Ballot box
Creator: Dover Stamping Company
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 it to the Kansas Historical Society in 1881. Matheny, who came to Kansas from Indiana in 1869 and settled in Topeka and then Alma, was among the first settlers in Rawlins County in 1873. He and T.A. Andres laid out the plans for Atwood, the county seat, in 1879. In 1880 Matheny cast the first ballot in that year's election using this ballot box. That election resulted in the citizens of Rawlins County voting for James Garfield to serve as the President of the United States and against the "Prohibition" amendment to the state constitution. Matheny returned to Topeka in 1881 to allow his children to attend school there. He died in 1885 at the age of 43.

Governor's Proclamation
Date: August 22, 1873
This is a Governor's Proclamation issued by Governor Thomas A. Osborn for the arrest of William Thompson who murdered C. B. Whitney, Sheriff of Ellsworth County, Kansas. A $500.00 reward was offered for the arrest and conviction of Thompson.

Hamilton County Clerk warrants
Creator: Treasurer of Hamilton County Kansas
Date: 1888
Here are two Hamilton County Clerk warrants issued by the Treasurer of Hamilton County, Kansas. One is dated January 7, 1888 and the other May 14, 1888.

Lithograph of Hutchinson, Kansas
Creator: Morse, D. D
Date: 1878
This is a lithograph showing Hutchinson the county seat of Reno County, Kansas. The lithograph shows schools, churches, mills, grain elevators, courthouse, bridges, shops, A.T. & S. F. Land Office, S. W. Land Office, hotels, printing offices, and corn grinder.

Parsons, Kansas by Jules Tavernier
Creator: Tavernier, Jules
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 a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War, and his drawings of war-torn Paris were flown by hot air balloon to London for publication. After the war he worked as an illustrator in London and then in New York for Harper's Weekly. In 1872, Harper's sent him on a trip across the United States on an assignment to document the American West. This piece was executed in 1873 and shows a scene Tavernier saw in Parsons while on that trip. He arrived in San Francisco in 1874. Tavernier went on to be a well-known artist in California before moving to Hawaii, where he was part of a group of artists known as the Volcano School. He died in Honolulu in 1889.

The Geneseo Town Company
Creator: Geneseo Town Company
Date: September 23, 1889
This is a certificate for 20 shares of capital stock in The Geneseo Town Company. It was issued to S. H. Crihfield.

Town Company Stock Certificate for Oswego, Kansas
Date: April 11, 1868
This is a stock certificate for the Town Company of the Town of Oswego, La Bette [Labette] County, Kansas. It was issued to W. S. Newlon.