"The Great Wm. P. Hall Shows"
Lured by the prospect of owning his own circus, Hall bought one in 1905 for $20,000 ($700,000 today). “The Great Wm P. Hall Shows - Double Menagerie - Colossal Circus - Elevated Stages and Real Roman Hippodrome” opened in Lancaster on May 6, 1905. This was a great boon for the county.
Hall's letterhead used from 1905-1907. Circus World Museum archives
Hall was referred to as "Colonel Hall" for the first time in a July 1906 Billboard Magazine article. This article came out right after his circus opened. No one knows why, but the name stuck.
 "Wow! What a photo! This is a rare one. This was the traveling team that went ahead of the circus to advertise for it," Circus Historian Bob Cline. "This is the only known photo of any of the railroad equipment on the William P. Hall Circus in 1905. The side of the car reads 'The Great Wm. P Hall Shows, The Finest Circus in the World.'" Circus World Museum |
 "Admission ticket to the The Great Wm. P. Hall Shows in 1905." William "Buckles" Woodcock, Jr. |
   This ad for Hall's Circus appeared in The Schuyler County Republican, May 5, 1905, taking up a full column. It is seen here in three parts.
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 The Lancaster Excelsior, April, 1905.  The Chilocothe (Missouri) Daily Democrat, May 26, 1905 |
William P. Hall Shows Schedule. Circus Historical Society
Hall's show ended in Lancaster that August, never to tour again. Although Hall loved the circus and loved to travel with his horse business, he greatly disliked traveling with his circus.
 "This is the only known photo of this lettered wagon from the William P. Hall circus in 1905. This picture was used to advertise the wagon for sale in 1907." Fred D. Pfening, III archives |
 "This ad appeared in Billboard Magazine in 1906, offering The Great Wm. P. Hall Show for sale." Tom Parkinson, Bandwagon Magazine, 1966 |
