Krause was early builder

Sent to The Frederick Leader and The Frederick Press

April 28, 2009

 

Krause built much of early Frederick

A.H. Krause built Frederick.

Literally.

Krause was a contractor and builder who, between the years 1902 and 1940, constructed more of Frederick’s buildings than any other person. Although some of those buildings are now gone, many remain. We see and use his buildings every day.

Krause built early homes, churches, and other public buildings including most of downtown Frederick. He also constructed downtown buildings in most area communities.

Albert Herman Krause was born in Illinois in 1875 and was married to Alice Louise Burger Krause on December 24, 1899, in Winfield, Kansas. Krause was 24. The bride had just turned 16.

Sue Kaufman examines 1899 Krause wedding dress at Frederick museum.

The Krauses’ clothes from that 1899 wedding are on display today at Frederick’s Pioneer Townsite Museum. The bridal dress, a “waist” and jacket, were part of the bridal trousseau and were made by Alice and her mother.

A Prince Albert coat worn by Krause at the 1899 wedding hangs alongside the dress in an old-fashioned chifforobe in the museum’s farmhouse.

The Krause family donated the clothes to the museum in 1989.

Following their marriage the Krauses moved to Blackwell, Oklahoma, where their first child, a girl named Evangaline, was born on February 3, 1902. The baby lived only 12 hours. A baby jacket made for Evangaline but never worn is displayed at the museum along with the Krauses’ wedding clothes.

What brought the young couple to the new town of Frederick?

In 1902 Krause’s father, Herman Agusta Krause, moved to the Manitou area. A.H. and Alice came with him to build his home, a stable, chicken house, granary, and carriage house.

When the elder Krause’s farm buildings were completed, a neighbor named Schofield asked the young Krause to build a house for him. After that, a banker suggested to A.H. that he should stay in Frederick because it was a growing town.

The Krauses did stay, and between 1902 and 1940 A.H. Krause built a major part of the Frederick.

The couple had three sons ­– Albert Roy, Frederick Louis, and Max Ellous.

Krause’s office and construction plant were located at 200-208 South 7^th Street.

A 1919 city directory advertised his business as follows: “Albert H. Krause, general contractor and builder, dealer in building materials, sand, stone, lumber and paints, manufacturer of sashes, doors and all kinds of mill work”. The business employed numerous carpenters and other tradesmen.

The Krause residence was listed in the 1919 directory as 1015 N. 15^th at city limits.

A business ad from 1920 not only lists some of the businesses that Krause constructed, but also shows some of the locations on a rough map of the downtown area. The ad says, “Over 80 per cent of the business blocks in Frederick are my designs and contracts.”

Krause-constructed businesses listed in the 1920 ad are as follows: City Hall (126 South Tenth), Kelly Hotel, (300 West Grand), First National Bank (200 West Grand),  Oklahoma State Bank, (10^th and Grand), Leader block (304 West Grand), Wallace-Frazier (?), William Cameron Lumber Company (309-315 West Grand), Frederick Hardware Company (222 West Grand), Baptist church (201 East Grand. This church later burned and was replaced with the current First Baptist Church building), entire block on Tenth, Opera House (South Tenth), Library (200 East Grand), Community auditorium (large wooden building at 200 South 12^th, site of current Central Grade School building), Red Front Drug Store (122 West Grand).

The 1920 ad also stated that Krause was builder of homes for sale.

The Krauses remained in Frederick until about 1940 when they moved to California.

A.H. Krause died in Hawthorne, California, in October 1942 at age 67. Alice Krause lived to the age of 101. She died in 1985 in San Fernando, California.

Joe Wynn is a member of the Tillman County Historical Society's board of directors. He can be contacted by e-mail at tillmanokhistory@gmail.com.

Kelly Hotel Welcomed Guests

Column sent to Frederick Leader and Frederick Press

April 14, 2009

This postcard shows the Kelly Hotel soon after construction.

This photo shows the Kelly Hotel (left) and the current Frederick Leader building. The Leader building was then known as the Mosby-Schwartz building and housed offices of Mosby-Schwartz Real Estate. A sign on the west side of the building announced “POOL HALL.” At the time, the current Leader building had a second floor (removed in the 1940s), which housed several lawyers’ offices. In the earliest years of statehood, many county offices were located in the Mosby-Schrwartz building. The Leader’s first offices were in the back part of the building. By 1916, the building was referred to as the Mosby and Fyle Building and the newspaper had taken over the whole first floor.

Kelly Hotel hosted early visitors to Frederick

In Frederick’s early days, most visitors arrived by train. They would disembark at the Frisco Depot, which was located at the tracks on West Grand, and they didn’t have to look far for accommodations. The Kelly Hotel was located just one block away at the corner of 8^th and West Grand.

There may have been other places to rent a room in early-day Frederick, but by all accounts the Kelly Hotel was the nicest.

It was located next door east of the current Frederick Leader building. The hotel was an impressive three-story brick structure. It contained 50 rooms and a large dining room. Its builder was A.H. Krause, the contractor who constructed most of the buildings in downtown Frederick.

Although some written accounts and early-day pictures indicate that the Kelly Hotel was built soon after the city of Frederick was organized in 1902, a 1916 Tillman County industrial publication accurately places its construction in 1908. An early photo shows the hotel in place prior to construction of the Leader building.

Excerpts of the 1916 industrial article read as follows:

“The hotels of the city are the mediums through which the prospective residents or visitors to the city get their first impression.

“Frederick has a hotel which is without a question of doubt in keeping with the balance of the progress that has made the city so conspicuous. The Kelly hotel is known by every traveling man as one of the best along the line.

“The Kelly hotel was established in 1907. The building was built by W.H. Kelly, now deceased, in 1908. At that time the building was not as pretentious as it is today, an extensive addition being built by Mrs. Kelly the year following her husband’s death, and since that time she has conducted the hotel on the plan originally started by her husband to give efficient service and satisfaction to everyone who stops at this place.

“The Kelly hotel has in the neighborhood of 10 employees. Some of these have been with Mrs. Kelly since the hotel was first established.”

“The Kelly hotel is valued at about $35,000. It is equipped with 50 bedrooms and a dining room that will seat 32 guests. The rates charged are $2 a day.”

Four years later, in 1920, a Kelly Hotel ad in a similar publication made no reference to Mrs. Kelly but named A.P. Marsh as the Kelly Hotel’s manager and cited it as “The best $3.50 a day hotel in Oklahoma.” The 1920 ad also said that improvements and additions were planned to double the hotel’s capacity.

“Largest and best equipped hotel in Southwestern Oklahoma,” the 1920 ad boasted. “Convenient to banks, post office, and railway station.”

The Kelly Hotel is pictured in a 1920 newspaper ad.

Joe Wynn is a member of the Tillman County Historical Society’s Board of Directors. He can be contacted by e-mail at jawynn@cableone.net.