HORSE IS A JACKSON FIXTURE; PRINCE AN ATTRACTION TO MANY OVER THE YEARS

JACKSON, Mo. -- Prince Truxton was President Andrew Jackson's favorite horse; Prince Truxton II is the city of Jackson's, and he has gained a celebrity of his own.

For more than a century, the horse was called Prince until a horse-naming contest in 1965 during the city's sesquicentennial named him for the seventh president's famous horse.

Since 1889, Prince Truxton II has stood silent sentry over the storefront at 131 W. Main where the Goose Creek Trading Co., a garden seed and lawn supply store, is today. Goose Creek owner Diana Beattie is delighted to have him.

Prince, a dapple gray, stands an impressive 16 hands high -- 5 feet 6 inches tall -- and weighs 600 pounds.

But, although his mane and tail are real horse hair, Prince is papier-mch.

Horse's history

Prince Truxton II is almost as old as the building he calls home.

Beattie, who is familiar with Prince's colorful history, explained that C.H. Wolter, who owned Wolter's Harness and Carriage Shop, ordered Prince in 1889 from the Horse Display Works of Dayton, Ohio. The price was $125, a small fortune in those days, but it included shipping charges.

Prince arrived in Jackson via railroad car, and he had a job to do -- he was used to fit and display the harnesses Wolter sold. Prince's tail, chin and ears could be removed to fit a harness on him.

When Wolter completed the present building, Prince, built on rollers, was rolled down the hill to his new home and placed in the front window. He stands there still.

For years, Prince belonged to Wolter. Later it was part of Leonard Feed and Seed.

Prince's owners are Sarah Wessel and Morgan Wessel, granddaughters of Dorothy Willer and the late Raymond W. Willer.

Raymond Willer's father, A.W. "Alf" Willer, who worked for Wolter, later owned the business, and horse, for a number of years.

Photogenic equine

"Many, many people remember the Prince," said Beattie. "Parents bring their children, grandparents bring their grandchildren to see Prince."

She said that when new people notice the horse, they come into the store for a closer look, and many people who see Prince from the street think he's real.

It's not unusual for people to have their picture taken with Prince, she said.

At one time, Prince was moved from the window and onto the sidewalk in front of the shop, but a confrontation with a crabby bull forced Prince back to the window for good.

The story has it that one day a herd of cattle was being driven through town, along Main Street to the railroad station -- not an uncommon sight in those days, Beattie said.

During the cattle drive, a bull suddenly charged from the herd and rammed into poor Prince, and the bull pushed Prince a few feet down the sidewalk, she said.

Fortunately, Prince emerged unscathed.