3/4-Grooved Axe from 14AT444
Date: 1-1000 CE
This axe was collected from a possible Early Ceramic period site in Atchison County and donated in 2018 to the Kansas Historical Society. While 3/4-grooved axes are frequently recovered from late Archaic sites, their use is not restricted to that time period. They get their name from the hafting groove that encircles 3/4 of the body of the axe. Axes like these are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state.

3/4 Grooved Axe from 14WY308
Date: 1-1500 CE
This 3/4 grooved axe was collected from a multicomponent site in Wyandotte County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1973. While 3/4 grooved axes are frequently recovered from late Archaic sites, their use is not restricted to that time period. They get their name from the hafting groove that encircles 3/4 of the body of the axe. Axes like these are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state.

3/4 Grooved Axe from Douglas County
Date: Unknown
This 3/4 grooved axe was collected in Douglas County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1923. While 3/4 grooved axes are frequently recovered from late Archaic sites, their use is not restricted to that time period. Axes like these are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state. They get their name from the hafting groove the encircles 3/4 of its body.

3/4 Grooved Axe from Geary County
Date: Unknown
This 3/4 grooved axe was found in Geary County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1963. While 3/4 grooved axes are frequently recovered from late Archaic sites, their use is not restricted to that time period. Axes like these are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state. They get their name from the hafting groove the encircles 3/4 of its body.

3/4 Grooved Axe from the Collins Site, 14DP1306
Date: Unknown
The 3/4 grooved axe shown here was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1979. It was collected from an archeological site in Doniphan County with multiple occupations. While 3/4 grooved axes are frequently recovered from late Archaic sites, there use is not restricted to that time period. Axes like these are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state. The groove would have been used to haft the axe to the handle.

3/4 Grooved Axe from the Plowboy Site, 14SH372
Date: 2000 BCE-1850 CE
This 3/4 grooved axe was collected from the Plowboy site in Shawnee County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. The Plowboy site was home to the Kansa, the Potawatomi, and Euro-Americans. At various times, the site contained a farm, a trading post, and a post office with nearby military trails, Mormon routes, a railroad and the California-Oregon trail. Before all of this activity, other American Indians also occupied the site and created this groundstone axe. Axes like these are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state. They get their name from the hafting groove the encircles 3/4 of its body.

3/4 Grooved Axe from the Stricker Site, 14DP1319
Date: Unknown
This 3/4 grooved axe was collected from a multicomponent archeological site in Doniphan County and donated in 2018 to the Kansas Historical Society. The site had occupations from the Archaic through the Historic periods. The axe was from one of the older time periods. While 3/4 grooved axes are frequently recovered from late Archaic sites, their use is not restricted to that time period. Axes like this one are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state and get their name from the hafting groove the encircles 3/4 of its body.

3/4 Grooved Axes from the Dickerson Site, 14AT346
Date: Unknown
Little is known regarding these 3/4 grooved axes from the Dickerson site in Atchison County. They were donated in 1878 to the Kansas Historical Society. While 3/4 grooved axes are frequently recovered from late Archaic sites, their use is not restricted to that time period. Axes like these are made by pecking a hard stone into a rough shape and then grinding and polishing it into its final state. They get their name from the hafting groove the encircles 3/4 of the body.

Abrader from 14HV301
Date: 1000-1500 CE
This sandstone abrader was recovered from a Middle Ceramic period site in Harvey County. Archeologists call abraders groundstone tools as they are shaped by grinding. This sandstone abrader has been used to sharpen another tool, such as a bone needle or awl.

Adze from Blue Earth Village, 14PO24
Date: 1795-1830 CE
This adze was used for cutting and shaping wood. It was collected from Blue Earth village and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1880. Blue Earth village was a Kansa Indian village in Pottawatomie County. Many lodge depressions were still visible on the surface in the 1880s.

Adze or Axe from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This chipped stone tool, either an adze or an axe, was most likely used for woodworking. It was excavated from a Great Bend aspect village site (ancestral Wichita) in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Adze or Axe from the Curry Site, 14GR301
Date: 1200-1400 CE
This chipped stone tool, possibly either an adze or an axe, was most likely used for woodworking. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1984. The Curry site in Greenwood County was a multicomponent (multiple occupations) site occupied periodically during the Archaic, Early Ceramic and Middle Ceramic Periods.

Adze or Axe from the Wullschleger Site, 14MH301
Date: 1-1800 CE
This chipped stone tool, made of Florence chert that outcrops in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, may have been used as an adze or axe. Artifacts like this one were likely used for wood working. It was collected from the Wullscheleger site in Marshall County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1961. The site was occupied periodically throughout the Early, Middle and Late Ceramic periods.

Adze or Axe from the Wullschleger Site, 14MH301
Date: 1-1800 CE
This chipped stone tool, made of Florence chert that outcrops in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, may have been used as an adze or an axe used for wood working. It was collected from the Wullscheleger site in Marshall County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1961. The site was occupied periodically throughout the Early, Middle and Late Ceramic periods.

Agricultural implement models
Date: Between 1939 and 1940
A photograph showing miniature models of agricultural implements made as part of the Work Progress Administration's Museum projects.

Angell Plow
Creator: Angell, Charlie J.
Date: 1926
One-way disk plow manufactured by Charles Angell of Plains, Kansas. Angell, a wheat farmer, developed a plow that set all disks at the same angle, or "one-way," to increase tilling efficiency. Farmers liked that it plowed faster and easily broke up hard soil, but its overuse created a fine, dusty layer that quickly blew away in heavy winds. This is a smaller version of the actual plow, which was ten feet wide. Angell made this four-foot model for use in his family's vegetable garden.

Apple peeler
Creator: Sinclair Scott Company
Date: between 1900 and 1940
Cast iron apple peeler by the Sinclair Scott Company of Baltimore. Hand crank. Clamp for mounting to countertop.

Army mess kit
Date: 1944
United States Army mess kit. Used by Private First Class John Lee Meyer, Jr. Meyer, a native of Phillipsburg, Kansas, was drafted into the Army in 1943. He saw heavy combant in Germany as part of the 1st Infantry Division, 18th Regiment, Company F, eventually receiving both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. After the war, Meyer was reassigned to the 1st Division, Chief of Council, Presentation Department in Nuremberg. His new duties included building the architectural model for the redesigned courtroom at the Palace of Justice in preparation for the Nuremberg Trials.

Arrow Shaft Wrench from the Thompson Site, 14RC9
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This bone arrow shaft wrench was recovered from the Thompson site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1963. Arrow shaft wrenches were used to straighten a warped arrow shaft. This wrench was made on the left tibia of a deer. The site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was a Great Bend aspect village occupied by ancestral Wichita people.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company military train
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows troops being served food on a Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company military train.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows soldiers cleaning their weapons while traveling on an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: between 1939 and 1945
This black and white photograph shows cooks preparing meals for soldiers on an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train.

AT & SF alligator wrench
Date: between 1935 and 1987
This is a steel Alligator Wrench so named for the serrations on one side of jaw resembling the open jaws of an alligator. It is used to turn cylindrical or irregularly shaped parts.

AT & SF Railway demmitasse cup
Creator: C.E. Wheelock & Company
Date: between 1894 and 1925
This porcelain cup has an image of The Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad's head offices in Topeka, Kansas. They were headquartered in the building as depicted on this cup from 1884 to 1925. The cup was produced by C.E. Wheelock & Company based in Peoria, Illinois but produced in Berlin, Germany. The donor, Charles Goebel, was a Santa Fe employee for 46 years.

AT & SF Railway pitcher
Creator: International Silver Company
Date: between 1890 and 1920
Silver-plated pitcher made by the International Silver Company for the Dining Car Service of the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway Company.