Newton Kansan
NEWTON —
The location of the new and old water tower was not part of the original town of Newton.
There was a 160-acre farm and homestead that extended 1/2-mile north of 12th Street and 1/2-mile west of Kansas Avenue. I don’t know who the original landowners were. There was a large two-story house just a short distance northwest, where the new water tower is located. Also, there was a large barn built into the hillside approximately two to three hundred feet west of the house.When the Missouri Pacific railroad was constructed through Newton, the trucks listed the farm in a northwesterly direction. All the land and farm was acquired by the elder Ben Royston many years ago and still is owned by members of the Royston family.For many years in the late 1940s and 1950s, the barn and area around it were the location of a community sale operated by Bill Gronau. The inside of the barn was multi-level. There was a small sale ring and some bleachers for people to sit on during the auction. Also, there was a small cafe/lunchroom in the upper northeast corner of the barn on sale days. After the community sale was discontinued, the barn and house were unoccupied for numerous years. On Halloween night in October 1964, some local kids were careless and set the barn on fire and it burned down. Both the barn remains and the old house were demolished.When the original water tower was built just north of Walnut street, the city acquired a small plot of ground since the location on 12th Street between Walnut and Pine streets were 3/4 small houses (shacks), also an old wood Santa Fe box car somebody converted into a living place.Originally, 12th Street hill was higher then. Now there is a steep slope to the west. That was a great location for sledding in the wintertime. But now 12th Street hill is just a gentle slope.Say goodbye to the old water tower, that Newton landmark soon will be gone.— John E. Wiebe,Newton
