Current History of the Mausoleum
and Future Events
February 22, 2009
Just an update of the meeting Saturday, February 21, 2009, at the Kansas State Historical Society, in Topeka, Kansas. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. with an introduction of members and staff. After several Old Business items, the agenda reached the twenty-one items to be considered for the National Register of Historic Places. The Old Mission Mausoleum Entry was number 12 on the list.
The nominees were a wide range of properties: several hotels, a blacksmith shop, several churches, a bank, two courthouses, a drugstore building, a parachute building at the Pratt, Kansas Army Air Field, several homes, a water tower, and a mausoleum. At 11:50 a.m., Item Number 11 was completed and the Board adjourned for quick lunch.
The Board reconvened at 12:40 and the Old Mission Mausoleum was next on the agenda. Ms. Sarah Martin, with whom I have been working on the nomination application, presented an excellent visual and narrative presentation about the project. She came to Wichita in November 2008, and took many photos. From these photos and information I had supplied, she made a strong and easy to follow presentation. After the presentation there was minimal discussion by the Board [Board members had been supplied with information packets a week in advance of the meeting], then the Chairman asked if anyone in the audience would like to make a comment. This had been the general format for the preceding eleven items on the agenda. I introduced myself and gave a two minute overview of my interest and a very brief history of the property I had discovered over the past eight years of research. Upon the conclusion of my statement the Chairman turned back to the board and asked for a nomination. They made and seconded it, and the Board voted unanimously for approval.
The next step in this process, will be to forward the approved nominations to the United States Department of Interior which has the final approval of the application. A time frame for this process was not given, but I am guessing sometime within the year. The experience was very positive and I am very impressed by the professionalism that the Board members bring to this review. They all seemed to have done their homework before the meeting.
November 2008
Old Mission Mausoleum's inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places.A staff member from the Kansas Preservation Association came to Wichita and toured the Old Mission Mausoleum. Questions were asked and answered, many photos were taken and at the conclusion of the meeting, I was informed that the Preservation Review Committee would meet in Topeka on February 21, 2009 to review the application. A successful ruling by the State of Kansas, and the application is then sent to the United States Department of Interior, for final ruling.
June 2008 When Mr. Saxton first started construction of the mausoleum, he used the financial services of the Fourth National Bank of Wichita. They provided the financing and the depository of monies from the sale of crypts over the years. Upon completion of the last unit of the mausoleum in 1954 a sum of money had been deposited in trust with the bank for future care and expenditures, in fact the bank was the legal owner of the one acre of land within the Old Mission Cemetery and the Old Mission Mausoleum, itself.As the years went by the Fourth National Bank changes ownership and by the mid 1990's the current owner of the bank was Bank of America. Early in 2000 the bank saw that the funds that were being held in trust were being depleted faster than the interest income was generating. Seeing this negative cash flow the bank started to look for a way out of being the trustee.
A meeting was held with the Bank of America and the City of Wichita in December 2007, and at that time the title of the one acre of ground and the Old Mission Mausoleum was deeded to the City of Wichita. Several very positive actions have taken place since the city has taken over the operations in January 2008. The instillation of electric locks on the two doors shows a positive example of the quality of maintenance that the city has shown toward the building. These locks are activated by remote control to lock up the building at 7:00 p.m. and then unlocked it at 9:00 a.m. I know, the first thing that pops into your mind “what if I am inside at 7:01 p.m.” At each door there is a lighted green button to push and the door will unlock and let you out! (View the lock.) This past Memorial Day, the city did a first rate job of installing all new light bulbs in the halls, cleaning and polishing the floors, mowing the lawn and trimming the shrubs. The overall effect was, “the building had not looked this good in years!”
National Register of Historic Places.
June 2008
As some of you know, I have been working on the necessary paperwork to have the Old Mission Mausoleum to be considered for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Now that the legal owner of the property has been established, the “City of Wichita.” I am making plans to set up a meeting to have the necessary letter prepared by the city stating that they support the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Once the letter is prepared, it and the documentation will be sent to the Historic Sites Board of Review in Topeka, Kansas for their consideration. Check back in several months and I will keep you apprised of the progress.
David Stuart
June 2008
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