually operated the facility. The 1918 Sanborn shows the Dodge City Cooperative Exchange with additional storage structures along the Rock Island rail siding.
The string of buildings along the rail siding were improved and consolidated over the years. A new concrete elevator was built in 1941 and the old facility was used as a feed mill.
The old elevator was destroyed by a fire on November 9, 1942.
Dodge City Daily Globe November 10, 1942
Dodge City Daily Globe November 10, 1942
Dodge City Daily Globe November 10, 1942
It contained approximately 20,000 bushels of barley, milo, kafir, and other feed grains. Very little was able to be salvaged for use as hog feed.
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
Photo courtesy Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection
New feed mill excavations began in February of 1943 for a structure reportedly measuring 32 x 42 feet and 95 feet tall. After many decades of ownership by Dodge City Cooperative Exchange, the facility is now operated by Pride Ag Resources.
This is how the site of the Sunset Roller Mills looks today:
I never cease to be amazed by all the places I’ve walked or driven past over and over for decades and never stopped to think about how they got there. Fascinating connections to history really are all around us.
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