By Josephine Grammer Munson
Geary
County Historical Society
EDITORIAL
NOTE: Today’s article is the second in a
four-part series researched and written by long-time Geary County resident
Josephine Munson on the millionaire Chicago industrialist C.P. Dewey, and his
family, who in the early years of the 20th century made quite a mark
in this part of Kansas. Mrs. Munson’s
interest in the Dewey’s stems from her early recollections of family members
who lived in Junction City.
* * * *
In
1899 C.P. Dewey started planning a resort at Eureka Lake, the small body of
water that once occupied the area where the Manhattan Airport is located
today. He had been fascinated by the
beauty of area since coming to Manhattan, and wanted a special summer resort as
a suitable place to entertain his business friends and local members of the
community as well.
An
article printed in the Kansas City Journal in September of 1904 had much to say
about this Dewey venture. “ A summer
resort in Kansas? The very thought of
such a thing seems preposterous. To go
to central Kansas, where the heat is so great that the ground warps in the
summer time, and only cool places are in the cyclone cellars—what an anomaly!
“Further,
a summer resort run not for money-making, but for pleasure; a summer resort
operated at an actual loss—whoever heard of such a thing?
“Yes,
Kansas has a summer resort; one that is unequaled between the seacoast and the
mountains. It is beautiful as a dream,
as delightful as a mirage, and as cheap as staying at home. It has all the comforts that one can
imagine. It is run for the pleasure of
the proprietor, and he doesn’t care a rap whether he ever has a resorter, or
not, except that he hates to know that people are missing a good thing. Apparently, the sole idea of the owner is to
make the place the very best and most delightful in the United States.
“And
yet all of this out on the plains of Kansas, with no reason for its existence,
save a fancy on the part of the man who made it, and his delight in his own
creation!
“Why does Mr. Dewey do this? Because he enjoys it. With more money than he knew how to spend, he
has picked out this little lake, built this elegant resort here, and here from May
to November he entertains his friends.
He asks them down whenever they feel like coming; if he doesn’t happen
to be there, it makes no difference, as far as hospitality is concerned. Mrs. Holyoke has free rein, and she is an
admirable substitute. And all the time
Mr. Dewey is wiring Manhattan, sending out the word by messenger from his
stables there, or telephoning suggestions for the comfort of the people. One message may be to see that the ponies are
put at their disposal, or asking if they had tried the bathing and the launch. Almost every day there are friends there,
whether he is there or not. The place is
theirs. If strangers come, they get the
same treatment. He tells the matron,
‘Here’s the place, run it. It’s for my
friends; others are welcome. Don’t worry
about the expense. I don’t care if I
lose.’
“Everything
is free for the whole town. The boys and
girls revel in it; the young people have dancing and swimming parties. One fall Mr. Dewey gave a great farmers'
picnic for three days. He sent out 2,500
invitations. No one could spend a cent,
but they could enjoy all the comforts of home.
The
original improvements C.P. Dewey made to the site consisted of an immense
three-story building, with a large dining room, fourteen sleeping rooms, a
billiard room and a kitchen, surrounded on three sides with a double-decked
veranda, occupied by hammocks and a variety of improved rockers and easy
chairs. Two beautiful private dining
rooms were extravagantly furnished with china and cut glass; and walls and
ceilings were illuminated with the richest wall paper and furnishing of all
kinds in keeping with the entire decor.
A
covered driveway protected the guests in their entrance to the building. A dancing pavilion boasting a 62 X 40-foot
floor, not including the large orchestra platform, was a prominent feature. A regulation bowling alley, a gravity hogback
toboggan slide, and a number of rowboats furnished great amusement for all who
visit the Beach. The use of all things
was open to the public.
The
residents of Manhattan and surrounding country were not alone in enjoying the
use of this pleasant summer resort.
Topeka, Kansas City, Junction City, Fort Riley, and other places were
represented during the season of 1902 at Manhattan Beach, the patronage that
year, far-exceeded the table and lodging capacity of the original structure.
Thus,
at the close of the 1902 season Mr. Dewey decided to improve his property to
meet the growing demands. By the summer
of 1903 these improvements were almost completed. To the main building Mr. Dewey added an annex
100 feet long and 40 feet wide, with a 12-foot veranda 160 feet long. The roof was supported by large round columns
covering the entire front of the annex.
This annex was joined to the original building by an octagon tower. In
the tower proper was an observation room about fifty feet from the ground,
which gave a beautiful view of the entire surrounding country. The tower had three rooms, one in each story,
making a grand total of sixty rooms in the annex.
The
first floor of the annex contained seventeen sleeping rooms and two
bathrooms. The second floor had thirty
sleeping rooms, while on the third floor eight rooms were fully lighted by
handsome dormer windows. The south wing
in the annex held the most unique accommodations in Kansas. Each room had a closet and the light and
ventilation were simply perfect. All
rooms in the annex and those in the tower had sand finish, which was tinted
with green, cream, and terra cotta. The
tower had a brick chimney 2 X 5 feet running from cellar to flag pole. The ground floor room in the tower had a
large old-fashioned wood fireplace. The
annex also featured a billiard room, and the dining room was enlarged to
conform to the other additions.
Along
with the annex, a second story addition of large proportions was added to the original
building. The lower room then became the
kitchen. It was large and commodious,
and almost solid glass on three sides.
The kitchen was fitted with a new double firebox and double oven
Majestic Range.
The
dancing pavilion had been re-floored with 21-inch maple wood flooring and when
rubbed down was touted as the smoothest floor to dance upon west of the
Missouri River.
At
night the entire grounds and buildings were illuminated by hundreds of electric
lights, the power being furnished by Mr. Dewey’s electric plant located in
Manhattan. Telephone connections with
Manhattan and long distance circuits were completed via the Dewey-Wareham
Telephone Company.
In
the absence of Mr. Dewey, this handsome and popular summer resort was under the
management of John E. Peaslee and the matron, Mrs. Holyoke. There was an efficient corps of domestic and
imported help, whom Mr. Dewey organized to make his Manhattan Beach Hotel on
Eureka Lake the most pleasant resort in the West. People living adjacent to Manhattan, either
upon the lines of the Union Pacific or Rock Island system, found it convenient
and inexpensive during the summer season to spend a week or two at Manhattan
Beach for everyone in the area was encouraged to take every opportunity to
spend their leisure in social enjoyment at Manhattan Beach.
The
Kansas City Journal of September 14, 1902 printed a detailed story on Dewey and
his Kansas holdings, including a vivid description of the amenities to be found
at Eureka Lake.
“Out on the
Union Pacific railroad seven miles beyond Manhattan, one sees a signpost, on
which is painted, ‘Eureka Lake’. It
stands stark beside the track; that is all, except that the cinder roadbed
exists a few feet farther alongside than usual.
And when the train is flagged and stops there and one is dumped off, one
is overcome by the sense of great desolation.
All around are flint hills and stone quarries, a few trees, and a field
or two. If you are expected, a prancing
four-in-hand of Shetlands, harnessed in red, to a tiny tow-seated trap, soon
pulls up and you are off over a dusty road.
“This
is Eureka Lake. If it be night, a great
blaze of light, away across the plains beckons.
Riding in the trap for a mile and a quarter you come to a stone water
tower beautifully proportioned. There
are walls surrounding flowerbeds of hydrangeas, coliantheas, and other
expensive flowers. Above the flowerbeds
stands the house with verandas and a porte cochere where a Negro in white
livery takes the baggage and helps one out of the trap.
“Inside
is the cool, refreshing parlor where one is greeted and made welcome. There are Navajo blankets on the floor, ice
water to drink, snowy linens, easy chairs, iron or brass beds, and screens on
the curtained windows. A whirling
electric fan cools the rooms, and electric lights illuminate every room.
“In
the great parlor there is woodwork of yellow pine and the floor is hard pine
polished like a mirror. Easy chairs are
everywhere with magazines, books and newspapers available for reading. A fine piano and pianola are available, a
writing desk with necessary supplies, and bowls of beautiful flowers decorate
the rooms. A Chinese gong sounds and
lunch is served in the dining rooms by dusky waiters. The tables glisten with beautiful china, cut
glass, and silver.
“Outside
there is a porch ten feet wide extending around on three sides. There are countless chairs of cane and wicker
upholstering, huge divans and swings with cool green cushions. A walk around the Lake on built up terraces
reveals the diving towers, water slides, boats, and swimming beaches. At the stable are Shetland ponies with
miniature carts and traps, as well as grown-up horses for riding, and inside
bowling allies and ping pong tables give plenty of opportunity for recreation.
“There
are 500 lights on the place which flood the dance hall and bowling allies, as
well as the walks and terraces, and make the place fairy-like at night. A great sign ‘Eureka Lake’ across the tower
particularly pleases Mr. Dewey.”
Charles
P. Dewey’s Manhattan Beach Resort at Eureka Lake should have stood for decades
as a memorial to the remarkable man who had the vision to do wonderful things
among the Flint Hills of Kansas. But,
alas, in a little more that a dozen years it was gone, the victim of a devastating
fire in 1916.
Today,
C.P. Dewey and his accomplishments are familiar to only a few in this
area. However, a century ago things were
quite different as attested to by this note carried in a local newspaper in May
of 1903:
“We
do not practice unwarranted commendation of any individual, but a fair
recognition of the many and modern improvements made by Mr. Dewey in and around
Manhattan, and the great amount of money he has and is paying for labor and
materials, entitles him to the favorable and friendly consideration of every
citizen of Riley County. We trust that
Mr. Dewey may live long to entertain his friends and the general public in his
elegant and beautifully arranged summer home on the banks of Eureka Lake.”
C.P.
Dewey would have only a year to fulfill this wish; he died unexpectedly in June
of 1904.
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| Photo courtesy of Kansas Memory |
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