Kropp PC 12035N, Jackson Park, Atchison, Kansas (1930)

Text:

Jackson Park, Atchison, Kans. -- 1 (black text)

 

Notable Landmarks:

Jackon park (established 8/1/1913)

List of landmarks found at the Atchison History project.

 

History

Sheffield Ingalls 1916 book History of Atchison County, Kansas (public domain) has this entry about Z. E. Jackson, for whom the park was named in 1913 (p 356):

 

ZAREMBA E. JACKSON.

The measure of a living citizen is his genuine worth to his community.

If he unselfishly strives to make his home city a better place in which to live,

and does something by which he will long be remembered, as of lasting good,

he has accomplished a task well worth while. While every town and city can

boast of such individuals who are striving to do things in behalf of the public

welfare, there are not a great number who can act without any ulterior motive

and without desire to bring pecuniary reward to themselves. Of the class

of better citizens mentioned as doing things for the betterment of the condition

of the citizenry, Z. E. Jackson, attorney of Atchison, occupies a prominent

place in the city. Gifted as an attorney, upright in all of his dealings

with his fellow men, interested to a high degree in the welfare of his fellowcitizens,

he has striven imselfishly to do good. Jackson Park, named after

this gentleman, represents the culmination of one of his dreams and years

of endeavor to create a breathing place of woodland beauty and a public

playground of which the city may well be proud.

 

Z. E. Jackson was born in Maryville, Mo., September 23, 1872, and

is a son of Judge Horace Mortimer Jackson, late of Atchison, and a review

of whom appears in this work. He came to Atchison with his parents when

six years of age. He received his primary education in the public schools of

Atchison and afterward studied for two years in Midland College. He then

matriculated in the Universit)- of Illinois, with the intention of preparing

himself to become an electrical engineer. After studying for two years in

the Illinois university, he abandoned his original intention and returning to

Atchison, entered his father's law office in 1893. He studied stenography

without a regular instructor and prepared himself to take dictation, filling

the post of stenographer in his father's office while reading law. He studied

law under his gifted father's tutelage and was admitted to the bar in 1899.

being later admitted to practice in the higher State and federal courts. At

first he practiced alone and was then made a member of the law firm of

Jackson & Jackson. This firm was at first composed of Judge Horace M.

Jackson, and his son, Wilham A., and when William A., was elected

to the position of judge of the district court, it was composed

of Horace M. and his son, Z. E. Jackson. Mr. Jackson is local attorney

for the Home Building and Loan Association, and a director of the same concern.

He is the local attorney for the Santa Fe Railroad System and the

Burlington Railroad Company. He is also the legal adviser for several of

Atchison's corporations. Mr. Jackson has the reputation of being one of

the ablest and cleanest practitioners of the Atchison county bar who has

followed in the footsteps of Iiis illustrious father in never refusing counsel

or advice to a public official, religious denomination or to a charitable organization,

whether or not any fee was forthcoming—in fact, his office has always

been ready to give advice to applicants of the character of the foregoing

without charge or recompense of any kind. Mr. Jackson has never turned

away a client who had a meritorious cause, because of lack of funds, and in

this respect resembles his father in his manner of conducting his legal practice.

While Mr. Jackson is not a member of any particular religious denomination,

he has always been a liberal contributor to all movements winch ha\e had

for their intent the betterment of the community. He is owner of Atchison

real estate and farm lands in Jackson county, Kansas, to which he gives his

personal attention.

 

Mr. Jackson's career as a public official began in 1901, when he was

elected police judge of the city and again elected in 1903, after which he

declined to again become a candidate for the office. His career as police

judge was marked by uniform fairness and impartiality, tempered with kindness

in dealing with the city's minor malefactors who were brought before

him for judgment in his official capacity. From 1905 to 1909 he was assistant

city attorney, and in 1912 was elected to the office of city attorney to

fill the unexpired term of Daniel S. Hooper, deceased. He served out the

unexpired term and declined to become a candidate in 1913, because of the

growing demands of his large law practice. While serving as city attorney

many important problems came up before the city for solution, such as

the telephone merger, and the renewal of the city's contract with the Atchison

Light and Power Company. His wise advice and counsel steered the city

government safely over the shoals, incidental to the settlement of these questions.

Mr. Jackson found the city finances in bad shape, as related to the

renewal of the lighting contract, a condition of affairs brought about by his

predecessor's long illness preventing him from attending to business, and he

immediately set to work to unravel the tangle and brought order out of

chaos to the advantage of the city. Another matter to which he gave considerable

attention while city attorney was the intercepting sewer problem

which he handled satisfactorily.

 

Mr. Jackson is a prononnced Republican in his political views, having

become a convert to Republican principles when he became of age. a decisionwhich

he was influenced to make by the panic of 1893. He is affiliated with

the Knights of Pythias.

 

He was united in marriage with Miss Maud K. Smith, April 30, 1903.

Mrs. Jackson was born in Burlington, Iowa, a daughter of Lewis T. and

Theresa June (Chadwick) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and

the latter a native of Canada. Lewis T. Smith was born in 1846 in West

Lebanon, Pa., and is one of the old-time railroad men of the early days.

Mr. Jackson's creed of living is best expressed in his own- words, "I believe

that every man should do something for the community in which he lives,

besides getting a living out of it." It was the practice of his creed which led

to the beautiful park in the southeast part of the city being named in his

honor, over his personal objections. The Atchison Globe says of his connection

with the building and equipping of the park in the issue of August 18,

1913, in part, after quoting Mr. Jackson's creed, as above given:

"That explains the principal reason why he (Z. E. Jackson) has taken

such an interest in the park which now bears his name. Another reason is he

likes to dig in the ground, and investigate things as he finds them in the woods

and wild places. He is also handy at improving on Nature here and there

without spoiling the general effect.

 

"Seven or eight years ago. after spending many of his boyhood and young

manhood days in Jackson Park, he saw the possibilities of it for a beautiful

playground for young and old. He invited several of his South Atchison

neighbors to meet in his law office one night and a park improvement association

was formed. In order to start a fund for improvements in the park

each member present put up five dollars. Other citizens were invited to contribute

and thus a small fund was raised.

 

"That proved to be the redemption of City Park, a tract of fifty-six acres

of woodland which cost the city $7,500 about thirty years ago.

 

"With the few hundred dollars raised by private subscription it was shown

what might be accomplished if the necessary funds were forthcoming. From

the sale of a park bond, issued when the city was trying to put the coal mine

on its feet, the committee secured $500 which was used in replacing the dam

which makes the lake and other improvements.

 

"If effective service is to be rewarded, then the city council made no

mistake when it acted on the petition presented to it, asking that the name of

City Park be changed to Jackson Park in honor of Z. E. Jackson, a young

man who decided that tlie making' of a park was the debt he owed the community

where he makes his living."

 

The action referred to in the foregoing was taken August 1, 1913, when

the official name of Jackson Park was given to the tract in honor of Mr. Jackson.

Besides his work of superintending the park and bringing about its redemption

with the assistance of other public spirited men, Mr. Jackson and

others secured a ten-acre tract of land lying between the original fifty-six

acres and the Missouri river, which has been added to and is now a part of

the park.

Done