Getzendaner Memorial Park

The park's namesake was a banker before he gave land. The Handbook of Texas says W. H. Getzendaner and J. W. Ferris opened Waxahachie's first bank on July 1, 1868, and the Ellis County entry says their bank played a vital role in developing the county's resources. Getzendaner was among the town's first settlers, and it was on his donated land that the Sims library opened in 1905. The Handbook also lists the octagonal Chautauqua Auditorium of 1902 among Waxahachie's National Register structures, a building the plaque says replaced an outgrown assembly hall.

What the plaque says

Getzendaner Memorial Park Established in 1889, Getzendaner Memorial Park was originally named West End Park as part of Waxahachie's West End addition. By the early 20th century, it became Chautauqua Park, named for the annual retreat held on its grounds through 1930. Chautauqua assemblies began in western New York in the 19th century as cultural program events, typically held during summer at pastoral settings. From 1900 the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and later local citizens, held Chautauqua retreats here. For two weeks each year, thousands would gather from throughout Texas and Oklahoma for the program, erecting tents for housing on the park grounds. During the assembly, restaurants, a barbershop, a telephone booth and a post office could all be found in the park. In addition, numerous tents served dining, religious and social needs. An auditorium constructed in 1902 replaced the former assembly hall, which the Chautauqua had outgrown. The new structure became the stage for lectures, concerts and other performances. Later, the building would be used for other occasions, such as high school graduations. The park has hosted other events, including a Confederate soldier reunion, which is noteworthy for the participation of W.H. Getzendaner, for whom the park was renamed in 1914. Born in 1834, Getzendaner moved to Waxahachie in 1858 and later served in the Civil War. Residents held many other events at the park over the years, including speaking engagements for orator and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan in 1909 and humorist Will Rogers in 1927. With historic ties to the early Chautauqua years, the park remains a gather place for civic and religious events. (2006)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ellis County Courthouse — 1.2 mi
  J. Riely Gordon's courthouse of 1897 in Pecos red sandstone and pink granite, with twenty-one carved stone faces and two cornerstones left by a quarrel over its building.
• Cedar Ridge Preserve — 17 mi
  A 633-acre Audubon Dallas preserve at the western edge of Dallas County, with about nine miles of trails through prairie, woodland and escarpment hills.
• Petroleum Industry Park — 32 mi
  The pipes and drilling tower mark where a city water well struck oil on June 9, 1894, the start of the first Texas field to produce oil and gas in important quantities.

More markers nearby

• Paul Richards Park — 0.9 mi
• N. P. Sims Library and Lyceum — 0.9 mi
• First United Methodist Church of Waxahachie — 1.0 mi
• Site of a Confederate Powder Mill — 1.2 mi