Medium: PhysicalObject
Ribbon
Date: between 1892 and 1902
Double-sided ribbon for the Dodge City Fire Department. Front is red, white, and blue. Back is black for mourning. Made by Whitehead & Hoag of Newark and marked with an…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Fire bucket
Date: between 1880 and 1889
Tall narrow black leather fireman’s bucket used on a horse-drawn fire wagon. The donor, George Luty, was the fire chief of Kiowa, Kansas.
Medium: PhysicalObject
Firehose nozzle
Date: between 1850 and 1930
Brass nozzle for fire hose. Short, slender nozzle with tapered tip.
Medium: PhysicalObject
Center-fire police revolver
Date: between 1907 and 1909
Double-action center-fire revolver. Empire State model produced by the Meriden Firearms Company. The Meriden Firearms Company was a subsidiary of Sears and Roebuck Company from 1907 to 1909. The pistol…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Round bow handcuffs
Date: between 1860 and 1869
Pair of steel, round bow, adjustable ratchet handcuffs. These handcuffs were used in Dodge City. This model was known as Second Model Tower Bottom Key Handcuffs. Tower was the first…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Dodge City jail key
Date: 1884
Large symmetrical-shaped steel skeleton key. This key, dated to 1884, was reportedly the key to the Dodge City Jail.
Medium: PhysicalObject
1851 Colt Navy Revolver
Date: between 1851 and 1852
1851 Colt Navy Revolver with engraved cylinder. Six shot, .36 caliber single action steel revolver with walnut grips. William F. Arny reportedly gave this Colt Navy revolver to John Brown…
Medium: PhysicalObject
John Brown medal
Date: 1874
Gold medal showing a bust-length relief of John Brown on one side and an inscription in French on the reverse. The inscription translated reads, “In memory of John Brown, legally…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Parsons, Kansas by Jules Tavernier
Date: 1873
Watercolor sketch of Forest Avenue (now Broadway) in Parsons, Kansas, by Jules Tavernier. Tavernier was born in Paris in 1844 and trained as an artist in France. He served as…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Ballot box
Date: 1865
Small, wooden container that originally held teaspoons. The box has been adapted for use as a ballot box. It was used in Rawlins County, Kansas, in 1880. James Matheny donated…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Dr. D. Jayne’s Expectorant Bottle
Date: 1831-1930
This patent medicine bottle was recovered from the surface at Fort Riley in the main cantonment area. It carries the embossed lettering of “Dr. D. Jayne’s Expectorant.” David Jayne, 1798/99-1866,…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Bears Grease Jar Lid from the Quindaro Site, 14WY314
Date: 1857-1863
This lid from a jar of Bears Grease hair conditioner was recovered from excavations at the Quindaro Townsite, an archaeological district now part of Kansas City, KS. The lid reads…
Medium: PhysicalObject
McDonald’s Pharmacy Bottle from Quindaro, 14WY314
Date: 1894-1911
This clear glass bottle was recovered from excavations at the Quindaro Townsite in Wyandotte County. The bottle’s embossed lettering proclaims it once came from McDonald’s Pharmacy located on Independence and…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Leg shackle
Date: between 1855 and 1860
Open circular iron shackle. In 1860 Robert McFarland, a blacksmith in Lexington, Missouri, cut this shackle from the leg of an escaped slave. The slave was an elderly man who…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Marble from 14EW479
Date: 1890-1987
This marble was recovered from an archeological site in Ellsworth County. The large glass shooter, a larger marble shot at other marbles, was donated in 1991 to the Kansas Historical…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Pitcher from Fort Hays, 14EL301
Date: 1867-1889
These two small fragments from a pitcher were recovered from excavations at Fort Hays in Ellis County. They partially depict the killing of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, shown descending the stairs…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Red Cross box
Date: between 1942 and 1945
Wooden box with lid. The Red Cross insignia is painted in multiple places on the box. The boxes contained basic food, medical, and personal items, including cheese, canned meats, chocolate…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Handmade cap
Date: 1945
Blue flannel cap with two buttons sewn to the front. Colonel James C. Hughes made the cap in 1945 while being held as a prisoner of war in Cheng Chia…
Medium: PhysicalObject
French garrison cap
Date: between 1914 and 1918
Horizon blue garrison cap with gold cord trim. The French army wore caps like this during World War I. When the war began, the French wore uniforms comprised of bright…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Kansas National Guard uniform coat
Date: 1906
Kansas National Guard Chief musician’s uniform coat. Navy blue wool with gold piping around the collar, shoulder flaps, and cuffs. It is shown here with the matching uniform pants. This…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Uniform cap
Date: 1906
Kansas National Guard uniform cap. This cap belonged to James C. Hughes. Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, Hughes joined the Kansas National Guard as a trumpeter in 1905. He…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Brigadier general’s coat
Date: between 1893 and 1905
Kansas National Guard brigadier general’s coat. Navy blue wool, double breasted with two rows of four pairs of gilded buttons. The coat belonged to Brigadier General James White Frierson Hughes.…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Buckskin Gloves
Date: Unknown
These buckskin gloves were donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1934. They are lined with red wool and have fur cuffs. The gloves are decorated in an embroidered multicolored…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Velocipede
Date: 1885
“Victor” high-wheeled bicycle, or penny-farthing, made by the Overman Wheel Company of Boston, Massachusetts, around 1885. The design of this bicycle gained popularity after riders found that they could move…
Medium: PhysicalObject
Traveling cup
Date: 1897
Nickel-plated, collapsible drinking cup with lid. The lid shows a molded relief of a man and woman riding a tandem bicycle. It is possible that the cup was intended for…