Standard atlas of Sumner County, Kansas
Creator: Geo. A. Ogle & Co.
Date: 1918
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a patrons' directory, and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

E.L. Metz to Arthur Capper
Creator: Metz, E.L.
Date: June 4, 1940
In this letter to Senator Arthur Capper, E.L. Metz of Caldwell, Kansas, argues that the United States should provide material and monetary aid to England and France but should avoid becoming directly involved in the war in Europe. In 1940, a group called the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies promoted this very position. Newspaper editor William Allen White (of the Emporia Gazette) headed this organization. The U.S. Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act to this end in March 1941. Four days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad roundhouse, Caldwell, Kansas
Date: 1910
A photograph showing the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad roundhouse in Caldwell, Kansas.

Caldwell, Kansas
Date: 1876
This pencil sketch of Caldwell, Kansas is taken from the Ado Hunnius dirary and depicts the Caldwell House Hotel from the north east end of the street.

Duck Hunt, Caldwell, Kansas
Date: 1922
A sepia colored photo of two hunters and their results from a successful duck hunt in Caldwell, Kansas. The hunters left to right: E.A. Detrick and Harry Wanerke hunted for two days and shot 100 ducks which are visable draped along their vehicle.

G. R. Anderson to Board of Railway Commissioners
Creator: Anderson, G. R.
Date: May 21, 1883
In this letter G. R. Anderson, owner of a general merchandise, coal, and hay store in Caldwell, Kansas, complains to the Board of Railroad Commissioners that the rate of transferring loads of coal on the Missouri Pacific Railroad at Ft. Scott is unreasonable. The flat rate of five dollars per car meant that, proportionally, moving a small load of coal was more expensive that moving a large load of coal. See the Board of Railroad Commissioners' response to this concern, a letter by H. M. Hoxie to E. J. Twiner, dated May 31, 1883.

Covered wagons on the streets of Caldwell, Kansas
Date: April 1889
Photo of covered wagons on the streets of Caldwell, Kansas during the gathering of the Oklahoma Boomers.

Chisholm Trail
Creator: Kansas Dept. of Transporation
Date: June 07, 1970
An aerial view of the Chisholm Trail south of Caldwell, Kansas in Sumner County.

Caldwell Weekly Advance
Date: Between 1890 and 1899
Interior view of the Caldwell Weekly Advance newspaper shop showing men using a printing press and one man holding a copy of the newspaper. The Caldwell Weekly Advance newspaper was published in Caldwell, Kansas.

Standard atlas of Sumner County, Kansas
Creator: Geo. A. Ogle & Co.
Date: 1902
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a patrons' directory, portraits, and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

Henry Newton Brown & Ben Wheeler
Creator: Siringo, Charlie
Date: Between 1882 and 1884
This sepia colored post card shows the portraits of Henry Newton Brown and Ben Wheeler. Brown a former member of Billy the Kid's Gang, and Wheeler a former outlaw and friend of Brown's, found themselves on the other side of the law with their appointments as marshals of Caldwell, Kansas. In this south central Kansas community Brown and Wheeler, with their quick draw on the gun, turned the once lawless cow town into a safe and peaceful place to live. They were trusted as lawmen until the unthinkable happened on April 30, 1884, when Brown and Wheeler and two of their outlaw friends John Wesley and Billy Smith attempted to rob the Medicine Valley Bank. Although the robbery was unsuccessful the robbers were eventually apprehended and brought back to Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Their time in jail was brief when pandemonium erupted over their capture creating a diversion for escape. In a hail of bullets Henry Brown was shot dead while an injured Wheeler was captured and hung beside Wesley and Smith.

Bank robbers, Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Date: 1884
This black and white photograph shows a group of robbers from Medicine Lodge, Kansas. The men in shackles are identified from left to right as: John Wesley, Henry Newton Brown, Billy Smith, and Ben Wheeler the would be robbers of the Medicine Valley Bank in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Brown, a former member of Billy the Kid's Gang, and Wheeler a former outlaw and friend of Brown's, found themselves on the other side of the law with their appointments as marshals of Caldwell, Kansas. But on April 30, 1884, Brown, Wheeler, Smith, and Wesley attempted to rob the Medicine Valley Bank. The robbery was unsuccessful and the robbers were eventually apprehended and brought back to Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Their time in jail was brief when pandemonium erupted over their capture, creating a diversion for escape. In a hail of bullets, Henry Brown was shot dead while an injured Wheeler was captured and hanged beside Wesley and Smith.

Southwestern Hotel, Caldwell, Kansas
Date: 1886
This black and white photograph shows a group of people standing before the Southwestern Hotel in Caldwell, Kansas. The two-story brick building opened in November of 1883 and consisted of thirty-eight rooms with a ladies' parlor on the second floor.

Main street, Caldwell, Kansas
Date: 1900
This black and white photograph looking north on main street in Caldwell, Kansas. The town located on the Chisholm Trail in Summer, County, Kansas, was known as the "Border Queen City" during the cow town period because of its location to the Oklahoma border. In 1893 Caldwell, also, became a starting point for the Cherokee Strip Land Run which opened up the Oklahoma Territory for settlement.

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad depot, Caldwell, Kansas
Creator: Kelley, Frank O.
Date: 1954
This black and white photograph shows the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad depot at Caldwell, Kansas.

Tornado near Caldwell, Kansas
Creator: Alexander, Jerry
Date: March 13, 1990
Eleven photographs showing a tornado west of Caldwell, Kansas, moving northeast.

Carl "Ado" Hunnius diary
Creator: Hunnius, Ado, 1842-1923
Date: January 10 - 24, 1876
Carl J. A. "Ado" Hunnius kept this diary while visiting the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in Indian Territory. The diary contains detailed information about the trip and sketches (drawn illustrations) of some of the things he saw during the course of his travels. A complete transcription is available by clicking on Text Version below.

The Chisholm Cattle Trail
Creator: Howes, Cecil, 1880-1950
Date: 1940-1950
This item, written by Kansas City Star editor Charles Cecil Howes, concerns the Chisholm Trail, its origins, and its impact on Kansas. Howes explains that the Chisholm Trail was named after Jesse Chisholm who, along with James R. Mead, "freighted goods over the trail for years." According to Howes, Chisholm was a "half-breed Indian who engaged in the trading business for many years and established several trading posts in the Indian Territory [most of the land west of the Mississippi during that period]."

Historical atlas of Sumner County, Kansas
Creator: Edwards, John P.
Date: 1883
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a county history, patrons' list, advertising directory, and plats of towns as of the year of publication.