An appeal for help in behalf of the colored refugees in Kansas
Creator: Rust, Horatio Nelson, 1828-1906
Date: January 22, 1881
This flyer, distributed by the Southern Refugee Relief Association of Chicago, Illinois, describes the dire situation of the African-American refugees relocated in Kansas. The secretary of this association, Horatio N. Rust, had taken this opportunity to pass along information relayed to him by Elizabeth Comstock, an aid worker in Topeka. Comstock was thankful for the donations of food and other goods, but asked for more assistance in feeding, clothing, and sheltering these refugees. The flyer also includes short excerpts of letters by agents of the refugee association who had direct knowledge of the emigrants' situation.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot, Cherryvale, Kansas
Creator: Killam, H.
Date: July 29, 1962
This photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot in Cherryvale, Kansas. This one-story "county-seat" style depot features a gabled roof, an operator's bay and an open waiting room. At the peaks of the roof are the Santa Fe emblems commonly associated with a county-seat depot. The structure is a part of the Eastern Lines, Oklahoma District, Third District, along mile post 155.8. The depot has been refurbished and is in private use.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot, Cherryvale, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1917
This photograph shows an automobile in front of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot in Cherryvale, Kansas. The one-story "county-seat" style depot features a gabled roof with Santa Fe emblems at the peaks of the roof. A carriage porch is featured along the street side and an open waiting room is visible to the right. The structure still stands and is in private use.

A. W. Way to Governor John St. John
Creator: Way, A. W.
Date: July 16, 1880
After being confronted by a whiskey merchant who claimed Kansas Governor St. John had signed a permit allowing merchants to sell "anything they pleased", temperance lecturer A.W. Way writes the Governor to determine if this is the truth. In Way's opinion, it is a "whisky lie."

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.

Brockman Sanitary Dairy
Date: Between 1915 and 1924
Lantern slide advertising the Brockman Sanitary Dairy, Cherryvale, Ks.

Brockman Sanitary Dairy
Date: Between 1915 and 1924
Lantern slide advertising the Brockman Sanitary Dairy, Cherryvale, Kansas.

Cherryvale High School class reunion in Cherryvale, Kansas
Date: June 1964
This is a photograph of the 30th class reunion of the 1934 Cherryvale High School senior class. It was held at the country club in Cherryvale, Kansas. There is also a photograph from the newspaper with the class members identified. An article about the reunion appears in The Cherryvale Citizen, June 18, 1964.

C. P. Buffington to Governor John St. John
Creator: Buffington, Colonel P., b. 1851
Date: October 7, 1880
A letter from Topeka "Globe" editor C. P. Buffington to Kansas Governor John St. John. Buffington asks for some ideas to improve on his temperance speeches and also acknowledges the Governor's speeches are the best he has heard, and he is in "need of ammunition".

E.A. Herod to George W. Martin
Creator: Herod, E.A.
Date: October 02, 1902
In this letter, E.A. Herod, professor of mathematics at Northwestern Territorial Normal School, relates what he knows about a battle between Confederate soldiers and Osage Indians that took place in southeast Kansas during the Civil War.

Edgar Zinc smelters, Cherryvale, Kansas
Creator: Photo-Type Post Card co.
Date: Between 1900 and 1910
This sepia colored photograph shows the Edgar Zinc smelters in Cherryvale, Kansas.

Esther Anna Brown Murtha Hulse
Date: 1933
A black and white photograph of Esther Anna Brown Murtha Hulse(1844-1938), a survivor of Quantrill's Raid, taken from the book "Illustriana Kansas". Esther, the daughter of Mathew R. Brown and Nancy Jane Fuller Brown, was born November 4, 1844 in Richmond, Indiana. She later moved with her family to Lawrence, Kansas where her father Mathew Brown was killed in 1861 by Missouri bushwhackers. Within a month of Esther's marriage to Thomas Eugene Murtha on July 4, 1863, he and nearly 200 people were killed on August 22, 1863 during Quantrill's raid on Lawrence. Now a young widow, Esther worked as a dress marker at the Crane General Store in Lawrence until she moved to Chanute, Kansas. There, she met and married her second husband, Civil War veteran Richard James Hulse, on March 4, 1875. The couple remained in Chanute for a few years before moving to Cherryvale, Kansas, where Esther became an active member in the community. For three years she managed the New York Drygoods Store and was instrumental in organizing a Red Cross chapter. When her second husband died on March 15, 1901, Esther continued to serve her community as a member of the Women's Relief Corps and the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Governor George Anthony crime and criminals received correspondence, Bender case
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1877-1879: Anthony)
Date: 1877-1878
Governor George Anthony compiled this series of correspondence on crime and criminals, specifically the Bender case, from letters received while in office from 1877-1879. The Bender family operated a remote road house near Cherryvale, Kansas. When several travelers disappeared, local residents became suspicious of the Benders. A search of the property revealed eleven bodies buried in the yard, all of them dead from severe blows to the head. The Bender family members escaped and were never found. A complete transcription is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Governor's proclamations
Date: 1869-1977
This collection of proclamations issued by Kansas Governors declares first, second or third-class status for Kansas towns and cities. Proclamations are arranged in alphabetical order by town name. Included are descriptions of city limits, plat maps and censuses.

Historical atlas of Montgomery County, Kansas
Creator: Edwards, John P.
Date: 1881
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has plats of towns as of the year of publication and includes a county history, business references, and a patron list.

J. B. Swart to Governor John St. John
Creator: Swart, J. B.
Date: August 10, 1880
In this letter, J. B. Swart, Cherryvale, Kansas, invites Kansas Governor St. John to speak at a September 16th temperance rally, to be held 10 miles west of Parsons.

Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Kansas Railroad
Creator: Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Railroad
Date: 1883
Map and timetable of the Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Kansas Railroad line from Kansas City to Harper, Kansas. The route included branches to Lawrence, Burlington, Coffeyville, and Hunnewell. The company advertised itself as "passing through the great wheat belts of the Neosho and Arkansas Valleys to the grazing and cattle fields of south-western Kansas and Indian Territory." The company encouraged settlement along 150 miles of the Oklahoma border with descriptions of the soil and climate for those emigrating to southern Kansas.

Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Railroad
Creator: Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Railroad
Date: 1880
Map and timetable of the Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Railroad lines in Kansas and neighboring states. The company advertised itself as the shortest and fastest route from Kansas City to Winfield and Wellington. The company also sold acres of farmland in the Neosho Valley.

Kansas State Temperance Union expense journals
Creator: Kansas State Temperance Union
Date: 1898-1911
This collection consists of 7 volumes of records from the Kansas State Temperance Union. The first volume lists the members and the dues they paid by local organization. The index lists the communities that have members listed and these communities have been included in the categories. Note: other communities are listed elsewhere in the records, particularly the speaker expenses volume. The second volume is the cash book (expense journal) for the years 1901-1904. Volumes three through five are the cash books for 1907-1910, 1909-1910, and 1910-1911. Volume 6 contains speaker expenses and contribution from the communities where they spoke, listed by name of speaker. Several speakers are listed. Volume 7 is an expense journal for 1907-1911. There are also some loose papers inserted into the volumes, mostly correspondence and form letters.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union memory book
Creator: Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Date: Between 1941 and 1950
This memorial book contains photographs and biographical sketches of members of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Click "Text Version" below for a searchable index of the names contained in this volume.

Main street looking west in Cherryvale, Kansas
Creator: Kansas City Post Card Company
Date: Between 1905 and 1910
This is a postcard view of Main Street looking west in Cherryvale, Kansas.

Peoples Bank in Cherryvale, Kansas
Creator: Kansas City Post Card Company
Date: Between 1905 and 1910
This is a postcard showing Peoples Bank in Cherryvale, Kansas. Several other business buildings are also visible.

Report of Kansas U.S.O. Committee
Creator: United Service Organization
Date: 1941
This item details the amount of contributions to the United Service Organizations (U.S.O.) from cities and counties in Kansas during 1941. Totaling almost $90,000, the U.S.O. campaign in Kansas was quite successful and helped support a number of services for Americans serving in uniform during World War II. The report lists the contributions by city and the nature of the fund raising. There was a campaign in movie theaters that raised almost $9,000 from 84 cities. The list includes the names of the theaters. Local newspapers, which provided publicity, are often listed as well. The members of the local U.S. O. committees are listed, occasionally.

Santa Fe lime special
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
Date: 1928
The Lime Special was operated by the Santa Fe Railway in cooperation with the Kansas State Agricultural College and the Kansas State Board of Agriculture. It was scheduled to operate July 9--17, 1928. Five cars of exhibits were available along with a series of lectures. The quote at the bottom of the poster was "MORE LIME, MORE LEGUMES, MORE CROPS, MORE PROFIT."

Southern Kansas Railway Company
Creator: Southern Kansas Railway Company
Date: 1886
Map and timetable of the Southern Kansas Railway, previously known as the Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Kansas Railroad. The railway was "the most direct route to all points in Southern Kansas and the Indian Territory" and encouraged settlement along the Oklahoma border.