Long ago on independence square (Denver: short-term, apartment complex, houses)

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Frank James came to Kansas City from St Louis to be by the side of Jesse James Jr during his trial. While in the area, he divided his time between the James residence on Tracy Street and with friends in Independence—perhaps at the Ralston place off Sterling Ave near present day Hill Park where he is buried.

When interviewed by a newspaper, Frank James stated he was a patriotic American and even had a son serving in the Army.

His only son was named Robert Franklin James, who had enlisted in St. Louis, perhaps in response to a call to arms for the Spanish American War. He was discharged a year and a half later.

This is the same man that introduced himself to me and my girlfriend in 1958 as Frank James, Jr. We were cruising a back area of Clay County trying to find the James Farm, found the drive way, and drove through a wooded area back to a secluded house and began thinking we should leave because we were on private property.

He came out to greet us and then showed us through the house. We were totally unaware that the place had been closed down for several years and he explained that he was going to be reopening the place to visitors.

He died a few months later at the end of 1958.


Of the several times, I have been back to Independence, I have wanted to go back out to the James farm and view the house again, including the part that was rehabbed--that part had been bombed by Pinkertons looking for Frank and Jesse and was condemned during our original visit. I have never been able to find the time to make the trip.

Today, that place is at 21216 Jesse James Farm Rd, Kearney, MO. Back then it was really in the boon docks.

The James Farm is 30 miles almost straight north of the Independence Square.


This is the entry gate.



In the fifties the road and this driveway were gravel. There were wall to wall trees around the entrance all the way back to the house. The house is a quarter mile back using the left road.


The right road goes to what appears to be an interpretive and entry place before going to the house.

Watkins Mill is nearby. We also visited that place in 1958 but had to climb across a barb wire fence and there was nothing there but a ruin at the time.

[WCHS'59]

Jesse James Jr’s grandmother, Zeralda, came from Clay County to visit the James family at 3402 Tracy. That address appears to be a vacant lot, today.

She was in town the night the Missouri Pacific train was robbed at around 9:45 pm. She testified in court about what she knew about Junior’s whereabouts that evening. She was asked to raise her right hand when sworn. But, all she could hold up was the stub of an arm. The arm had been blown off when Pinkerton detectives bombed her home. The blast also killed her young child.

Train robbery was a hanging offense. Missouri was one of just a few states that provided a death penalty for train robbery, according to a statement made by James A Reed.

Jesse James Jr was declared innocent on the first ballot by the jury. James A Reed, the prosecutor, then let all the other men awaiting trial for the same robbery go free declining to prosecute them—even though one man had confessed. That man was the gang member who had implicated Jesse James Jr. Reed then announced to reporters that “Jackson County was a good place to rob trains in, and that the peculiar industry of the county could flourish unmolested.”

In 1910, the gang member who implicated Jesse James Jr in the 1898 Missouri Pacific robbery told a St Louis newspaper that he had lied and Jesse James Jr was not in on the robbery.


Some observations about living in the KC area in 1898:

Jesse James Jr worked at the Armour Packing Company at age 15 before purchasing, at age 23, the cigar store in the county courthouse. When I was a kid, I knew a number of people who worked at Armour. I think it might have since gone out of business.

One was able to get a haircut at 7:30 pm on a Saturday night.

Kansas City had something called the Kansas City Metropolitan Police Department.

There was a city wide curfew each night at 9:00 pm. A horn blew signifying curfew. This was for everyone, not just children. How this affected night life I do not know but maybe there was very little back then except for break-ins or train robberies.

Jesse James Jr did not own a horse or buggy. He got around by riding the street car. If he had a long trip, he rented a horse. However, he did own what was called “wheels,” a bicycle, which he used for local trips.

[Mad Anthonie]

Rewinding for a moment...

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

It was huge at 382 acres.

It was covered with "blue grass rocks as big as houses."

It had a place called Bald Nob.

There were "thousands of trees," a 20 acre lake with steam powered boats, and a baseball field with bleachers.

There was also a bandstand and a restaurant.

Admission was free and uniformed watchmen regularly patrolled the grounds.

During a veterans celebration, 40,000 people passed through the park in two days.

The park had its sails knocked out when the Air line RR went to the new Fairmount Park and this park soon passed into history becoming something else.

What was the name of this park and what did it become?

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Washington Park became Mount Washington Cemetery. It was built by Willard Winner, namesake of Winner Road. His Dummy Line ran past the park.

I don't recall if this has been posted in our 700+ pages, here is the Dummy Line.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Rewinding for a moment...





I don't recall if this has been posted in our 700+ pages, here is the Dummy Line.

Called the dummy line because of the dummy locomotive.

A dummy locomotive was a steam unit enclosed in a passenger car.

Quote from web: "It was thought that the more familiar appearance of a coach presented by a steam dummy, as compared to a conventional engine, would be less likely to frighten horses when these trains had to operate in city streets. Later it was discovered that it was actually the noise and motion of the operating gear of a steam engine that frightened horses, rather than the unfamiliar outlines of a steam engine."

A dummy was the predecessor of the Doodlebug self propelled gasoline/diesel car.

I thought I read somewhere that a Missouri Pacific Doodlebug operated on the Lexington branch in its waning days.

Doodlebug:

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

Rewinding for a moment...





I don't recall if this has been posted in our 700+ pages, here is the Dummy Line.

I was wondering if that might be the depot at Maple and Osage. But maybe not.

There was no way to turn a locomotive in Independence and Independence was end of the line for this line. The locomotive would be pointing north away from end of track if it is Independence.

It might have backed all the way to Independence, maybe. I recall that all passenger trains backed into the St Louis train station from quite a ways out because all tracks ended at the station. It had "wye" turning tracks to allow the entire train to point backward into the station. KC Union station had thru tracks so there was no need to turn the train.

That passenger car on the rear looks rather strange, almost like an open air car. The conductor has passenger steps in place for both cars.

[WCHS'59]

This is the St Louis RR station of yesteryear. There are two large wyes in this photo and one smaller one that would allow an entire train to turn itself and go into the station backward. Wye is rr talk for "Y."

[WCHS'59]

Kansas City Union Station track arrangements.

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

I was wondering if that might be the depot at Maple and Osage. But maybe not.

There was no way to turn a locomotive in Independence and Independence was end of the line for this line. The locomotive would be pointing north away from end of track if it is Independence.

It might have backed all the way to Independence, maybe. I recall that all passenger trains backed into the St Louis train station from quite a ways out because all tracks ended at the station. It had "wye" turning tracks to allow the entire train to point backward into the station. KC Union station had thru tracks so there was no need to turn the train.

That passenger car on the rear looks rather strange, almost like an open air car. The conductor has passenger steps in place for both cars.

The track arrangement approaching the Air Line Terminus in Independence did not provide a turnaround, however, it would allow the engine to be moved from one end of the train to the other. Doing so would have it facing the wrong way. Perhaps they had an engine at each end of the train, just moving the crew to the appropriate engine.

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

Kansas City Union Station track arrangements.

It is a shame that a building was allowed to be built next to the Union Station, blocking all of the tracks that passed under the terminal. Amtrak is now back in the station, but had to build an outside walkway down the east side of the north wing, with outdoor stairs and elevator to drop to the track level. They have to use the first two tracks just north of the building.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by Mad Anthonie

The track arrangement approaching the Air Line Terminus in Independence did not provide a turnaround, however, it would allow the engine to be moved from one end of the train to the other. Doing so would have it facing the wrong way. Perhaps they had an engine at each end of the train, just moving the crew to the appropriate engine.

With this track arrangement, there is no way to get the locomotive to the other end of the train, whether pointed forward or backward.

All of the tracks are stubs or end of line.

Anywhere the cars would be dropped, there is no way to get the locomotive to the other end. A helper engine would be needed to move the cars into position and even then there would be no way for the the locomotive to turn around so it would be pulling backward.

If there were a thru siding, the locomotive could get to either end of the cars, but would still be facing backward when it pulled the cars back to KC.

On the other hand, there is a thru siding in the second map. There appears to be enough room for the locomotive to stop leaving the cars at the depot, then switching onto the siding and going to the end of the siding and switch to the main track and couple up at the other end of the train, but as you said it would be facing backward and pulling backward on the way to KC.