“You ask me how I came to get these animals. Well, I just went out and bought ‘em, that’s all." ~ William Hall
New York Tribune, February 6, 1932
“Hall self-proclaimed himself, 'The Horse King of the World,' and it appeared on his stationary in 1909." Bob Cline, letterhead, Fred D. Pfening, III archives
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Hall's determination paid off. By the time he was 28, “he was spending $7,000 - $10,000 [$350,000 today] per week buying horses and mules,” reported The Lancaster Excelsior, March 4, 1892.
"Horses and mules were the county's largest export, being shipped throughout the country." |
 "The Hall farm around the 1900s. It's a great picture of his new barn, the vast number of horses, and the landscape of Lancaster." Fred D. Pfening, III, photo Circus Historical Society archives |
"Hall is the most remarkable man I ever knew.... he was a genius at mathematics and a 'regular gypsy horse trader'." ~William Woodcock, Sr., Elephant Trainer
Tom Parkinson, Bandwagon Magazine, Jan./Feb. 1964
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Circus Historian Bob Cline added, “He was making his mark in the horse kingdom. He wore his Prince Albert coat of light blue color, silk top hat, and sparkling diamonds for years to come. His name became synonymous with class.”
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“Locally, he was called ‘the lightning horse buyer.’ It was said that there was none other in the United States who knew a horse as well or could tell in so short a time what it was worth.”
The Schuyler County Republican, March 15, 1907
"Best Horse Buyer Anywhere," Marilyn Foreman, Schuyler County Hall Museum Curator
 "This was a bill that Hall had posted around Schuyler, Memphis, Bloomfield and nearly everyplace within 100 miles of here," Schuyler County Historical Society President Jonathan Schaffer, bill Schuyler County William P. Hall Museum |
 Hall attended many sales to purchase animals and circus equipment. Article, Billboard Magazine, August 13, 1910 |
"No Order Too Small or Too Large"
Hall's Business Card, Circus World Museum archives
Hall began his career by supplying horses to the “New York Fire Department, Philadelphia Mounted Police, Pony Express, and his biggest client - the American Express Delivery Company,” explained Circus Historian Fred D. Pfening, III. Hall never forgot about the 'little man,' either - his business card read, "No order too small or too large." One such small order was to the Kirksville, Missouri Fire Department.
 "Hall supplied over 200 horses to The New York City Fire Department." Bob Cline, photo New York Fire Department history archives |
 "Hall supplied all of the horses for The Philadelphia Mounted Police [and] they were his first big client." Fred D. Pfening, III, photo by Philadelphia Department of Public Safety archives |
 "Hall supplied all of the horses for the The American Express Company's operation west of the Mississippi River." Bob Cline, photo International Museum of the Horse |
 "No matter which end of the Pony
Express route they found themselves on, the estimated 400 horses originally selected for service were chosen for swiftness
and endurance. (Approximately 150 more horses were added during the 18 months that the Pony Express was operational to replace horses that were stolen, injured, sick, or worn-out.)" Kim Mariette, picture Rick Gore Horsemanship |
"In 1860, The Pony Express was created to carry letters over a route of 91,966 miles between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. A relay station was located every 12-15 miles where the rider picked up a fresh horse, after riding at a full gallop." |
"Hall purchased eleven carloads of horses in less than eight hours. People from far away as Maine were buying Hall's excellent quality horses for use in logging camps.” |
 "Hall remained active in the nuts and bolts of his horse business throughout his career." Bob Cline. Ad, The Union, Republican (Corning, Iowa), April 17, 1909 |
Railroad
 "Elephants and handlers heading to a circus in Ohio around 1910." William "Buckles" Woodcock, Jr.  "Hall paid the railroad thousands of dollars to expand the lines in Lancaster, adding spurs for the railroad cars to sit." Bob Cline. "The Chicago Quincy Burlington Railroad, originally the Missouri Nebraska Iowa Railroad, came into Lancaster in 1872." The Kansas City Public Library, Missouri Valley Special Collections |
Hall provided The Chicago Quincy Burlington Railroad with a great deal of business for 25 years, and he shipped most of his animals out of Lancaster, which funneled money back into the community. Shortly after Hall’s death, the railroad stopped coming through the county.
"It was because of him the railroad industry lasted as long as it did cutting through there." |
