In 1871, Dr. Henry Clay Tucker arrived in this area from Ohio and began practicing medicine. With no bridge across the Arkansas River, he often swam across to tend to patients west of the river.
On July 11, 1871, J. Hout Minnich and John Hufbauer filed a town plat for El Paso in Sedgwick County, Kansas. It established streets from Madison to Kay and from Water Street to Georgie Avenue, and business boomed.
In 1912, Oliver and Alice Smith began a family farm on 240 acres, including this current park land. In 1938, Robert and Mildred Smith took over the farm. In the 1950s, the Smith farm sold to build houses needed for the post-war baby boom. From 1953…
In March 1924, this red brick building opened as the third school at this site. It had 10 classrooms, study hall, small office, two modern lavatories and a gymnasium/auditorium. From 1924 to 1953, this was the only public school in town; high school…