Tracks Of Tragedy: Union Station and the Elevated Railway over Douglas

Wichita’s Union Station and the elevated tracks it connects to are among the Air Capital’s most iconic downtown landmarks. Their construction made travel downtown significantly easier, but also eliminated a death trap in the heart of the city.

The Wichita Beacon, Jun 12, 1912

The constant movement of trains across Douglas created traffic jams that made it nearly impossible for anyone to get across the road. The community wanted a solution, and discussions about elevating the railroad tracks (and building a fine Union Station) had been ongoing for years. But few were willing to attempt to force the railroad to do it.

In the early 1900’s, many Wichitans were badly injured or killed at what was once Wichita’s most dangerous intersection—the Santa Fe, Rock Island, Orient and Frisco crossings at Douglas.

This 1910 map shows Douglas along the bottom and 3 different train depots prior to the construction of Union Station and the elevated railway. There appear to be 11 different railroad tracks across Douglas within a few blocks of each other. Image source: John Matrow

On June 8, 1910, a train struck and killed two Wichita businessmen at the intersection. Nicholas Steffen, owner of Steffen-Bretch Ice and Ice Cream Company (now Hiland Dairy), was one of Wichita’s most successful and popular businessmen. His friend, Jesse Ellis, was a wealthy landowner and cattle rancher from nearby Leon, Kansas. The newspaper reported that both sustained significant head injuries and were “horrifically mangled” causing instant death.

On the fateful night of June 8, 1910, he and a companion paid the death penalty at the hands of a switch engine, as they were attempting, in the darkness, to cross the Santa Fe tracks at the intersection of that railroad and Douglas avenue. Neither of them having any knowledge of its approach, and without any thought of danger, they deliberately and innocently stepped to their death and were swept into eternity by the monster which bore down on them the moment they reached the track
Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history

The Wichita Beacon, Jun 11, 1910

Nick and Jesse were not the first to die at the intersection, but the deaths of these two men may have been the catalyst for Mayor Davidson to stop tiptoeing and begin forcefully demanding the quick construction of two major civic improvements and prominent Wichita landmarks: the elevated railway tracks over Douglas and Union Station. Nearly four years after their deaths, the project was complete.

Nick and Jesse were buried in adjoining lots at Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita, Kansas.

Nicholas Steffen

Nicholas “Nick” Steffen was Wichita’s ice cream man. He was the first commercial shipper of ice cream in the United States, and he created a convenient carton with handles for transporting ice cream, which meant Wichitans could enjoy ice cream at home for the first time.

Image source: KSGenWeb

Nick was born March 27, 1862 in Madison, Indiana to German immigrants Magdalena Klein & Nicholas Steffen. As a young boy he worked as a baker and learned about ice cream making. He moved to Wichita in his 20’s and started several businesses including the Indiana Bakery and Steffen’s Bakery and Restaurant in 1882 (later renamed the Bon-Ton Bakery and Restaurant). Nick delivered his baked goods and ice cream across Wichita.

Nicholas Steffen and the Steffen Bakery Wagon, 1882.
Image source: Wichita Photo Archives

Nick had huge success at his bakery and restaurant, and people especially loved his ice cream. In 1897 with partner W.H. Bretch, Nick started the company he would be most known for: the Steffen-Bretch Ice and Ice Cream Company. They produced 20 tons of ice per day and their cold storage concept was fascinating to Wichitans. The pair quickly expanded their business, and Steffen’s ice cream became a staple in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Steffen-Bretch Ice and Ice Cream Company, 1905.
Image source: Wichita Photo Archives

Nick retired from the active management of the ice cream business in 1905, but stayed on as an advisor and consultant. He purchased a 340-acre ranch near Leon, Kansas where he became acquainted with Jesse Ellis.

The night he was killed, he was meeting with Jesse in Wichita. He left a wife and four children.

Jesse Ellis

Quiet cattle rancher Jesse left less of a permanent mark than Nick, but he was known and respected in Wichita when he was alive. Jesse had a lot of money, and it’s said that he was so wealthy that he did not have to work.

Jesse Hampton Ellis was born July 6, 1849 in Adams county, Ohio to Hannah Cadwallader and Nathan Ellis. He was probably the youngest of six children. Jesse’s parents settled in Cass county, Missouri and he may have lived there with them. Jesse stepped into Kansas by purchasing 160 acres in Montgomery county in 1873.

Jesse’s land purchase agreement from 1873. Source: BLM GLO Records

Later, he purchased at least 140 acres of land in Cowley county and raised sheep there, next to 140 acres owned by his mother. He also had hundreds of acres across Butler county, including 800 acres in Logan township and some land in Hickory township.

Jesse married a woman named Hattie Florence Bridges in 1880 or 1887. I couldn’t find Jesse or Hattie on an 1880 census, and there is no 1890 census. One of Jesse’s obituaries stated he left behind a wife and a daughter. Mina Boland, wife of Ed Boland, was identified as Hattie’s daughter more than once.

Most records have Mina’s maiden name as Bean, not Ellis. There were Beans in Leon at the time, including a man named John Bean who had a daughter. But Mina’s social security record shows her father was John Beau, not John Bean. And John Bean’s daughter married a Bowen, not a Boland. Mina’s records also show that her mother’s name was Florence Bridgen. Could Mina be the daughter of Hattie Florence Bridges and a previous husband John Beau?

Census records show that Jesse and Hattie had servants, and they also had a summer home in Michigan where they spent at least one summer vacationing with Nick and his wife.

Augusta Journal, Sep 25, 1908

When Jesse died, his estate was worth $65,000 (about $2 million in 2024), and his widow was assessed the largest amount of inheritance tax paid in Butler county at that time, $1,950 (about $62,000 in 2024).

The Walnut Valley Times, Jul 15, 1910

Less than a month after Jesse’s death, Hattie went to the vacation home in Michigan that she owned with Jesse, accompanied by a family friend named Audine King, who drown shortly after their arrival.

Tracks of Tragedy

The railroad crossing at Douglas was once the busiest intersection in downtown Wichita. Most cities of Wichita’s size had a couple of railroads coming through town, but Wichita had five. Business was booming, and there was a lot of traffic in a tight area. Trains crossing Douglas all day and night to different depots and stations scattered around. Streetcars, regular cars, horses, and people on foot were traveling on Douglas. By the late 1900’s, huge traffic jams and monumental travel delays made elevating the railway and building a centralized railway station a daily topic of conversation.

“By elevating the tracks from Twelfth street to Kellogg street the trains would be enabled to maintain full speed through the business part of the city without endangering any one at street crossings.” The Wichita Eagle, Jan 1, 1907

The railroad companies didn’t want to pay to do the work, and few were interested in forcing them to, so not much progress was made. However, the citizens of Wichita were starting to experience more than traffic delays. By about 1909, elevated tracks seemed like less of a “nice-to-have” and more of a safety requirement. Near miss after near miss was reported at the Douglas avenue crossing, and quite a few people were killed.

There is no shortage of tragic stories at the Douglas avenue crossing prior to the elevation of the tracks. Injuries and deaths at the intersection were happening so often in the months leading up to Nick and Jesse’s deaths that citizens were constantly demanding through every available avenue that something be done about the death trap.

Eleven months before Nick and Jesse died. The Wichita Eagle, Jul 13, 1909

Ten months before Nick and Jesse died. The Wichita Eagle, Aug 26, 1909

Two months before Nick and Jesse died. The Wichita Beacon, Apr 14, 1910

Wichitans elected a new mayor, Charles Davidson, who promised to make elevating the tracks a priority. Davidson spearheaded many public improvement projects “on a scale scarcely dreamed of by the residents of Wichita,” and elevating the tracks at Douglas and constructing Union Station was one of those public improvement projects that was important to him. There was a lot of back and forth between him and the different railroad officials about the elevation of the tracks. But like some other officials, he was also interested in keeping the peace with the railroad companies.

Davidson somehow managed to strike a deal with the railroad companies. Four months before Nick and Jesse were killed, it was reported that the Union Station and elevated tracks were “assured.” Mayor Davidson had been working hard negotiating with the railroad companies, and he was going to get it done.

The Wichita Eagle, Feb 25, 1910

Less than two weeks before Nick and Jesse were killed, it was reported that “Wichita’s Biggest Development is Underway,” that a site had been chosen for the new Union Station, and that it was definitely happening.

The Wichita Eagle, May 27, 1910

June 8, 1910

On the evening of June 8, 1910, Nick and Jesse were struck and killed by a Santa Fe train after leaving a meeting at the Santa Fe Hotel.

An inquest cleared the train conductor and both men of any wrongdoing. It was simply an unfortunate accident at an extremely dangerous intersection that was well overdue for improvement.

When a great man dies in the fullness of maturity, with his head hoary and his life’s work complete, he is deeply mourned by his family and friends, who, however, realizing that to die is the common fate of all, quickly recover their normal composure. But when he is stricken down in the meridian of life, with the suddenness of a thunderbolt, the entire community in which he lived is shocked, and, with hushed tongue and bated breath, it mourns as one vast being and weeps with the family of the bereaved.
Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history

After Nick and Jesse were killed, Mayor Davidson agreed that even though the railroads had agreed to elevate the tracks, “nothing tangible” had been done yet. Even before the two men were buried, it was clear that their deaths could have an effect on the speed of the project.

The tracks were elevated in 1913, three years after Nick and Jesse were killed.
The Wichita Beacon, Jun 11, 1910

“The Time to Elevate is Now – Get Busy!”

Nick and Jesse’s deaths definitely brought out a more forceful side of Mayor Davidson, who did no tiptoeing around the railroad companies. “This proposition has been delayed too long. The plans for this track elevation have been prepared and the details accepted by the railroads. If the railways do not get busy and elevate their tracks across Douglas, I shall take drastic action.” Davidson, who had previously avoided legal action against the railroad, was now threatening it if they didn’t act quickly.

The Wichita Eagle, Nov 4, 1910

After months of delays, Mayor Davidson gave the railroads two weeks to formally agree to elevate the tracks per their verbal agreement, or else he was going to pass a law forcing them to adjust the grades across town if they wanted to continue to run their trains through Wichita.

The Wichita Eagle, Dec 6, 1910

The city (at least in the eyes of Victoria Murdock) was supportive of Mayor Davidson’s ultimatum. Most Wichitans (except a few) were in support of elevating the tracks and whatever it took to get it done.

Mayor Davidon’s pressure on the railroad companies may have worked. It’s hard to say if negotiations would have been slower had circumstances been different, but six months after Nick and Jesse’s deaths, the railroad companies agreed to fund the elevation of the tracks over Douglas and construction of Union Station.

The Wichita Eagle, Dec 8, 1910

Union Station & The Elevated Railway

Construction was delayed another year before any work was started. City officials, railroad officials, and business owners spent the majority of 1911 working out all of the big and small details required for the massive project (and dealing with lawsuits by the railroad companies). Mayor W.W. Minick finished the work that Charles Davidson started, fighting the railroads to get them to comply and agree to build.

Construction finally began on the station and elevated tracks in 1912.

The Wichita Beacon, June 6, 1912

May 26, 1913 construction of the elevated railway over Douglas prior to the construction of Union Station. Image source: John Matrow

Probably 1913. Image Source: Wichita Public Library via Pocket Sites

The elevated railway project was completed in 1913. The first train was welcomed on the tracks in October with “red fire and cheering citizens.” Wichita had officially eliminated its “death trap”.

1913. Image source: WSU Special Collections

Image Source: Wichita Public Library via Pocket Sites

At the beginning of 1912, the elevated railway was assured, but the railroads were still fighting about money. Briefly, construction of Union Station was threatened. But Union Station construction also began in 1912, and Mayor Minick kept the project moving along. Razing the existing buildings and getting the ground ready for the work took about six months, and building construction took over a year and a half.

The Santa Fe Hotel and Cafe, where Nick and Jesse met the night they were killed, being razed to make room for Union Station. Source: The Wichita Beacon, February 7, 1912

“Two signs ninety feet long and twelve feet high are to be placed on the site of the union station by the Wichita Business association. These will bear the announcement that the vacant space between the Santa Fe and Rock Island stations will be occupied soon by a union station and elevated tracks to cost over two millions of dollars.” The Wichita Beacon, May 12, 1912. Image Source: Wichita Public Library via Pocket Sites

Union Station was the product of Mexican and white immigrants, but only one group is referred to as “illegal” today. The Wichita Eagle, July 30, 1912

The station opened to much fanfare on March 6, 1914. It cost $2.5 million to construct, and at the time it opened, it was said to be “the last in a noble race,” as people thought there would be no other Union Stations built (there were).

Drawing of Union Station and the tracks. The Wichita Beacon, Mar 9, 1912

“Wichita’s new Union Terminal Station, constructed of Colorado limestone and concrete, with terra cotta facing, is architecturally on strong, dignified lines, with the pleasing gracefulness of the Renaissance. The main building fronts a plaza on Douglass Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare, giving the traveler an attractive entrance to the heart of the city. The interior is of concrete, tile and marble. It is fireproof throughout.” Image source: The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wichita, by Fred Harvey

1914 postcard of Union Station and the elevated tracks. Image source: eBay

“The main concourse of Wichita’s new Union Terminal Station is 100 feet long and 55 feet wide. The floors are of marble, the walls of glazed terra cotta, and it is aglow with natural light. The station building, constructed of concrete, limestone and terra cotta, is fireproof and cost, including approaches, approximately two and one-half million dollars.” 1914 postcard. Image source: Wichita Life

Union Station Platform 1920. Image source: WSU Special Collections

1963. Image source: Pinterest

Image source: Card Cow

The last passenger train left the station in 1979 and Union Station hasn’t been a passenger station since. The building was restored in 2017 at an estimated cost of $54 million. The elevated railway is still used today.

@midwesterndeathtrip
Nicolas Steffen and Jesse Ellis were local businessmen killed by a Santa Fe Railroad train in 1910 at what was once the deadliest intersection in Wichita. Jesse was a wealthy businessman and farmer living in Leon. He was in town for a meeting with Nicolas, the founder of Steffen Ice Cream (now Hiland Dairy). In the early 1900’s, the railroad tracks that crossed east Douglas between Mead and St. Francis were becoming a major problem. There were now several accidents there every year, some were fatal. Farmers stopped driving their wagons over the tracks because their eggs and milk bottles would break from the roughness, which affected business. But the deaths of these two prominent citizens had a major impact what would be done about the deadly railroad tracks. Mayor Davidson had been trying for years to get the railroad to elevate the tracks, to no avail. After the deaths of Nicolas and Jesse, he pushed harder than ever. And he succeeded. By the end of 1910, about six months after the deaths of Nicolas and Jesse, Mayor Davidson had helped secure $1,500,000 in funding from the Santa Fe railway to elevate the tracks over Douglas. On December 10 of that year, after pressing commissioners and officials for years, Mayor Davidson sent a telegram stating “Union depot and track elevation assured; details being worked out.” The project was complete in 1913, eliminating a “death trap” for the early citizens of and visitors to Wichita. The railroad tracks remain elevated to this day. Nicolas and Jesse and buried in adjoining lots at Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita, Kansas. #cemetery #cemeteries #cemeteryexploring #cemeterywandering #cemeterytok #cemeteriesoftiktok #cemeteriesofkansas #kansas #wichita #sedgwickcounty #santaferailroad #santaferailway #rockislandrailroad #unionrailroad #unionstation #rockislandstation #deathstory #grave #gravestone #maplegrovecemetery #history #fyp
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