These two beads were recovered at excavations in 1988 during a joint venture between Kansas Historical Society archeologists, Kansas Anthropological Association volunteers, and the City of Olathe. Both beads are oblong and red, but the darker red bead may be manufactured of wood, while the brighter red bead may be of glass. It is difficult to tell the materials without harming the bead. The site consisted of the residence and out buildings built by James and Lucinda Mahaffie in 1858. The farmstead later served as a stagecoach stop on the Santa Fe trail.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Beads from the Mahaffie Farmstead and Stagecoach Stop - 1