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.