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.

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 cooks preparing meals for soldiers on an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's military train.

Bean pot
Date: between 1950 and 1990
Rafael and Concepcion (Connie) Rocha Lopez owned this large, glazed terra cotta pot. Both Rafael and Connie were born in Mexico. They frequently returned there and brought things back with them, including this crock pot. Reportedly, Connie used the pot in her home to cook beans. In 1963, the Lopez's opened Connie's, the first family-owned Mexican restaurant in Wichita, Kansas.

Bender knife
Creator: Marsh Brothers & Company
Date: between 1870 and 1879
Bone handled steel table knife made by Marsh Brothers & Company between 1870 and 1879. It was owned by the Bender family who were known for killing travelers at their home near Cherryvale, Kansas in the 1870's. This knife was found in a clock at the home.

Cherry pitter
Creator: Enterprise Manufacturing Company
Date: between 1883 and 1900
Cast iron cherry pitter. Enterprise Manufacturing Company of Philiadelphia, Model No. 1. Patent April 24, 1883. Hand crank. Clamp for mounting to countertop. From the household of Timon Covert (1883-1960). Covert, born near Madison, Kansas, was an educator in both Greenwood and Lyon Counties.

Coffee mill
Date: between 1898 and 1910
Enterprise Manufacturing coffee mill, patent date 1898. The cast iron mill is painted red and decorated with numerous decals. It sits on a wooden base with a drawer. This mill was used at the J.J. Kane General Merchandise store in Rock Creek, Kansas.

Copper alcohol-tester
Date: between 1930 and 1949
Copper alcohol-tester used to determine the strength of bootleg alcohol. Francis "Tim" Bannon, a lawyer and district judge, acquired this tester following a criminal proceeding in Leavenworth, Kansas, which required its seizure as evidence. From 1880 to 1948, Kansas established early and lengthy Prohibition laws that led to some of the most restrictive alcohol legislation in the nation. Though federal Prohibition ended in 1933, the unlicensed production of alcohol is still illegal. Bannon probably acquired this item in the early 1930s.

Copper funnel
Date: between 1930 and 1949
Copper funnel used for the distillation of bootleg alcohol. Francis "Tim" Bannon, a lawyer and district judge, acquired this funnel following a criminal proceeding in Leavenworth, Kansas, which required its seizure as evidence. From 1880 to 1948, Kansas established early and lengthy Prohibition laws that led to some of the most restrictive alcohol legislation in the nation. Though federal Prohibition ended in 1933, the unlicensed production of alcohol is still illegal. Bannon probably acquired this item in the early 1930s.

Copper kettle
Date: between 1800 and 1880
Large cylindrical copper kettle with handles. This kettle is known as a "caso." It is like ones used for general cooking on the Santa Fe Trail. It was a common practice to rivet patches on such vessels. The green sulphate corrosion was often scraped off to be used as a coloring agent in paint or dye or as an additive in medicinal compounds.

Copper kettle
Date: between 1930 and 1949
Five-gallon copper container used for the distillation of bootleg alcohol. Francis "Tim" Bannon, a lawyer and district judge, acquired this container following a criminal proceeding in Leavenworth, Kansas, which required its seizure as evidence. From 1880 to 1948, Kansas established early and lengthy Prohibition laws that led to some of the most restrictive alcohol legislation in the nation. Though federal Prohibition ended in 1933, the unlicensed production of alcohol is still illegal. Bannon probably acquired this item in the early 1930s.

Dog-powered butter churn
Date: between 1870 and 1890
Dog-powered butter churn. Plunger-style churn powered by an inclined treadmill made of wood and cast iron. The treadmill is embossed "Wheeler & Melick Co., Albany, N.Y. U.S.A." on the front and is stenciled "Albany Dog Power" on the sides. Used by Samuel and Sarah McFadden on their farm near Peabody, Kansas around 1880.

Harvey House black raspberry preserves jar
Date: between 1940 and 1959
This is a glass jar for Fred Harvey's Seedless Black Raspberry Preserves. In the later years of the Fred Harvey Company, such products became available at their lunch counters.

Harvey House seasoning salt jar
Date: between 1940 and 1959
This is an empty glass jar for Fred Harvey's Seasoning Salt. In the later years of the Fred Harvey Company such products became available at their lunch counters.

Iron ladle
Date: between 1800 and 1880
Large iron ladle made of hand-wrought iron. This ladle is known as a "cucharon." It was used to ladle food from a kettle (caso).

Iron skewer
Date: 1880
Long hand-wrought iron skewer. This skewer is known as an "espeton." It is a multi-purpose tool used to stir fire or roast ears of corn, buffalo meat, or beef over an open fire.

Kerr Canning Jar from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1915
This canning jar was recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school excavations at 14GH102, the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams dugout site, in Graham County. The jar's front is embossed with the advertisement: "Kerr Self Sealing Wide Mouth Mason." Additionally, the bottom of the jar is embossed with "Sand Springs Okla Aug 31, 1915." Sand Springs, Oklahoma, manufactured jars for Kerr from 1912 to 1946. The dugout site is a domestic site related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas.

Meat grinder
Creator: Enterprise Manufacturing Company
Date: between 1888 and 1920
Meat grinder. No. 10 by the Enterprise Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia. Patent dates of June 5, 1888 and April 13, 1886. Cast iron housing with steel blades and wooden handle. Clamp for mounting to countertop. Given to the William L. Trickett and his wife Myra by her parents, Thomas and Caroline Johnson, around 1948. The Tricketts continued to use the grinder at their home near Paola through the mid 1970s.

Metal Knives from Jewell County
Date: Unknown
These two metal knife blades with tangs were found in Jewell County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1924. The knife on the left was made from a file.

Mixing Bowl from the Baker House, 14MO701
Date: 1862
This reconstructed mixing bowl was recovered during excavations in 1972-1973 by the Kansas State Teacher's College (now Emporia State University) archeological field schools. The gray and brown stoneware mixing bowl was reconstructed by students at the field school in 1972 or 1973. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1993. The archeological site, along the Santa Fe Trail in Morris County, was the location of the Baker House, which burned in 1862, along with the nearby store, during the murder of A.I. Baker.

Pie bird
Creator: Shawnee Pottery Company
Date: between 1939 and 1950
The Shawnee Pottery Company in Zanesville, Ohio produced this pie bird likely as a premium for the Pillsbury Flour Company. Pie birds were placed in the center of a pie prior to baking. The bird allowed steam to escape, preventing the pie from boiling over. Effie Montgomery Kelley of Ottawa, Kansas owned this pie bird.

Pie bird
Creator: Shawnee Pottery Company
Date: between 1939 and 1950
The Shawnee Pottery Company in Zanesville, Ohio produced this pie bird likely as a premium for the Pillsbury Flour Company. Pie birds were placed in the center of a pie prior to baking. The bird allowed steam to escape, preventing the pie from boiling over. Ellett M. Miller of Topeka, Kansas owned this pie bird.

Portable pantry
Date: between 1890 and 1910
Painted tin portable pantry made by "Globe." Enameled black overall, with decorative patterns and text stenciled in gold. The base is divided into six cubbies. Oval top has two doors, one with a beveled mirror, covering a rack for six tin canisters. The lids of the canisters are stenciled with the names of spices. Bottom door opens to reveal a divided cubby and two tin cups. The top's sides are large bins. The right bin is fitted with a coffee grinder. Portable pantries were used to store dry foodstuffs on chuck wagons during the cattle drive era. Pantries also found a place on the cook wagons of large farms and ranches. The two half-round tins on top could store flour, sugar, or coffee; spices were stored in canisters in the center section; and pans and other cooking implements could be stored in the base.

Tortilla warmer
Date: between 1960 and 1990
Small, square-shaped bag made of off-white cotton fabric. Shallow flap across top edge of bag. Green and white striped trim sewn around edges. Brightly colored embroidered image of a person on a donkey riding toward a church sewn on the front. Interior covered in sweatshirt-like material. Wichita's oldest family-run Mexican restaurant is Connie's Mexico Cafe. This pot was used by its founders, Concepción "Connie" Lopez and her husband Rafael.