1851 Colt Navy Revolver
Creator: Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company
Date: between 1851 and 1852
1851 Colt Navy Revolver with engraved cylinder. Six shot, .36 caliber single action steel revolver with walnut grips. William F. Arny reportedly gave this Colt Navy revolver to John Brown in 1856 in recognition of his efforts for the Free State cause. According to Arny, Brown returned the revolver to him when he learned that Arny did not support his methods. Arny came to Kansas in 1857 and was involved in the Free State movement, serving as a delegate to the Grasshopper Falls Convention and as a member of the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. He was also elected to the first State Legislature. Arny donated the revolver to the Kansas Historical Society in 1879. Alternatively, it is possible that the revolver was one of fifty purchased by John Brown supporters back East and sent to him in Kansas. Because he was keeping a low profile, Brown couldn't receive the shipment and the revolvers were distributed to Kansans who might be able to use them to support the cause. Brown later attempted to retrieve the weapons with little success. Arny may have received this revolver and kept it until the time of donation.

Albert D. Searl's surveying chain
Date: between 1852 and 1855
Brass and steel surveying chain. Albert D. Searl used this chain to survey town sites in Kansas Territory. He came to Kansas from Massachusetts in 1854. He apparently was associated with S.C. Pomeroy, agent for the New England Emigrant Aid Company that organized antislavery settlements in the territory. Searl laid out the city limits and streets of Lawrence, Kansas, in September 1854, and three months later conducted the first regular survey of Topeka. Later he surveyed Manhattan, Osawatomie, Burlington, El Dorado, and other Kansas towns.

Albert D. Searl's transit
Creator: Phelps & Gurley
Date: between 1845 and 1851
Solid brass Vernier transit on walnut tripod. Albert D. Searl used this transit to survey town sites in Kansas Territory. He came to Kansas from Massachusetts in 1854. He apparently was associated with S.C. Pomeroy, agent for the New England Emigrant Aid Company that organized antislavery settlements in the territory. Searl laid out the city limits and streets of Lawrence, Kansas, in September 1854, and three months later conducted the first regular survey of Topeka. Later he surveyed Manhattan, Osawatomie, Burlington, El Dorado, and other Kansas towns.

Andrew Reeder's dagger
Creator: G. Wostenholm & Son
Date: 1855
Many free-state leaders were charged with treason by the pro-slavery legislature in May 1856. Former territorial governor Andrew Reeder escaped arrest by leaving Kansas disguised as a woodcutter. Reeder carried this dagger for defense when he fled the territory.

Army cartridge belt
Date: between 1943 and 1946
United States Army cartridge belt. Worn 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.

Army first aid kit
Date: between 1943 and 1946
United States Army first aid pouch. 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.

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.

AT & SF oil can
Date: between 1944 and 1964
Galvanized steel oil can used by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway on the Cyrus K. Holliday Locomotive #1 (Restored ATSF #132.)

AT & SF Railway oil can
Date: between 1935 and 1955
Tin oil can painter silver, used by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, probably to oil parts on steam locomotives. It was part of the Charles "Bud" Goebel collection, which was housed in the Burlingame depot from 1963 until 1981.

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.

Ballot box
Creator: Star Candles
Date: between 1857 and 1858
This ballot box was discovered in January 1858 under a woodpile in Lecompton, Kansas. It contained 1,838 fraudulent pro-Lecompton Constitution ballots. The Lecompton Constitution was created by mostly proslavery delegates under the leadership of John Calhoun. It was Calhoun's clerk, L.A. MacLean, who placed the ballots inside this box and hid it in the woodpile outside Calhoun's office in Lecompton. The history of the box is handwritten on the interior.

Ballot box fragment
Date: 1882
Shallow rectangular pine ballot box with irregular sides and no lid. Portion of a ballot box used at the Stafford County seat election on Apr 5th, 1882. Before the polls closed, a tornado struck the building in which the election was held. The box was carried a half mile by the storm, and the ballots it contained were never found. Stafford was defeated by St. John in a follow-up election for the Stafford County seat. A white paper label adhered to the box's underside relates the story.

Bleeding cup
Date: between 1840 and 1900
This bloodletting cup was owned by Dr. James Haller (1824-1908). Haller practiced medicine in Middletown, Ohio, in the 1840s and 1850s, and was a surgeon during the Civil War with the 38th Ohio Infantry from July 24, 1861 to Jan 4, 1865. He was promoted to Assistant Surgeon July 13, 1863. After the war, Dr. Haller and his family moved to Burlingame, Kansas where he continued to practice medicine. Cups were used to perform the medical treatment of bleeding. The glass cup was heated and placed on the skin. Its cooling created a vacuum, causing the skin to become red and swollen and signaling to the physician that the blood had risen to the surface of the skin. Then a lancet was used to release the "bad" blood from the body.

Blood lancet
Creator: Wiegand and Snowden
Date: between 1820 and 1880
This brass lancet with wooden case was made by Wiegand and Snowden of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sometime between 1820 and 1880. The brass lever on its side releases the blade. The donor claimed the lancet was used by Dr. James Haller, who practiced in Middletown, Ohio, in the 1840s and 1850s. He later was a surgeon with General William T. Sherman's army during the Civil War.

Bloodletting Lancet from the Hollenberg Pony Express Station, 14WH316
Date: 1857-1900
This lancet was recovered from the 1991 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Hollenberg Pony Express Station in Washington County. Lancets such as this one were used during bloodletting, or phlebotomy, a practice once thought to have beneficial results to one's health. The popularity of bloodletting began to decline in the mid-1800s and fell out of favor by the early twentieth century. The site was the location of a Pony Express station, a stop on the Oregon-California trail, a post office, a blacksmith shop, and a farm with barns and other outbuildings. The site was purchased by the Kansas Legislature in 1941 and is in the National Register of Historic Places.

Bowie knife
Date: 1862
"Arkansas Toothpick" bowie knife with wooden handle and metal blade. This type of knife was popular in the Civil War, especially with Confederates. The donor, John P.T. Davis was a 2nd Lieutenant in Company H of the 52nd Indiana Infantry Regiment. In addition to Kentucky, Mississippi, and Alabama, the regiment fought at the Battle of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in 1862. Davis collected this knife from that battlefield on February 15, 1862.

Brad Grimes' beef herd near Ashland, Kansas
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1891 and 1912
View of cattle belonging to Bradford Grimes near Ashland, KS. Visible in the photograph are cowboys on horses and a windmill.

Buffalo Bill bottle
Creator: Regal China Company
Date: 1971
Regal China produced this "Trophy Bottle" in 1971 for the James B. Beam Distilling Company. Designed for the 125th anniversary of William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody's birth, it was filled with a fifth of 100-month old Beam bourbon whiskey. Some commemorative bottles were personalized and given to Cody descendents present at the August 11-14, 1971 celebration at Cody's boyhood in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Cafe clock
Date: between 1865 and 1897
Large pendulum clock with time and calendar faces. Casing is made of pine with rosewood veneer, and the faces are covered with glass. The clock was used in a café owned by J.A. Johnston in Kansas City, Missouri, near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. During the 1903 flood, the water in the café rose to a depth of seven feet, two inches. The clock stopped at 9:22 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, 1903, not long after the water began to recede. Johnston added a mark at the bottom of the case to indicate the height the water reached.

Carpet sweeper
Date: between 1885 and 1900
Bissell wooden carpet sweeper. "Furniture Protector" stenciled in gold on front and back. Faint "Bissell" stencil visible on top.

Cash register
Creator: National Cash Register Company.
Date: 1912
1912 cash register manufactured by the National Cash Register Company of Dayton, Ohio. Model number 442 and serial number S193881K. The ornate brass register sits on an oak base with the cash drawer. This cash register was used in a dress shop in Ness City until the 1970s. It was factory refurbished in 1924.

C. E. Blood to Hiram Hill
Creator: Blood, C.E.
Date: February 9, 1859
C.E. Blood wrote from Manhattan, Kansas Territory, to Hiram Hill in Massachusetts. Blood told Hill that, by mistake, a house had been built on one of Hill's town lots. He offered to trade lots with Hill, maintaining that both were of equal quality and value, and told him that the house would serve as the printing office of a new newspaper, the Manhattan Statesman.

Center-fire police revolver
Creator: Meriden Firearms Company
Date: between 1907 and 1909
Double-action center-fire revolver. Empire State model produced by the Meriden Firearms Company. The Meriden Firearms Company was a subsidiary of Sears and Roebuck Company from 1907 to 1909. The pistol was used on the Topeka City Police force.

Center-fire revolver
Creator: Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company
Date: 1884
Colt Single Action nickel-plated Army Revolver with ivory handle. 45 caliber. Ornately engraved throughout. Presented to Patrick F. Sughrue by the citizens of Dodge City on December 18, 1884. Sughrue served as Constable of Dodge City from 1877 to 1879 and then as Sherriff of Ford County from 1884 to 1888. Sughrue gave the pistol to his son in 1904 after his son suffered a severe injury. His son later had the pistol engraved to commemorate its initial presentation to his father.

Cigarette pack
Date: 1934
Package of Porto Rican American Tobacco Company cigarettes. A tax stamp on the package indicates that they were sold in 1934. These cigarettes belonged to Colonel James C. Hughes. Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, Hughes served in the Mexican Border Conflict, World War I, and World War II. In 1942, he was captured by the Japanese on the Bataan peninsula and spent the next 41 months in various Japanese POW camps. He was liberated by Russian forces at Camp Hoten, Manchuria, in 1945. Hughes died in 1964 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.