Peter E. Kern

Peter E. Kern (October 13, 1860 - February 8, 1937) was a jeweler and real-estate entrepreneur in El Paso, Texas and Skagway, Alaska. Kern Place in El Paso is named after him. Kern was keenly interested in astrology. He was also interested in the Egyptian swastika, which he made into jewelry and worked into various designs. Kern was also known for building the first Queen Anne house in the city, which was located on North Oregon Street. When he was fifteen, he apprenticed as a jeweler in Sandusky, Ohio, finishing when he was 19. According to the El Paso Herald, it was one of the largest jewelry stores in the city at the time. He was well known for his swastika designs, which were considered a "good luck omen." When his business failed, he chose to seek gold in the Klondike. Kern bought another building which he decorated with swastikas and later, he and two friends constructed "Castle Kern" in 1907. When Kern left Alaska in 1910, he sold the castle to Harriet Pullen, and sold his jewelry business to H.D. Kirmse. The castle burned down in a forest fire in 1912. In that same year, he proposed the creation of a park, West Lake park, to the city. The proposed park would also include a speedway and a scenic area named Kelly park, after the mayor, Charles E. Kelly. Also in 1910, he apparently fraudulently persuaded his former wife to sign away her rights to the Kern property. Construction of Kern Place began on November 21, 1914. On December 26, 1914, Kern and others donated a block of land to the El Paso School for Girls. In 1918, Kern gave the El Paso Public Library several copies of the genealogy of his family.

Peter E. Kern (on the left) in front of Crazy Cat Mountain in El Paso, Texas. Circa 1910s

Kern's daughter, Madeline (now Mrs. Madeline G. Merz), She went to court on behalf of her mother, now known as Mrs. Madeline G. White, On May 4, 1926, Kern Place was sold. In 1930, he had lost all of his money and worked for others in Kern Place as a gardener, earning 30 cents an hour. On February 8, 1937, Kern was killed in a collision with a Texas & Pacific passenger train in Arlington.