Square Park after election 1896

Square Park after election 1896

1896 gathering after election is written in pencil on the bottom frame. A crowd of men have gathered on Cass Street just in front of the Main street entrance to the park. Many are holding or waving their hats (especially in the back of the crowd). Two men hold flags on poles and one man in the center holds a flag in front of him.
The winter cover for the fountain (triangle shaped object) is in the center. In the background, faint images of the spring house, E. Van Buren street buildings, City Hall, and two buildings west of city hall on Van Buren are visible. The brick building [Stage Left annex] was Chauncy Hill's blacksmith shop. The white frame building is at the location of 129 Van Buren.
The bandstand is located further west than today and has just a low platform with a short fence around it.
The United States presidential election of November 3, 1896, saw Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by historians to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history.

1896