Praying John Horrigan
The kneeling figure of Ellis folklore who stumped the curious
Though little is known of John's life prior to his arrival in Ellis during the 1870's, it is known that he worked as an Army muleskinner and also spent some time working on the Mississippi. In Ellis, John supported himself working as a stonemason until old age forced him to retire. Even though great speculation of why he prayed existed then and today, John never revealed the true reasons. Despite this, he always spoke freely of other subjects to those he knew.
With clock-like regularity each day, no matter the weather, John went to a spot along the railroad tracks and prayed three to four times a day, many times for several hours. John always prayed bareheaded, his long hair blown by the Kansas wind and his face bare of any beard, exposed to the relentless summer sun and biting winter winds. Despite the ridicule by some of his lengthy and frequent prayers, John always spoke well of others and never uttered a cross word or cursed.
For many years he prayed along the railroad tracks at the western edge of town, however with the advent of the Kodak and John's legendary status, curious onlookers flocked to photograph him as he prayed, forcing him to abandon his rail-side altar and seek seclusion near Cemetery Hill. After suffering a two-week long illness, Praying John Horrigan died on a Monday evening, 22 May 1905. Today John is buried on Cemetery Hill near where he knelt so often in the prairie grasses. A red cedar tree near the north wall of Mount Hope Cemetery shades his grave and a stone marking his place of rest reads
Praying John Horrigan
Died 1905
Marker is on Washington Street near the railroad grade crossing, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
