David Ward King - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

David Ward King a farmer who lived near Maitland, Missouri

Maitland, Missouri

Maitland is a city in Holt County, Missouri, United States. The population was 342 at the 2000 census which at one point billed itself as the "Bluegrass Mecca" -- home to the largest bluegrass farm in the world.-History:...

, was the inventor of the King road drag

King road drag

The King road drag was a road grader implement for grading dirt roads that revolutionized the maintenance of the dirt roads in the early 1900s. It was invented by David Ward King, who went by "D...

. His invention, which was the horse-drawn forerunner of the modern road grader, had great influence on American life because his invention improved the widespread dirt road

Dirt road

Dirt road is a common term for an unpaved road made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable for vehicles; a narrower path for pedestrians, animals, and possibly small vehicles would be called a...

s of his day to the extent that they could accommodate the advent of the automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

, rural mail delivery and mail order catalogues.

Family and early life

David Ward King was often referred to then and now as "the Missouri farmer", which he was. However, he was born, reared and educated in Springfield, Ohio

Springfield, Ohio

Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...

, and came from a very prominent and wealthy family of that city.

David Ward King was the grandson of his namesake, Springfield merchant and real estate developer David King. His paternal grandfather, David King, was probably born in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

in 1796. His paternal grandmother, Almena Caldwell King, was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire

Hillsborough, New Hampshire

Hillsborough, frequently spelled Hillsboro, is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,011 at the 2010 census...

on August 16, 1809. However, she moved with her parents when she was young to early Portsmouth, Ohio

Portsmouth, Ohio

Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...

, which is in southernmost Ohio at the confluence of the Scioto River

Scioto River

The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...

and the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

, where her father established a successful carpentry

Carpentry

A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....

business. Both of Ward's paternal grandparents had been orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

s. Ward's grandfather, David King, was found as a toddler wandering the streets of Baltimore during a yellow fever

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

epidemic in which both his parents presumably died. David knew only his own name and could tell nothing about his parents. He was found in a Baltimore hotel and taken in by a Robert Quigley who had a farm near Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, 41 miles west-southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1900, 3,228 people...

and who had "wagoned" to Baltimore for supplies. While Robert Quigley did rear and educate David King on his Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 235,406.-History:...

farm, he did not adopt him, which is why David's last name stayed King. The Quigleys were devout members of the nearby Middle Spring Presbyterian Church

Middle Spring Presbyterian Church

The Middle Spring Presbyterian Church was first built in 1738 by some of the earliest Scotch Irish settlers in Pennsylvania, and is much discussed in the histories of early Pennsylvania in general and Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in particular....

. David King grew up, regularly attending that church, which began a strong tradition of religious correctness in the King family that beyond question made its way down to Ward.

Upon attaining adulthood, Ward's grandfather David King obtained an apprenticeship as a store clerk in Portsmouth, Ohio, where he met Ward's grandmother, then-teenage Almena Caldwell. However, her older brother and father fell from a small boat and drowned in the nearby Scioto River. Soon thereafter, Almena's mother died of grief. Her Uncle Hannibal Gilman Hamlin (first cousin to Lincoln's first Vice President, Hannibal Hamlin

Hannibal Hamlin

Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...

) became the guardian of her and her brother, Hamlin Caldwell, moved them to Cincinnati and saw to their education. David King married her there when she was seventeen.

After their marriage, David and Almena soon moved to Tarlton, Ohio

Tarlton, Ohio

Tarlton is a village in Fairfield and Pickaway counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 298 at the 2000 census.-History:This village was originally settled and called Newellstown in 1801, and was probably the first settlement in Pickaway County, Ohio...

, where David put his store clerking experience to good use by opening a general store

General store

A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...

. Tarlton was on Zane's Trace

Zane's Trace

Zane's Trace is a frontier road constructed under the direction of Col. Ebenezer Zane through the Northwest Territory of the United States, in what is now the state of Ohio. Many portions were based on traditional Native American trails...

, which at the time started at the Ohio River

Ohio River

across from Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, and passed through Zanesville

Zanesville, Ohio

Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,586 at the 2000 census.Zanesville was named after Ebenezer Zane, who had constructed Zane's Trace, a pioneer road through present-day Ohio...

, Lancaster

Lancaster, Ohio

Lancaster is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,780. It is located near the Hocking River, approximately southeast of Columbus, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fairfield County...

, the intermittent state capital of Chillicothe

Chillicothe, Ohio

Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...

and ended at the Ohio River in their previous home town of Portsmouth. The store prospered and David starting investing in real estate, which built their wealth substantially over their years in Tarlton.

All did not go well for David and Almena, however. As David often did, he took his wagon "across the mountains" to Baltimore to get supplies for his store—a trip that would take him a month every time he did it. While he was away for his trip in the late summer of 1831, he left Almena in Tarlton with their infant children, as he always had until then. Tragically, their three young sons, Alexander Caldwell King, born September 5, 1827, James Hamlin King, born July 3, 1829 and John Quigley King, born July 24, 1831 all died of smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

within weeks of each other on August 27, August 28 and September 20, 1831. Almena had to deal with this catastrophe alone.

Ward's father, Robert Quigley King, who was born on August 13, 1832 in Tarlton, was their first child to survive. Understandably, Almena insisted on going along with David on his supply trips after that, carrying with her the infant Robert Quigley King as a babe in arms. Their next child was Samuel Noble King, who was born in Tarlton on October 22, 1834. He went all his life by his middle name of "Noble". The Kings named him after their country neighbor, Samuel Noble, who had come from Emmitsburg, Maryland

Emmitsburg, Maryland

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,290 people, 811 households, and 553 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,992.9 people per square mile . There were 862 housing units at an average density of 750.2 per square mile...

to become one of the first settlers of Tarlton and who had a large farm just south of Tarlton. Ward's mother, Mary Elizabeth King, was born to David and Almena in Tarlton on April 1, 1837, and David King, Jr., later to become a Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

colonel, was born in Tarlton on September 11, 1839.

As time passed, Tarlton began to lose some of its importance. The state capital was moved from nearby Chillicothe (its last location outside Columbus) to Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

in 1816, and the National Road

National Road

The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...

(present U.S. Route 40

U.S. Route 40

U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...

or more roughly Interstate 70

Interstate 70

Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...

) went through the center of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. This road started at Baltimore and eventually wound its way across the entire country to end up in San Francisco, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. So, the focus of commerce in Ohio shifted from the communities along Zane's Trace to the center of the state. Among the cities the National Road crossed was Springfield, Ohio

Springfield, Ohio

, where it arrived in 1836 and stopped for ten years while lawmakers argued about where it would go from there. Located at that terminus, Springfield especially boomed during those ten years.

Several of Robert Quigley's grandchildren, the Rodgers families, had moved to Springfield. David's childhood companions were Robert Quigley's Rodgers grandchildren instead of Robert's children. Robert Quigley probably took in David King out of "empty nest syndrome

Empty nest syndrome

Empty nest syndrome is a general feeling of loneliness that parents or guardians may feel when one or more of their children leave home; it is more common in women...

", since his own children were grown and likely out on their own at the time he found David. According to the Quigley Family History, Robert Quigley's second daughter Jennet "Jane" Quigley married James Rodgers, her Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

, neighbor, and continued to live near the Robert Quigley farm. So, it was Robert Quigley's grandchildren, Richard Rodgers, Mary Rodgers, Rachel Rodgers, Dr. Robert Rogers and William Rodgers who lived close to the Quigley farm during David's childhood. They would have been the children with whom David King grew up and with whom he would have been particularly close. Their daughter Mary Rodgers married a Cumberland County neighbor, Isaac Ward. Their daughter Rachel Rodgers never married. Their son, Dr. Robert Rodgers, married Effie Harrison, daughter of a Pennsylvania Militia brigadier general. Their son William Rodgers married the sister of Effie Sarah Harrison. All of these Quigley grandchildren, their spouses and families, apparently except Eleanor, moved to Springfield, Ohio in 1831 (source in footnote says 1833). Modern day Littleton & Rue Funeral Home now occupies the Rodgers mansion at 830 North Limestone Street, Springfield, Ohio.

Likely on their urging, David and Almena King moved to Springfield as well in 1840. David, a very astute businessman, who was already very well off, proceeded to build a significant portion of early downtown Springfield, which was known for long thereafter as "King's Row". Their daughter, Sarah Jane King, was born to them in Springfield on December 20, 1841. Their daughter Almena Caldwell King was also born there on February 1, 1848. Unfortunately, David King died on August 8, 1849 in a cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

epidemic, which he contracted while caring for other victims of the outbreak.

After her husband's death, Almena frugally held on to the family wealth. She built a large home at 2 Ferncliff Place in Springfield in about 1852, which was long known as the King Homestead. The Springfield City Directory of that time located it simply as "North of Buck Creek." Buck Creek, which is probably wide enough to be called a river at that point, has long marked the north boundary of downtown Springfield. There are tall limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

cliffs on both sides of it. Isaac Ward cut building stone from these cliffs, at the location of present-day Cliff Park in Springfield, that later became part of many of the early buildings in Springfield. There was only the Limestone Street footbridge across Buck Creek at the time Almena King built the King Homestead, and that footbridge was more than a block upstream. She bought this land from Robert Quigley's grandson-in-law, Isaac Ward, who lived across the street on present-day Fountain (then Market). The Isaac Ward Mansion still stands today and is still occupied. The Kings and the Quigley descendants remained very close, which is why Ward's father gave him the middle name of "Ward", and Ward went by that middle name all his life. One family account credits Isaac Ward with having been particularly helpful to the King family after the death of David King. Isaac Ward also sold a large tract of his land to Wittenberg College, which now forms the eastern part of its campus and is the reason the main road through present day Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University is a private four-year liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio serving 2,000 full-time students representing 37 states and approximately 30 foreign countries...

is Ward Street. The King Homestead was out in the country when first built, which was to get her boys away from the reported 122 saloons near their home in Springfield proper. All three of her sons attended nearby Wittenberg College.

Almena Caldwell King died of diabetes on May 30, 1878, from which she had suffered greatly for a long time before it finally claimed her. Her son-in-law, famous Lutheran minister and later Wittenberg professor Luther Alexander Gotwald

Luther Alexander Gotwald

Rev. Luther Alexander Gotwald, D.D. was a Professor of Theology in the Wittenberg Theological Seminary. He was famously tried for heresy by the Board of Directors at Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio on April 4 and April 5, 1893, which put on trial many key issues that Lutherans still debate...

, happened to drop in while passing through Springfield on a train and was able to greatly comfort her during her last hours. The King Homestead stayed in the King family for a long time after Almena's death. However, eventually it was sold to Chi Omega

Chi Omega

Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....

Sorority of Wittenberg University and is today its sorority house.

After Almena's death, Rev. Gotwald wrote a loving biography of David and Almena in which he penned this moving tribute to his late father in law.

Of all the descendants of the first David King, his creative and industrious grandson, David Ward King undoubtedly did the most to live up to the spirit and the letter of Rev. Gotwald's heartfelt counsel.

David Ward King was born on October 27, 1857 in Springfield, Ohio

Springfield, Ohio

. His father was real estate developer, investor and Springfield Fire Chief

Fire chief

Fire Chief is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department, either elected or appointed...

, Robert Quigley King. His mother was Harriet Danforth King. As mentioned, Robert Quigley King, was born in Tarlton, Ohio

Tarlton, Ohio

, and was the first child of Almena and David King to survive.

Robert Quigley King came to a largely undeveloped Springfield at age nine in 1840, with his sister, Mary Elizabeth, age three and his brother, David Jr. age one. He attended the early Springfield schools. He later recalled hunting for squirrel

Squirrel

Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...

s in a woods that later became the train station (now demolished) and what would be close to the location of the present Clark County Library. His father died when he was eighteen. Nonetheless, his mother was able to send him and, as they arrived at college age, his brothers to Wittenberg College. At one time, she had them all in college at the same time—and Almena could afford that. When Robert Quigley King first started at Wittenberg, it held classes in the lecture room of the First Lutheran Church. However, while he was a student, Wittenberg moved to what is now the western part of its present-day campus. He was in the first class to graduate from Wittenberg. The history of early Springfield mentions how much he liked to hunt, especially in the woods that later became today's Snyder Park, which would have been just down Buck Creek from his childhood home at the King Homestead.

Robert Q. King married Miss Harriet A. Danforth at New Albany, Indiana

New Albany, Indiana

New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River opposite Louisville, Kentucky. In 1900, 20,628 people lived in New Albany; in 1910, 20,629; in 1920, 22,992; and in 1940, 25,414. The population was 36,372 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of...

on January 15, 1857. To them were born five children: David Ward King on October 27, 1857; Dr. Thomas Danforth King, who was born on July 20, 1859 and who died December 23, 1889; Robert Leffler King, who was born on August 24, 1863; Almena Adaline King (Warrick), who was born on September 17, 1869; and Margaret "Madge" Caldwell King, who was born on February 13, 1873 and who died when she was fourteen years old on December 30, 1886. Ward's ill-fated brother, Dr. Thomas Danforth King, was a graduate of Princeton

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

and a practicing physician in Springfield. He took his name from his direct ancestor, Thomas Danforth

Thomas Danforth

Thomas Danforth was a judge for the 1692 Salem witch trials in early colonial America.-Early life:He was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, England as the eldest son of Nicholas Danforth and Elizabeth Symmes...

, who was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, a founder of Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

, a judge at the Salem witch trials

Salem witch trials

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...

and on whose estate the city of Framingham, Massachusetts

Framingham, Massachusetts

Framingham is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 68,318 as of the United States 2010 Census. -History:...

is situated today. Framingham has a museum named after him. There was a Thomas Danforth in every generation after that, until Dr. Thomas Danforth King, who died before he married his fiancée and had children. He died a slow and painful death from cancer of the eye, in his parents' home with his fiancée at his side. His death left David Ward King and Robert Leffler King as the surviving sons of Robert Quigley and Harriet King. Ward's sister, Almena Adaline King, married industrialist Harvey Warrick in Springfield, Ohio. She died December 18, 1941 in Cleveland, and he died on April 21, 1942.

As Almena's oldest child, Robert Quigley King soon became involved in helping his mother manage the family's real estate holdings in Springfield. He had several retail businesses in Springfield, but his primary activity seems to have been real estate development. The family built the King Building on what was then Market Street and later became Fountain Street, just north of High Street. The King Building became the headquarters for the temperance movement

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

in Springfield and also the location for Bumgardner Studio, where many of the photos of the people who lived in Springfield in the late 19th century were taken. He subdivided land on present-day North Wittenberg Avenue, just south of Wittenberg University, into the "Robert Quigley King Second Addition to the City of Springfield, Ohio." He built his own home at 642 North Wittenberg Avenue. He later moved to live in an apartment in the King Building, allowing his son Robert Leffler King to occupy it. Upon his death, he left the house to his daughter Almena King Warrick and her husband Harvey Warrick.

Robert Quigley King served as Fire Chief for Springfield from 1879 until 1891. His obituary and the History of the Springfield Fire Department both credit him with being Springfield's second Fire Chief. However, the Fire Department History goes on to point out that several others before him performed that function, but did not carry the title. In those days, Fire Chief was an elected position. It is mentioned both in his obituary and in King family tradition that during a fire at the "whip factory", he was on a roof that collapsed, dumping him into the midst of the flames. However, the other firemen immediately poured their hoses on him, saving his life. He was pulled from the fire, badly injured, but alive.

Maitland, Missouri farmer

David Ward King often went by his middle name of "Ward", and he wrote it as "D. Ward King". His education was obtained in the Springfield, Ohio public schools and in Wittenberg College (now Wittenberg University) in Springfield. On December 29, 1880 he married Mary Willie (often spelled "Wylie") Burbank of Danville, Kentucky

Danville, Kentucky

Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....

in Springfield. Mary was born in Danville, Kentucky on September 23, 1859. Mary was the daughter of Austin Milton and Lettitia (Reed) Burbank. He moved from Springfield, Ohio to this Maitland, Missouri farm as a recently married young man and began farming there. While living on that farm, he invented the King Road Drag (very famous in its day), which made country roads passable in wet weather and is still credited with making possible reliable rural mail delivery and the practicality of the automobile.

Probably as early as 1877 or 1878, his father, Robert Quigley King, obtained some 1597 acres (646.3 ha) near Maitland in Holt County, Missouri

Holt County, Missouri

Holt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The county is in the northwest part of the state. As of 2010, the population was 4,912. Its county seat is Oregon. The county was organized in 1841 and is named after the Missouri state legislator Dr...

. Family stories hold that his father received this land as the only asset of value owned by a person who owed him a lot of money as the only available way to obtain payment of that debt. After obtaining this farm in that way, his father retained it, even though this acquired farm was in far-off Missouri. When his father had acquired this farm and decided to keep it, he had to do something with it. Ward was his answer. So, Robert Quigley sent his son Ward to this farm in the spring of 1879 to begin farming it. During that summer Ward helped to thresh grain. However, Ward and Mary apparently did not actually move there until January 1881.

There is reason to believe that Ward's move to this farm was not completely voluntary, since, for generations back, there had been no farmers in his family. Years later, Robert Quigley King acquired another large tract of what was this time raw farm land in much closer Hancock County, Ohio

Hancock County, Ohio

Hancock County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 74,782. Its county seat is Findlay and was named for John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence...

, near the small village of Vanlue

Vanlue, Ohio

Vanlue is a village in Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The population was 371 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Vanlue is located at ....

. In 1887, he sent his other surviving son, Robert Leffler King (who also went by his middle name, "Leffler"), off to develop that land and farm it. Leffler arrived at this land without buildings in the "thick of winter". There is no doubt that Leffler did not want to leave the ease of the family wealth in Springfield for a hard farm life. However, family members who knew him say he could not stand up to his father. So, he went, erected a house and farm buildings and otherwise developed the farm, overcoming many obstacles. He met and married his wife, Lola Montez Askam King, in the Vanlue community and brought up his family on this farm, which he called "Grassland Farm". He describes his many hardships in his farm journal, which hardships were probably very similar to the ones Ward must have experienced in turning himself into a farmer on his Maitland farm.

Logic suggests that Ward's fate was destined to be much the same. However, in Ward's case, his invention enabled him to turn his fate to his immense advantage. Family members state that the fact that the travels associated with the promotion of his invention took him away from the farm a lot was not something city-bred Ward considered to be disagreeable. In fact, his son David Bryant King had pretty much taken over operation of the farm by the time he reached eighteen. Leffler, after many years on his Hancock County farm, was finally able to move back to Springfield to help his father manage the family's considerable real estate holdings during his father's declining years. Like his brother, his son Edwin Askam King pretty much took over the operation of Grassland Farm. Although separated by distance, the brothers always remained very close, and they constantly worked together on the family's real estate undertakings in Springfield. Ironically, in the remarkably parallel lives of these two Springfield-reared farmers, their children were more farm people than they were.

In what was the King family tradition, David Ward was an implacable warrior against alcoholic beverage

Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...

s and the saloons

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

that sold them. Leffler King's wife, Lola Montez King, proudly mentioned in her autobiography that they attended a temperance

Temperance movement

convention during their honeymoon.

For his part, David Ward King organized the Prohibition Party

Prohibition Party

The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...

in Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

. He often spoke in district school houses on the topic. In Holt County, Mrs. King often went him on his crusades to ban the use of alcoholic drinks. Many were violently against prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

and, as a result, against David Ward King as well. One time, at Eureka

Eureka, Missouri

Eureka is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, between St. Louis and Pacific, Missouri, along Interstate 44. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 10,189. The city is west of the former site of Times Beach, the site of dioxin contamination discovered in...

school house, someone went so far as to lodge a fence board between the spokes of the two rear wheels of the Kings' buggy so it would hit Ward in the head when he started out. As a result, he had to carefully inspect his buggy, before starting home after these temperance meetings. David Ward left the party later, because he felt prohibition alone was not enough for their platform, but he remained a staunch prohibitionist all his life.

The Kings were early members of the Maitland M.E., church and their two older children attended this church with them. The Kings and Lettie "Reed" King, their oldest daughter, became charter members of the First Presbyterian Church of Maitland. The Kings heavily involved themselves in civic and church affairs. He sat as one of the first trustees of Maitland's First Presbyterian Church and taught in the "Sabbath School".

David Ward King was a progressive farmer. He actively sought improved methods of farming. He constantly took measures to prevent washes and soil depletion on his land. He established some of the first bluegrass

Poa

Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass , bluegrass , tussock , and speargrass. "Poa" is Greek for fodder...

pastures in his township. He was a life member of the Holt County Farm Bureau.

In cooperation with Mr. J.R. Collision, Professor J.C. Crosen, Dr. Ira Williams and others, David Ward King was instrumental in bringing a Lyceum Course (a group of men who met for regular lectures and debates on topics of interest) to Maitland. He later became a life member of the Lyceum

Lyceum

The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...

Association. The King home was often the headquarters for visiting clergy and for Lyceum entertainers.

Invention of the King Road Drag

It was in 1896 that D. Ward King first dragged the road with an old frost-bitten pump stock and an oak post. The improvement in the dirt roads it worked was dramatic. Until then, the only way to firm up dirt roads had been to dump layers of stone on them and then press it in with a heavy roller to make a road surface resistant to turning into muck after every rain. This method was fairly effective, but it was also labor intensive and expensive. These stone-permeated roads were called "macadam

Macadam

Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820. The method simplified what had been considered state-of-the-art at that point...

ized roads". These roads took their name from their Scotch inventor, John Loudon McAdam

John Loudon McAdam

John Loudon McAdam was a Scottish engineer and road-builder. He invented a new process, "macadamisation", for building roads with a smooth hard surface that would be more durable and less muddy than soil-based tracks....

. Using his method, roads were covered with several layers of stone, starting with large ones and then reducing their size in each successive layer. The stones in the first level would be about the size of a human head. The stones in the next layer would be about the size of a fist. The final layer would be of stones of about the size of golf ball

Golf ball

A golf ball is a ball designed to be used in the game of golf.Under the Rules of Golf, a golf ball weighs no more than 1.620 oz , has a diameter not less than 1.680 in , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits...

s. It was grueling work to haul this heavy stone to the places needed, to unload it in the right places and then to spread it evenly over the road surface with only horse-drawn wagons and hand-held shovels and rakes. Further, in the days before powered stone crushers, there was the additional and very arduous task of smashing much bigger rocks down to the right size for use in the respective layers. This work came to be known as "making the big ones into the small ones." Men did it by hand by smashing large rocks with sledgehammer

Sledgehammer

A sledgehammer is a tool consisting of a large, flat head attached to a lever . The head is typically made of metal. The sledgehammer can apply more impulse than other hammers, due to its large size. Along with the mallet, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area...

s. In many states, convict

Convict

A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...

s did this work and sometimes even built these macadamized roads by working on the roads themselves. When these convict crews worked directly on these roads, necessarily outside the walls of the prison, each man was typically chained to the next to prevent runaways. These convict road crews became the infamous "chain gang

Chain gang

A chain gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work, such as mining or timber collecting, as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include building roads, digging ditches or chipping stone...

s" of that day. In the days of horse power, this method was just too time-consuming and expensive to be practical for widespread use.

The advantage of the King Road Drag was that it firmed up dirt roads by leaving a crown in the middle, which caused rain water to just run off, keeping the road dry and firm. Its crowning virtue was that, unlike pressing stone into the mud road surface, it was very quick and very inexpensive. The method quickly caught on.
Draft horse

Draft horse

A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...

s, relieved of the need to drag farm wagons through mire, were able to haul a lot more farm produce to railroad sidings for transport by the railroad to distant markets. So, in 1903, Ward was employed by the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company to promote its "Good Roads Campaign." During 1904 and 1905 the railroad ran "Good Road" trains over their lines in Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

. Ward rode these trains to instruct people along the lines on the construction and use of his invention. According to his promotional brochure, the railroad hauled him around in a "private car" and paid him a "handsome salary". His brochure, while not naming them, stated that "four important railroads" had done that. However, the enthusiasm of the railroad for improved roads quickly cooled when their ridership for short trips began to drop off dramatically. With improved local roads, people started travelling locally on their own bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

s (which were the craze of the day) and their own newly acquired automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s. However, D. Ward King and his "Good Roads" program were already on their way, and the end of railroad support did little to stop it.

King Meetings

The "King drag movement [came] with a rush." D. Ward King did patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

his invention. However, its design was so simple that King did not enforce his patent rights. However, he did make a good living by touring the country conducting and charging sponsoring organizations for "King Meetings" in which he explained to packed houses how to build and use his road drag. Wittenberg-educated Ward was, by all accounts, an eloquent speaker. His promotional brochure claimed that "An address on this subject is not, as you might suppose, dry and uninteresting. You will find that the novelty of the idea and its practical value will attract a larger attendance than a feature of mere entertainment."

Over time, Ward conducted Good Roads campaigns in forty-six of the then-existing forty-eight states – all except Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

and New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

. He conducted them in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

as well, including the province of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, where the King road drag was found better than any other method to work sandy roads, clay roads and rock roads. One Canadian journalist was so impressed that he wrote and published this poem as his tribute to Ward.

David Ward King further widely publicized the process in a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin #321 in 1908 under the title The use of the split-log drag on earth roads He also wrote articles explaining his drag, including one that appeared in the May 7, 1910 issue of The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...

titled "Good Roads Without Money." In 1904, the road drag and photos of its works were on display in the Agricultural Building at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition

Louisiana Purchase Exposition

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...

in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. Many of these photos were taken in Clay Township. In 1910, Iowa dragged from Council Bluffs to Davenport

Davenport, Iowa

Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...

and back in three hours. This was highlighted by the "Glidden Trail" scouts and became the River-to-River Road. During this time, Ward worked with Harry Crider, the Maitland postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

, to post all his ever-growing mail and purchase all his ever-increasing need for boxes of stamped envelopes from the Maitland post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

. This increased business made the Maitland post office eligible for its first rural route.

Within ten years of his first speech, advocating the King system, the King method spread all over the country, Canada and worldwide. His writings were translated into Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, which allowed South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n countries to benefit by it. The Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

adopted it. Missouri spent two thousand of the dollars of the day to drag its main roads. Whole townships organized to drag every mile of road after every rain. One township in Iowa dragged its entire road system "completely" in three hours. In 1906, the state of Iowa amended its statutes to use the King system on the country roads. In 1909, Iowa made the law mandatory and even broadened it to include the unpaved streets of the cities and towns of that state. His promotional brochure stated that "the road laws of six states have been changed to conform to Mr. King's ideas of proper road construction and road repair and maintenance."

Some Iowa farmers even had a song they sung in his praise, as they did their road dragging, which went:

Family

Mrs. Mary Wylie King was active in women's organizations of the church. She worked for many years as an enthusiastic member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union

Woman's Christian Temperance Union

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was the first mass organization among women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far-reaching reform strategies based on applied Christianity." Originally organized on December 23, 1873, in...

. She was an active member of Eastern Star, being chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

of that order for many years. She did not like staying home while Ward travelled, a fact which she mentioned repeatedly in her letters to him. Even so, she did serve as his "manager" under one spelling of her maiden name of "M.B. Wylie". She served as the practice audience for his speeches. She edited and typed his letters, often serving as his "emergency secretary". Some called her the "Mother of Good Roads." By all accounts, she was a very strong-willed woman, with a flair for the dramatic. Family members point to the photo she had taken of herself in "widow's weeds" as an example of her endearing way of dramatizing events—in that case, the recent death of her husband. She also never lost her staunch devotion to the cause of temperance, which the repeal of Prohibition

Prohibition

did nothing to dampen. One family member reported that there was a time when she came upon another family member having a beer. After she finished telling him in no uncertain terms what she thought about that, the two of them remained thereafter permanently estranged. However, she and Ward, the great promoter of his world changing invention, were undoubtedly the perfect pair.

David Ward and Mary Wylie King had four children, who were all born in Maitland, Missouri

Maitland, Missouri

. They were Lettie Reed King, who was born on December 29, 1881; Robert Quigley King, who was born on December 11, 1886; Miriam Danforth King, who was born on October 24, 1892; and David Bryant King, who was born on September 9, 1897.

Lettie Reed King went by her middle name of "Reed". She followed the King family tradition, which started with the original David King, of remaining a Presbyterian. In fact, she was a charter member of the Presbyterian Church of Maitland. She married Ralph Crider of Atchison, Kansas

Atchison, Kansas

Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...

. After her father's death, she was the family member to whom all family members "took their problems." She also was a frequent source of information about her famous father.

Robert Quigley King II served in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. He became an osteopath, graduating from the Kirksville School of Osteopathy

Osteopathy

Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....

. He practiced in Maitland, Missouri and Cushing, Oklahoma

Cushing, Oklahoma

Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,371 at the 2000 census.The city was established after the Land Run of 1891 by Billy Rae Little. It was named for Marshall Cushing, private secretary to U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker...

. His first wife, Margaret Isabel Moore, died on October 8, 1916. He then married Esther Harrison of Madison, Missouri

Madison, Missouri

Madison is a city in Monroe County, Missouri, United States. The population was 586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Madison is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

and had four children with her. He died June 5, 1931 in Rosedale Gardens, Michigan. His wife Esther died on June 29, 1951.

David Bryant King took over the Maitland farm when he was eighteen and operated it for the rest of his life. He was always active in community affairs and was a member of Protective Credit Association and the Holt County Farm Bureau. He married Gladys Elizabeth McHenry of St. Joseph, Missouri. They had three sons. David Bryant King died on May 29, 1944 in a Maryville, Missouri

Maryville, Missouri

Maryville is a city in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2000 census. The town, organized on February 14, 1845, was named for Mrs. Mary Graham, wife of Amos Graham, then the county clerk. Mary was the first Caucasian woman to have lived within the boundaries...

hospital. After the death of her husband, his widow Gladys inherited her husband's interests in the family's real estate holdings in Springfield, Ohio and brought a legal action that forced the sale of those interests. Gladys died January 5, 1955 in an automobile accident.

Miriam Danforth King married Ralph LeVerne Caywood, who was born in Maitland, Missouri on May 3, 1891. They had three children, who were all born in Maitland. She lived for many years in Coral Gables, Florida

Coral Gables, Florida

Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....

and did much to look after her mother in her mother's later years. Miriam died on March 28, 1957.

As was the case with Lettie Reed King, all of the Ward and Mary's children remained lifelong Presbyterians.

Affairs of David Ward King in Springfield, Ohio

Ward's mother, Harriet Adaline Danforth King, died on July 13, 1906 in Springfield, Ohio

Springfield, Ohio

after a lingering illness. Ward's father, Robert Quigley King, died suddenly on November 26, 1917 in his apartments in the King Building in Springfield. The Springfield newspaper reported his death with a lengthy front page article that featured a large photo of him.

David Ward King and his brother, Robert Leffler King, inherited interests in their father's real estate holdings. Robert Quigley King had long owned the King Building, and there was a lot between it and High Street at the corner of Fountain and High in the very heart of downtown Springfield. At the time of his death, their father had begun building a new, very modern for its time, office building. Robert Quigley King's will left Ward and Leffler the King Building and this lot, subject to a one-third income interest in the profits from these properties to their sister Almena King Warrick for the rest of her life. He also left them some bonds in trust, which he instructed them to cash in and use to fund the building. The brothers worked together to complete that building after their father's death. At the suggestion of Leffler's wife, Lola Montez King, the brothers named this building the "Arcue" building which was the word form of "RQ" or "Robert Quigley". Leffler then managed this building for Ward until Ward's death and for Ward's heirs after his death.

Robert Quigley King gave his daughter Almena Warrick and her husband Harvey the right to live in his house at 642 North Wittenberg Avenue for life. This house is today owned by Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University is a private four-year liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio serving 2,000 full-time students representing 37 states and approximately 30 foreign countries...

. It is next door to the Wittenberg President's residence and is used as the university's guest house. Robert Quigley King also left his office building at 16 South Limestone Street in Springfield to his daughter Almena King Warrick and her husband Harvey for life. This building was in the heart of downtown Springfield as well and became the subject of a hard fought law suit between the King and Warrick heirs after Almena's death, when King faction of heirs wanted to mortgage the property to improve that building so as to lease it to Montgomery Ward and the Warrick faction did not. The faction that wanted to mortgage and improve the building eventually won the suit.

There is no provision in the will of Robert Quigley King that mentions his Missouri farm or Grassland Farm, which probably means that he had given them outright during his life to his sons Ward and Leffler respectively. However, at the time of his father's death, Leffler had moved back to Springfield, leaving his son, Edwin Askam King in charge of Grassland Farm.

Ward's brother, Robert Leffler King, died after a long bout with diabetes at the Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

home of his daughter, Jessie King Cave, on October 19, 1935. After Leffler's death, his son, Hamlin Caldwell King, managed the Arcue Building until its eventual sale. Leffer's son, Edwin Askam King, owned and operated Grassland Farm for the rest of his life.

The King family sold the building in the late forties, forced in a legal action by Gladys Elizabeth McHenry King, widow of David Ward King son David Bryant King. Even so, the Arcue Building still stands and is actively occupied today. It is still called the "Arcue Building" – even if no one remembers why. Long after the King family sold it, the King Building burned on September 15, 1956 in a spectacular fire that the history of the Springfield Fire Department mentions as one of the largest fires in the history of the city. There is today a vacant lot behind the Arcue Building where the King Building used to stand.

Deaths of David Ward and Mary Wylie King

David Ward King was for several years a director in the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. While he had been in ill health for several years, he had been able to keep up with his own affairs. He had just finished a board meeting when he suddenly died of a fatal cerebral hemorrhage on February 9, 1920 in St. Louis, at the Hotel Marquette. At the time of the death of David Ward King, "South America" was negotiating with the United States government to send him to South America

South America

on a campaign of good roads by dragging. Another man was sent in his place. Mary Wylie King died on October 12, 1945, at the home of her daughter, Miriam Danforth King Caywood, while moving furniture, in Coral Gables, Florida

Coral Gables, Florida

Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....

. They are both buried in Maitland, Missouri.

Importance of the King Road Drag

D. Ward King was widely admired in his day. Tributes came from everywhere. With the exception of the railroads, the better roads his invention brought about benefitted nearly everyone in a highly visible and totally obvious way. The "before and after" contrast was dramatic. In fact, the widespread use of the King Road Drag came along near the time Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...

started mass producing automobiles. Solid roads meant people could use their clackety Model T automobiles, especially on the roads between cities. Solid rural roads also made possible reliable rural mail delivery, which did much to promote commerce in the United States between city based businesses and the rural population. For instance, it allowed Sears and Roebuck to start sending out its catalogues to small towns and farms and thereby vastly increase the size of its customer base.

As a sign of how much Maitland revered his memory, there was a "gigantic maple tree" that was "situated on the lawn in a commanding position", which came to be designated the "King Memorial Tree." Years later, the Maitland-Skidmore Road was constructed through the lawn of the King farm. Its builders made a "jog" in the road around it to "preserve it as a memorial to the pioneer who cherished it from its infancy". Seventy years after Ward's death, "state scientists" were struggling to keep it alive after a particularly bad drought year. A history of Maitland said that "There are few trees in the state so admired and known." The Maitland, Missouri article on Wikipedia mentions itself as the home of D. Ward King.

Technology has long since left the horse-drawn King Road Drag far behind. The King Road Drag made possible the use of the motor vehicle

Motor vehicle

A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...

and, ironically, the motor vehicle doomed the King Road Drag, at least in its horse-drawn form. The motor-powered road grader quickly rendered its horse-drawn predecessor obsolete. However, without the road improvements brought about by the King Road Drag in its day and the subsequent advent of the automobile, American life would be different today in ways that cannot be easily imagined. For instance, how many people living today never would have been born, if bad roads and poor transportation had prevented so much as one set of their ancestors from meeting or even meeting later than they did? With that thought in mind, how many people living in America and elsewhere unsuspectingly owe their very existence to David Ward King and his King Road Drag?

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.