(Editor’s Note: Following are excerpts from the Marion Record with information copies as printed.)
Copied from the June 24, 1887 Marion Record.
Marion is justly entitled to be called the City of Parks. Billings Parks and Central Park, both in the city limits, surrounded by rapidly developing “additions,” have long been the pride of our people and the envy of neighboring towns. Then there is the Mineral Springs Park, and the Inter-State Park, (near the foundry) both promising candidates for popular favor.
But if it is possible to elipse these in beauty and attractiveness, the lovely resort now being fitted up for public uses by Mr. J.M. Wishart at the foot of the pretty residence thoroughfare—Walnut street—will do it. Sitting in a popular up-tow resort the other day, namely Camman & Wood’s booming real estate office, listening to the cadence of Mr. Wood’s musical voice, something, possibly the name of that gentleman, turned our conversation to Marion’s wonderful woodlands, and ended in Mr. J.M. Wishart, our new foundry man, proposing a ride to the pretty Park alluded to in the last paragraph above. A handy telephone soon called on of Frank Bown’s Eclipse “rigs” and away we went. (P.S.—Wood is to pay $1.25 for the above reference to him.)
The beautiful park which we have taken the liberty of calling “Wishart’s Woodland,” is truly a beautiful place. It contains about four acres, is almost surrounded by the Luta, and is studded with a fine growth of timber. A nice footbridge spans the stream, affording an easy access to the bower of beauty beyond. The park has been thoroughly cleaned, the trees have been trimmed and white-washed, the rubbish has been burned, seats have been provided here and there, and the whole place made to look much as Eden must have appeared six thousand years ago. There are doubtless old settlers here to whom a visit to this Park will be a revelation—so little have they dreamed of its existence, shut off, as it has been, from the town by the Luta and obscured by thick underbrush. Indeed, in this as in many other particulars, our own people do not realize how bountifully blessed is Marion.
Copied from the August 26, 1887, issue of the Marion Record.
Central Park
Mr. Levi Billings, the owner of Central park, has had a surveyor at work this week laying off the same into town lots, preparatory to putting the property into the market. The park is no pecuniary profit to the owner in its present shape, and Mr. Billings cannot be expected to let the capital it represents lie idle, yielding him no interest whatever.
People say, and properly too, that it would be a shame, a public calamity, to cut the park up into lots, and thus forever destroy it as a place of pleasure resort, but who that says this, would be willing to hold such property for public use as a mere matter of sentiment?
We doubt if there is another town in Kansas endowed by nature with a park so beautiful and so fortunately located as this one. Situated right in the heart of the city, yet interfering in no way with the demands of business or the convenience of the people, it is a possession which is the pride of every thoughtful citizen.
Residents of other towns covet it and envy fortunate Marion its possession. But, we are about to lose it, and the practical question which the Record wishes to propound is, can it be saved to the public, and if so, how?
Mr. Billings delayed action in the matter last fall on petition of citizens who hoped to get a law passed authorizing the city to purchase the property, but from some cause, no such law was secured.
A general bill was passed, however, allowing townships to invest in public parks, and under this law Centre township might buy this property, and hold it at least until the city could be empowered to purchase it.
If a suitable arrangement could be made with Mr. Billings before he disposes of any lots, the Record would be glad to see it done. Who will move in the matter?
Copied from the Sept. 11, 1941, issue of the Marion Record.
Miscellaneous “first” items regarding Marion County History
The first settlements in Marion County, as far as we have been able to learn, were made by French people, who came to the southeast corner of the county in 1858. The name of Alfonse Bichet, one of these earliest settlers, was long connected with the life of the county in both private and public way.
In 1860, a party of settlers came to the present site of Marion. Among them were Wm. H. Billings, Wm. P. Shreve, George Griffith, and their families and we believe some others, but we are unable to find records at present to accurately name them.
The spring in the Marion park was where they first set their camp in the spring of 1860.
In the spring of 1864, the first school house of School District No. 1 was erected, a log cabin just to the north of the present town of Marion. Miss Rebecca Shreve (later Mrs. Edson Baxter) was the teacher. There are some who say that a temporary school was taught by a Miss Wentworth, who came from Cottonwood Falls and taught in a lean-to on the side of the home of ESP. Waterman, near town, but we have found no documentary reference to that effect.
Marion County was organized in 1865. The county was a big one. It extended to the present south line of Kansas and to the west line of the state, as did also School District No. 1. Taxes were collected when anything could be found to tax, as far west as Dodge City.
Lank Moore started the first store in Marion in 1866. A stone building which stood not so many years ago on the site of the building at First and Main, south side, housed this early business.
The Commercial House, a log building on the site of the present Elgin Hotel, was the town’s first hotel. It was run by Mr. J.W. Brown.
The first board of county commissioners was composed of W.H. Billings, T.A. Wise, and Levi Billings. This board divided the county into three townships, Marion township which took in about all of the north half of the county; Cedar, to the southeast which was the smallest of the three, and Santife (Unknown name-this may be a typographical error)) which comprised the southwest portion.
The original county was square, the corners not being cut out as in the present county.