Betsy Did Put an Addition on 1119 Polk

Not long after Edward and Betsy moved their family to Topeka from Morris County, they placed this want ad in The Topeka Daily Capital on September 27, 1889. Edna said they lived first at 518 W. Polk which could have been the house they found with this want ad.

Ad for a large house for the winter

Walker home on Polk in 1907

But by 1902 they were living at 1119 Polk Street. The first photograph shows the house circa 1907.

Edward became ill with hardening of the arteries according to Edna in 1910 and died about a year later in February 1911. By this time both boys, Fred and Percy, were pharmacists. Fred had his own drugstore on Kansas Avenue and Percy had worked with his father. It seems Betsy was looking for ways to augment her income.

Walker home in 1911 after addition

In June of 1911, she took out a building permit in the amount of $1,700 Betsy Walker building permit, 12/31/1911 about $42, 500 in current dollars. As is shown in the second photograph, there was an addition over the porch and the window over the bay window on the first floor became a double window. Edna recalled that she let the additional rooms to young men studying law at Washburn. Every fall the horse and wagon would come from the train station with their trunks