Where did they get those names?
The original town of Marceline, as deeded from the Santa Fe Town and Land Company was bounded on the north and south by Bisbee Street and Wells Street; on the east and west by Pine Street and Poplar Street. The first addition was northward to Barbour Street. The north-south streets were named by tree species, except that Kansas Avenue and Missouri Avenue symbolically lie on either side of the track “border”.
The east-west streets were all originally named for persons important to the Santa Fe at the time:
- Barbour: There were many Barbours in and about Santa Fe, NM; In the 1880’s one was a surveyor for the railroad.
- Bisbee: not recorded, but name of a city in Arizona.
- Booker: B.F. Booker, Chief survey engineer. One account says that Marceline was his daughter.
- Chicago Avenue and California Avenue lie on either side of Santa Fe Avenue and represent the name of the railroad builder – The Chicago, Santa Fe and California.
- Crocker: Charles S. Crocker of the Southern Pacific was related by marriage to the Demings of the Santa Fe.
- Coleman: [email us if you have information with references]
- Curtis: First Chief Clerk of the Santa Fe; was instrumental in preventing foreclosure on the railroad by diverting the sheriff and warning the company officers to hide.
- Gracia: Daughter of C. A. Sias, original town surveyor.
- Hauser: [email us if you have information with references]
- Howell: [email us if you have information with references]
- Lake: Kansas Trainmaster, H. R. Lake
- Ritchie: Santa Fe corporation attorney
- Truman: President Harry S. Truman. Original name of the street was Howe. The name was changed to avoid confusion with Howell. William Howe designed most of the truss bridges.
- Walker: Aldace Walker, Chairman 1886- 1889.
- Wells: A. G. Wells, Vice president/General manager
Thanks to Dennis Hurlbut for this information