The early 1880s have been referred to as the beginning of the saddle horse era in Missouri. By the mid-1890s, saddle horse breeding had become an important industry in the Show-Me State.
The success of Missouri breeders, with their entries in the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, brought Missouri-bred show horses to center stage. As a result, horse shows became fashionable in cities', counties' and state fairs. Jefferson City held its first horse show in 1897, then annually for many years thereafter.
As an outgrowth of these activities, street parades were carried out and became a very popular feature. The parade attracting the greatest admiration was the Flower Parade under the auspices of the ladies of Jefferson City. The flower parade was one in which floats, buggies, wagons and even the horses themselves were decorated or covered with flowers. Local breeders like James Houchin, industrialist and breeder of fine saddle horses, were among the major participants in this event.
The grounds of Cottage Place Park, which lay on the west side of Lafayette Street between McCarty and Miller streets, was particularly adapted to events of this kind. The land upon which it lay was low and flat and very close to the major streets of the business district of the city of the late 1800s and early 1900s. This proximity to the business district placed the park in a special gathering place for a parade of horse-drawn vehicles down High Street and equally as satisfactory for disassembly of the parade.
By 1900, and for many years thereafter, at least 40 vehicles were in the flower parade line, each vying with the other in beauty of design and decoration. The flower parade was recognized by visitors who compared it favorably with those of larger cities. As a result of their efforts, many compliments were bestowed on the ladies for their taste in the decoration of handsome buggies and carriages.
The "Illustrated Sketch Book and Directory of Jefferson City and Cole County" had much to say about the upcoming event of 1900.
"The prospectus of the coming 1900 show, to be held at Cottage Place Park, August 7th, 8th and 9th, promises to surpass in scope and magnitude all former exhibitions and under the management of the following named officers will no doubt be a grand success. Judge W.C. Marshall, President; J.D. Stark, Vice-President; F.J. Wilberger, Secretary; W.A. Dallmeyer, Treasurer. Board of Directors: J.M. Wells, H.F. Priesmeyer, B.J. Kaiser, W.A. Moore and C.A. Ware. The management is assured of the presence of the coming show of such horsemen as D.L. Parish and Augustus Busch, of St. Louis, Missouri and A.E. Ashbrook, of the Horse Show Monthly of Kansas City, Missouri, all of whom are enthusiastic admirers of horse flesh and breeders of horses which have won fame throughout the country."
In 1901, the Missouri State Fair grounds were established at Sedalia, and the first state fair was held. The livestock exhibits held a small aggregation of some of the finest horse flesh from around the state. The number of exhibitors grew as the early years passed and would make a significant impact on the local horse show.
With Cottage Park Place on the cusp of growing business and residential districts, the property became more valuable as residential property. In 1907, it was sold to Lester S. Parker and Cecil W. Thomas and was subdivided for housing. The subdivision is named the Parker-Thomas subdivision. The first houses were built soon afterward. The 1908 Sanborn map of Jefferson City shows 24 lots on both sides of School Street in the place where Cottage Park Place once stood.
The horse show found a new home at Houchin Park located at the east end of Dunklin Street, which featured a race track and show area. James A. Houchin was a dominant force in local horse breeding. His horse, Astral King, was named champion stallion in the 1909 Missouri State Fair.
The horse show continued to maintain itself as a sizable attraction throughout the decade of the 1900s; but with the coming of the automobile in approximately 1913, there was a significant and rapid shift of the interest in the flower parade from horse-drawn carriages to the automobile. The entries in the show and parade were no longer characterized by horse and buggy but with the new and exciting automobile that was rapidly gaining popularity and use among the general population.
With the coming of WWI in 1917, interest in the flower parade rapidly diminished, and not long thereafter, it faded into the past. In the brief, two-decade existence of the Flower Parade and horse shows, it established itself as a very significant part of the history of Jefferson City.
Wayne Johnson is a Jefferson City native and retired engineer and chemist. For the past two decades, he has worked closely with four local historical societies, setting up websites, digital imaging, search and retrieval of those images and now compiling brief general histories of people, places and events in Callaway and Cole counties' early history.