John Brisben Walker

For other people with the same name, see John Walker (disambiguation).

Walker circa 1890

John Brisben Walker (September 10, 1847 – July 7, 1931) was a magazine publisher and automobile entrepreneur in the United States. In his later years, he was a resident of Jefferson County, Colorado.

Biography

Walker was born on September 10, 1847, at his parents' country house on the Monongahela River, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On that river his grandfather owned a shipyard reputed to be where the keel boat used by the Lewis and Clark expedition was built, although this is disputed. [National Park Service Lewis and Clark Historic Trail, “Who Really Built the Leis and Clark Keelboat, Parts I and II” (January 29, 2019), nps.gov]

After a brief stint as a Georgetown College student, Walker transferred to West Point in 1865. In 1866 he was court-martialed[General Court Martial, Orders No. 109, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General’s Office, April 20, 1866] for deserting his post as a sentinel in cadet barracks before being relieved, suspended for ten weeks and set back a semester. [The Improbable First Century of Cosmopolitan Magazine (James Landers, University of Missouri Press, 2010, at page 53.)]  In 1868 he was again court-martialed, this time for stretching a seven-day New Year’s leave to seventeen days. [Landers at pp. 53-54; General Court Martial, Orders No. 112, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General’s Office, March 2, 1868].  After being convicted, he resigned from the Military Academy without graduating.

Shortly thereafter, a family connection helped him find a place accompanying the newly-named Envoy of the United States to China, which was then recovering from a devasting 14-year civil war triggered by a man who claimed to be the son of God and a brother of Jesus that ended in 1865.  [Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom (Stephen R. Platt, Vintage Books, 2012)].

In China Walker found a use for his military training, but what precisely he did is opaque.  Depending on the source consulted, he either served as a General in the Imperial Army [John Brisben Walker: A Man of Ideas, (Edna Fiore, Morrison Historical Society)], ], or served in the Military Department of the Imperial Government and translated into Chinese a manual of military tactics [New York Journal, August 26, 1896, p.3, col. 5 (Library of Congress, Chronicling American, loc.gov)] or, as Walker told an interviewer years later, served as an officer in the Army advising local commanders on reorganization of infantry units(Landers, at  p.54).  Whatever he did in China, the experience left a strong impression on Walker, prompting him to say years later that if China ever modernized its military system “it will not be long before the Yellow Dragon will be the most formidable battle ensign on earth” [The Rocky Mountain News [Denver, CO], September 12, 1894, p.12, col. 7 (coloradohistoricnewspapers.org)].

In 1872, Walker arrived in Charleston, West Virginia and purchased much land from the Elk river west to a line which ran from the Kanawha river near the end of the present Delaware Avenue to about the end of Fayette Street at West Washington Street, and extending from the Kanawha river to he present West Washington street. This he designated as the J.B. Walker addition to the City of Charleston, but it was commonly called the West End. Walker laid off this section into a town site, with streets running in one direction and avenues in another. He named the streets for West Virginia counties, and the avenues for other states. His original plans, with a few changes in names, but little other variation, are still the plans of that part of the city. Walker's land failed to make a profit, and so he moved to New York to try his hand at another venture.

In 1889 he purchased Cosmopolitan Magazine, leading it to marked growth before selling it to William Randolph Hearst in 1905. The 1905 sale price has been variously reported as $400,000 and $1,000,000. He was a co-founder of the Locomobile Company of America and established the Mobile Company of America in 1899.

Moving to Colorado, Walker donated 40 acres (160,000 m²) in Denver to the Jesuits in 1887. The Jesuits built what is now Regis University upon that 40 acres (160,000 m²).

In the first decade of the twentieth century, Walker had a vision of artists performing on a stage nestled in the perfectly acoustic surroundings of Red Rocks. Walker produced several concerts between 1906 and 1910 on a temporary platform; and out of his dream, the history of Red Rocks as an entertainment venue began. In addition to the platform, Walker also built the Mount Morrison Cable Incline funicular railway which carried tourists from a base at what is today the parking lot of the amphitheatre up to enjoy the view from the top of Mount Morrison; the incline operated for about five years beginning in 1909. In 1928, the city of Denver acquired Red Rocks amphitheater from Walker for $54,133 (equivalent to $960,546 today), with a total area of 728 acres (1.1 sq mi; 2.9 km²).

John Walker built a home in 1909 atop Mt. Falcon (a mountain slightly west of Denver, Colorado). The house was struck by lightning and was ruined in 1918. He attempted to build a summer white house for the President around 1911. When his attempts to raise money to continue the building failed, the project was abandoned.

Walker died on July 7, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York City.

Walker was married three times; his third wife was the prominent suffragette Iris Calderhead.

See also

• Freelan Oscar Stanley & Francis Edgar Stanley
• Stanley Motor Carriage Company

Images

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  A picture of the ruins from a distance coming up Castle Trail
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  A picture of the ruins from the center
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  A picture of the sign which shows pictures of the house nearing completion as well as a description of the house