Rockhill Park

J.C. Nichols's first housing development in Kansas City was called Rockhill Park. It covered the area from Fifty-third to Fifty-fifth streets and from Brookside boulevard to Main street. The scene on this promotional postcard published in 1917 was looking east on Fifty-third. (An early Nichols home was built for the family in 1908 at 48 East Fifty-second street). The car halted on the roadway is that of Nichols, who was making an inspection tour of the construction work when the photograph was taken. The car was a 1909 Stevens-Duryea (made in Chicopee Falls, Mass.) and was driven by Ernest O. Holt. In the rear seat were the three Nichols children, Miller, Eleanor and Jesse Clyde, jr. Holt, the family chauffeur, who came from the Black Forest country in Germany, lived with the Nichols family 25 years. He retired in 1927 and now resides in South Laguna, Calif. He identified the car pictured and added in a letter: As a rule, most mornings Mr. Nichols would go over the new construction with Mr. Linscott, before heading for his office downtown. As a rule we never took the children around except on Sundays. Also we never knew when we would get back as usually there was a lot of measuring and walking, sometimes through the mud. I always carried an extra pair of shoes in the car for change. Mr. Nichols would meet Mr. Linscott in his Model T Ford coupe and there were appointments with prospects and also with Herb Hare, landscape architect in whom Mr. Nichols placed great faith in the layouts. Also with Mr. George Kessler of the St. Louis park board, who was adviser to the Kansas City park board, especially to Mr. A. R. Meyer, first park board president. Mr. Nichols was a busy and very demanding man. He gave a lot and expected likewise. I lived with the family and was treated as such. I have only happy memories of beautiful hours with a fine family. In his letter Holt also described Nichols family vacations over roads that were less than perfect to such distant places and Hibbing, Minn.; Montreal, Canada; Santa Fe, N.M.; Mesa Verde, Colo., and Magnolia, Miss., were great. He told how the Nichols children sang cowboy songs as they rode along, with their father leading and mother joining in. Then came geography and history, wrote Holt and on these trips college towns were the prime objects as well as state capitals. Kansas City Star, July 11, 1970.