404 W 9th--the Dillion House

404 W. Ninth—the Dillon House

               

                The after nearly a century the stone lions still stand guard to greet visitors at the Dillion House, at 404 W. Ninth.  The House, once billed by newspapers as “Topeka's first SuperHome” sits empty except for the occasional legislative function, and waits for something to happen. 

                The State of Kansas became the owner of the House in 1998, trading a  parking lot in exchange for the House to the then owner, the First Presbyterian Church.  Shortly after it's acquisition a committee was formed to evaluate and restore the House for State entertaining, but this never got off the ground as the Governor's Mansion restoration was a higher priority.  At this time it was thought that approximately $1.2million would be needed to restore the House. 

                The Dillon House was the dream home of Hiram Price and Susie Dillon. Hiram Price Dillon was educated as an attorney but retired early upon the inheritance a comfortable fortune from his father, a corporate attorney whose clients included the robber baron Jay Gould.  Susie Finley Brown Dillon was  the daughter of a United States Senator from Illinois.  Susie came to Topeka in 1873 to live with her sister Annie Sweet (the Sweet Hotel chain, their mansion was at 4th and Topeka Blvd, remains of which can be seen at the Topeka Room at the Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library).  Hiram came to Topeka 1874 to practice law.  Susie and Hiram were married in 1878.  They had one son, John Forrest (Jack) who was born in Topeka in 1880.

                In 1910, the Dillon's traded their house at 919 Harrison and an undisclosed amount of cash to Topeka publisher George Crane for his house which stood upon two lots at 404 W. 9th---directly across from the Capital.  Crane's house was razed in1911 and the building of the 12,360 square foot, yellow brick, Italian Renaissance Revival that was to be Susie Dillon's entree to Topeka society commenced. An architect from New York was hired to design the House and Henry Bennett (the builder of the Landon State Office Building, the Devon Apartments and the original builder/owner of the Governor's Mansion at 8th and Lincoln)was the builder.  The House cost $90,000 to build, at a time when the average wage earner was making $40 to $50 per month.

                The House has 10 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, a reception hall, a main library on the 2nd floor and a gentleman's law library on the third floor, a music room,   a glass enclosed summer parlour, and a kitchen.  It was the first private home in Topeka to have a  private elevator and in-house telephone system.  Some of the House's outstanding features were:  8 fireplaces (6 of which remain), a 12-foot wide grand stairway, multiple Tiffany windows depicting British authors and scenes from poetry, a highly carved gesso (gesso is a technique in which intricate reliefs are been built by applying mulitpule layers of gypsum)ceiling in the main library, a two-story portecochere and solarium with fountain that faced the Capital building (which has been enclosed) and of course the two stone lions which came from Hiram Dillon's parents house at Fall Hills, New Jersey. 

                A matching four-car garage was at the back of the property.  It housed Mr. Dillon's 7-seat Packard sedan, and Mrs. Dillon's Thomas Flyer landou sedan, and had a turntable.   The turntable was necessary for backing because of space constraints.  The garage has been torn down, but Mrs. Dillon's landau with backseat passenger controls was donated to the Kansas State Historical Museum. 

                The Dillon's had the best of everything, the walls were paneled in quartersawn oak and adorned with tapestries, the grand piano that was imported from France was gold-leafed rosewood, there were multiple sets of antique crystal, china and silver,  and linen bedsheets that measured 15'x7'.  Lavish parties were held at the house often featuring famous out-of-town musicians and the motto of the house “None come too early, None stay too late” is carved above the entry fireplace.  At it's peak it took 10 employees, 7 women and 3 men to run the House.  (One, a nurse/secretary/nanny, Emma Ward,  remained in the Dillon family employ until her death in the 1960s). 

                Hiram Dillon died in 1918, but Susie and their son Jack and his family continued to live in the House until 1941.  Upon Susie's death in 1941 the house was sold to American Home Life Insurance Co..   At this time whatever heirlooms the family did not want were sold at auction.  A large number of the library's collection is said to have been bought by the former Kansas Governor Chester Woodring, and the gold-leafed piano was purchased by the City of Topeka and used for many years at the Municipal Auditorium.  Susie's Thomas Flyer, several paintings, sculptures, china, a silver tea service and a collection of Native American artifacts are part of the permanent collection of the Kansas State Historical Society. 

                American Home Life Insurance owned the house until 1970, when it was purchased by the First Presbyterian Church for use as a communtiy house, Sunday school and day care.  During American Home's ownership the portecochere and the solarium were enclosed, and during First Presbyterian's tenure a fireplace was removed and the garage was razed in 1994, but fundamentally the house is still the same as when it was built.

Ruth Mohler

Out of the Kitchen---Ruth Mohler March 26th, 1881 to February 14th, 1957

                I first learned of Ruth Mohler when I bought a 1930’s brick and cedar sided English cottage on Medford Avenue.    Its storybook style charm had me as soon I walked in the arched front entry onto a screened in porch.   The house was in an estate, it had been owned for years by a Washburn professor, and although it was in need of some serious work, it had as they say “good bones” and a good feel.  My husband and I plunged in. Over the course of several years while I worked on the house and got to know it, I developed a deep respect for it and its builders, with its three course plaster, which once the wall paper was removed was still smooth as porcelain, the corners  still square, the windowsill level.  It was a well-made and well cared for home.   All this lead me to want to know more about the craftsman who had built it.  My first stop in researching was the building permits file at the Kansas State Historical Society and there to my great surprise is where I learned of Ruth Mohler.

                Ruth Mohler was a real estate developer, land speculator and house builder.  The oldest daughter of one of Topeka’s most well-known surgeons, Dr. John McClintock, Ruth attended the College of the Sisters of Bethany, the Episcopalian girl’s school featured a curriculum in the classics and Latin that went from Kindergarten through the second year of college.  She had traveled to Europe, and was possibly the first woman in Topeka to drive, often racing the fire department in her father’s Great Smith automobile.  By the 1920s Ruth had married Jacob Mohler, Kansas Secretary of Agriculture and had raised three children and was ready for another challenge.  It is said that she took up designing and building homes as a hobby, “Indeed, I had no thought that I was entering upon a business career….It all came about quite naturally.  There is probably not a woman in the world who has not longed to try her abilities in some money making way and enjoy business activity outside her home.  I had always wanted to do so, but I had small children and there was plenty to do to care for them.  As I grew older, the usual business ventures in which women engage, such as a tearoom, millinery or gift shop, did not appeal to me.”  (KC Star January 2nd, 1927, Successful as a Home-Make she becomes a Successful Home-builder the vision of Mrs. J.C. Mohler of Topeka helped her to enter a profitable business career).

                Mrs. Mohler began her business by selling two lots by Central Park  that her father had given her, then she bought other lots speculatively on the edge of the city and sold them at a profit, and with this capital she built a house on a lot that her sister owned, they sold it, and Ruth cleared a small profit.  Ruth Mohler had found her calling and had come out of the kitchen.   Her early houses were designed by the local architect W.M. Glover, and the foreman was Mr. Easter, later Clyde Smalley worked as her construction supervisor, with Ted Greist as architect. 

                Ruth is known for her development of the country Club addition which lies between Topeka Blvd and  Fillmore from 27th to 29th and features houses in the English Country Cottage style.  Among Ruth’s other developments are the Randolph neighborhood, she bought the land, selling off a large tract to the school board (on which Randolph school was built) , lots to developers and building on the rest herself.  My journey with Ruth began there, my home on Medford was one of Ruth’s early houses. 

Some of Ruth Mohler builds:

1111 SW 15th     Topoeka State Jouranl Jan. 8, 1927

Kappa Sigma House WU

Florence Crittendon Home

Phi Delt House WU

2051 Granthurst

Many houses in the Country Club Addition, and some in the Randolph neighborhood

Kansas Aviation Timeline

1899 – Gabbey Airship Company in Rossville (it is not known if anything was ever produced)

1900 – Carl Dryden Browne opened a airplane factory in Freedom, Kansas.  A model was built and he applied for patents but never produced a working plane.  In 1902 the factory closed.

1908 – Ray Knabensue’s airship flies a few hundred feet at Wichita’s Peerless Prophets street fair.

1908— H. C. Call’s Aerial Navigation Company of Girard, produced 14 aircraft but none of them ever flew due to unscientific design

1909 --  William Purvis and Charles Wilson in Goodland formed the Goodland Aviation Company to design and build helicopters.  Was said to have achieved “tethered bounce” (p.3  Bourne on the Southwind) but never flew.  The company folded in 1911.  This is thought to be the first rotary-winged aircraft ever patented, and is a predecessor to the helicopter.

1910 – Multiplane limited of Atchison, produced model  but never a working aircraft

1910—JC Mars flies from Topeka to Kansas City in a Curtiss aircraft.

Sept. 2, 1911—A.K .Longren’s pusher biplane “The Topeka’ flies 6 miles—the first flight in Kansas by a Kansas made plane. 

Nov. 17, 1912 –Phillip Billard  (“Birdman”) flies over the city of Topeka in a Longren built and designed plane at 75 mph and at a height of  625 ft.  (the plane is at KSHS)

1911—Clyde Cessna flies a modified kit plane

1919 –E. M. Laird Company of Wichita produces 43 airplanes, “The Laird Limousine” and “The Swallow” 

1919—Longren Aircraft produces 6 aircraft ‘’The Topeka” and “The Kansas” among them.

1924—Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech form Travel Air Manufacturing.  

1927 – Cessna leaves Travel Air to form Cessna Aircraft Co.  First monoplane was the “Phantom” and it flew on August 13^th

1932 – Beech Aircraft Company is founded by Walter and Olive Beech.  Model 17 the “Staggerwing” is produced.

1934 –Boeing is founded (Wichita)

1937—Beech Aircraft introduces the Model 18 “Twin Beech” which is produced for 33 years.

1940s—Beechcraft produces 7,400 airplanes for the U. S. armed forces. 

1947—Model 35 the Beech Bonzana a high performance, single engine, business airplane is introduced.  Holds record for continuous production.

1952—Javelin Aircraft Wichita

1956 – Helio Aircraft Company of Pittsburg

1955—First Cessna 170, a four-place tailwheel plane with a 145 horsepower Continental engine, which becomes known as the Skyhawk flies.  The Skyhawk becomes the most widely produced light aircraft in history.

1963 –Learjet, Wichita