Railroad Arch Begins Your Exploration at the Visitors Center
Welcome to the PAST!The upside down railway symbolizes the beginning of your adventure into Wichita's past. Beyond this arch you will find recreations of history, exhibits filled with curious objects, and entertaining people and activities that will help you see, feel and know the past. Be an explorer!Be curious! Ask questions!You may be surprised at the things you already know . . . .and the new things that you learn. We hope that when you are through with your journey that you will have an appreciation of where we came from . . . . and can use this experience to help chart your future!Welcome!
Heller Cabin - 2 steps
The Heller Cabin in the Wichita Beginnings section of Old Cowtown Museum represents a trading post that would have been used by Town Founders such as J.R. Mead or Dutch Bill Greiffenstein. Their activity represents the roots of pre-railroad Wichita. hunting trapping and trading with the Native Americans were the only economic ventures in the area. The Buffalo Hunter and Trader was a businessman whose activity paved the way, as well as overlaps the cattle and farming economy that builds Wichita. The Osage Nation, people of the middle Waters, is a Midwestern native nation of the Great Plains. They originated in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys and later occupied the area across Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. They became the dominant power in the region who depended upon nomadic buffalo hunting and agriculture. The land that Wichita was built upon by treaty was owned by the Osage Nation. As the opinion of the value of the land that the Osages and other relocated Nations inhabited changed from the Great American desert to the future breadbasket of the nation, the United States government worked to relocate the Native nations once again to a new Indian Territory that would become the state of Oklahoma.The Wichita Nation inhabited the area that became the city of Wichita in the 1500s. Unfortunately by the 1860s they had been driven South by other nations to the northern part of Texas. With the outbreak of the Civil War the Native Americans took sides, with most hoping for a better deal from the Confederates. The Wichita sided with the Union and was moved for their protection to the future city site of Wichita for the duration of the war. They were removed back to Indian Territory after the war. It was this nation that the town took its name.Jesse Chisholm was a freighter, trader, guide and interpreter who mediated relations between the native and white people. He was an essential negotiator for many treaties in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. A trader by occupation he knew 14 different languages and traveled extensively through the area. Some call him the Prairie Ambassador as he was trusted by all sides for his neutrality. One of his trade routes became known as the Chisholm Trail during the Cattle Trail years.William “Dutch Bill” Greiffenstein of Germany had an understanding of big business as well as knowledge of urban areas and the way that they grew. He was involved in trade with Native Americans in Oklahoma but was charged with selling contraband and exiled from the area. Coming to the Wichita townsite he bought Trading Post and plated a pair of town south of the competing town created by the Wichita Town and Land Company between present-day Douglas and Central Avenues. The two towns joined and Greiffenstein s business and promotional skills dominated the town sites. As the owner of the southern town he could give away land, cut deals and entice businesses to relocate from the Wichita Town and Land section. Greiffenstein also worked with J. R Mead to develop Douglas Avenue as a cattle thoroughfare to the Stockyards. They also constructed the Douglas Avenue Bridge over the Arkansas River to make it possible for cattle herds to come in on the west side of town and pass all the businesses on Douglas Avenue before stopping at the Stockyards.James R. Mead was a hunter, trader, merchant, naturalist and state legislator who was one of the founders of Wichita. He aided in directing the cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail to the city in the 1871 as one of the “Four Horsemen” who induced the first herd of the season to avoid town rival Park City. This set the stage for Wichita's rise as a cattle town. He was instrumental in the creation of the Wichita on Southwestern Rail Road that linked the Santa Fe Rail Road to Wichita. He provided land for the Presbyterian Church and Wichita schools. He possessed a lifelong interest in biology and ethnology. Later in life he wrote articles for the Kansas State Historical Society and the Kansas Academy of Sciences. His memoirs were published in the book "Hunting and Trading on the Great Plains 1859 to 75."INTERIORSouthwest trading table with large buffalo hide. West wall display of hunting goods. Southeast corner with a display of trade goods.Northeast wall with informational pannels, the kitchen area and green buffalo hide on floor.Second floor viewed by mirror on east wall - rope bed in living space.
Trappers Cabin - uneven ground, slight step
The Trappers Cabin in the Wichita's Beginnings District at Old Cowtown Museum represents a dimension of the hunting and trading economiy that was the foundation of early Wichita. In addition to hunting fur bearing animals, others used traps instead of guns. The Trapper’s Cabin is interpreted as a structure that was used by a trapper as a residence and a base of operations. While a less lucrative occupation, it continued to profit from the prairie as did the buffalo hunters, traders and freighters. This hand-hewn, cottonwood log cabin originally stood near the Chisholm Trail several miles south of present-day Clearwater, Kansas. It was built around 1865 on the south bank of the Ninnescah River by an unknown individual.When the Osage Trust Lands were opened for settlement, a man named Kincaid filed a claim on the land occupied by the cabin and lived there with his family. He sold the property in 1878 to Adrian Sautter, an immigrant from Switzerland. He built a new frame house connecting the cabin which was then used as a summer kitchen. By 1934 the cabin had been completely incorporated into a larger house which accounts for its preserved state. The structure was donated to Old Cowtown Museum by Sautter's son, Louis A. Sautter, in 1969
The Munger House - 2 steps, narrow doorway
The Munger House in the Wichita's Beginnings District at Old Cowtown Museum represents the intentional piviot point to move toward creating a city and moving away from an unicorporated group of dwellings. Darius S. Munger of Topeka was sent by the Wichita Town Company in 1868 to create the town of Wichita. Though others lived in the area, his was the first formal attempt to build a town. In 1869 he completed this story and a half residence on a plot of land near 9th and Waco. It served as the core of the original platted town site. The structure is considered to be the first substantial structure in Wichita.All of the building materials come from the river bank vicinity with the exceptionof the hardware and windows, which had to be freighted from Emporia. The logs are hand-hewn cottonwood, the floors are walnut and samples of the original plaster still exist on the second floor. A log barn stood between the house and the river.Due to Munger's role in the development of the fledgling town, his family residence served many functions, including that of Post Office, boarding house, meeting place and office of the Justice of the Peace.In 1874 W.C. Woodman, an early entrepreneur and Wichita's first banker, purchased the Munger House. Woodman enlarged and improved the structure until it was completely integrated inside a Victorian house that he named "Lakeside Mansion". The Munger House was rediscovered when Lakeside was demolished in the 1940s.The Wichita Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution purchased the cabin to preserve the city's heritage and donated it to Historic Wichita Cowtown, Inc. in 1949. The Munger House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.INTERIOR1st Room - Public Room - Hotel Lobby, Land Office, Justice of the Peace / Courtroom, Kitchen - Cooking for 18 people 3 times a day when hotel was full.Family Bedroom - Darius, Julia, Daughters Amelia (arrived at 26 yr.) and Mary Ellen (AKA Molly) (arrived at 14 yr.)Original plaster hand made by Munger - on second floor - Sand, buffalo hair and ground burnt fresh water mussel shells.
Jail - 1 very tall step
The Jail located in the Business District at Old Cowtown Museum represents the city's move to a more formal law enforcement system. Wichita’s first city jail was constructed during the summer of 1871. The jail, or calaboose as it was commonly referred to, was constructed of cottonwood two‑by‑sixes laid flat and spiked together with square nails. The construction and size of the jail make it evident that it was not meant for long‑term prisoners.The jail was used mostly for cases where drunkenness and rowdiness had erupted into violence. It was a “cooling off tank” for those whose public behavior exceeded the limits deemed acceptable by the community.It was set back from other buildings to keep ladies sensibilities safe from the vulgar cowboys who may holler and swear. The jail had solid wooden doors before doors of metal bars were added. One cell has metal bars that many take selfies behind.
General Store - 1 step
The General Store in the Business District at Old Cowtown Museum represents the earliest mercantile and banking operations in the young city. Before Wichita received rail road service in 1872, general stores were the primary outlet for any and all types of groceries and dry‑goods. The general store sold everything needed and available to life as it was lived in 1870s Wichita. Rea Woodman said that her father, W.C. Woodman, sold everything from shot to coffins. Vegetable seeds, chairs, several kinds of soap, pipes, pills and tonics, notepaper and pens, garden tools, candles and lamps.After the rail road came to Wichita, general stores could distribute all the goods available elsewhere in the United States. Eventually, the rail road also would facilitate the growth of specific retail businesses and the decline of the central and important role the general store had in early Wichita.General stores were also the forerunner of banks in Wichita. As cash and coin were not always available, and grocers let customers buy on credit, due at the end of the month, or until the crops came in. Banking in Wichita developed as a natural outgrowth of credit and bookkeeping systems used by general store merchants.INTERIOREast wall - "clothing" fabric and toys sectionNortheast wall - crockery, bolts, garden tools, business deskNorthwest wall - Note the commercial "ice box", garden tools, housewares West wall - "grocery" section - coffee and canned goods, medical and tobacco
Blood House and Orchard - 3 steps
The Blood House in the Agricultural District at Old Cowtown Museum represents the entrepreneurial spirit of the early farmers in Sedgwick County who relied on diversity of activities to thrive in the former Great American Desert.Gillman Blood and his family arrived in Sedgwick County, Kansas from Peoria, Illinois on May 4, 1871. When the Blood family moved to the area, there were few settlers and no market for farmed products. Despite the many challenges, Blood acquired a 160 acre section of land to farm in Waco Township at 63rd and Broadway. In the beginning, he raised pigs and freighted trade goods in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to survive. To establish their orchard they planted raspberry, blackberry, and boysenberry vines to help protect the saplings by helping to hold in moisture and shading the ground while providing an additional cash crop. Over the years the Blood family planted apple, peach, Kiefer pear, cherry, and plum trees. When selling his apples, Blood became known for his “honest baskets” because the bottom layer was always a little better than the top. His activity diversified the local food options as well as established his reputation in the state.
1880 DeVore Farm - No hard surface
The DeVore Farm in the Agricultural District at Old Cowtown Museum represents an upper middle class progressive farmer who took advantage of science, inventions and economy to rise to that level.The average farm in 1875 was 160 acres,35 acres in corn,30 acres in wheat,10 acres in oats. 1-4 acres orchards for personal use or a cash crop remainder for pasture or fields for hay.Livestock included4 meat cattle two milk cows, - For milk, cream, butter or meat.three horses, and maybe one mule – for transportation. two sheep – for meat and wool20 pigs – for lard for soap making or cooking, as well as the meat. Flock of chickens for meat and eggs.Beginning to farm cost a lot of money.The immigrant farmers needed to: travel to the area,buy the land,provide for a family until the first crop was in and sold. Build dwellings, barns and outbuildings,Buy livestock and machinery. The price of Kansas farmland was cheaper than the Eastern states. Built on Osage Trust land and not eligible for the Homestead Act, it was not free, but it was still a bargain. Many paid for their land in cash, got title to the land, then mortgaged the land for farm improvements, leading to high indebtedness that causes of the agrarian unrest in the 1890s.As mechanized farming had increased since before the civil war the cost rose as well. Machinery values jumped to become $120 of the average $2000 a farm. The DeVore farm reflects the growing mechanization of farm work through grain reapers, harvesters, binders, grain drills, mowing machines, and sulky (riding) plows. All of these increased productivity and lowered the need for physical labor. Women were needed less in the farm operation wihich brought gender roles more in line with that of the Victorian Culture. Farms in 1880 were hotbeds of experimentation as farmers were anxious to find out what this untested former “Great American Desert” could produce. Lured by the scientific promise that “the rain follows the plow,” they initially planted crops from the East in anticipation that a similar climate would develop. After many failures they found varieties that adapted to the climate. They grew corn, the primary crop and oats which could be sold or fed to their animals while winter wheat (instead of spring wheat), was sold for cash. Lesser crops such as rye, castor beans, flax, cotton, hemp, sorghum and honey rounded out Sedgwick County agricultural production.To succeed they battled the new climate and unpredictable weather, and the grasshopper infestation of 1874 and spring and 1875. By far their biggest challenge was the cowboys. The City and County spent lot money to recruit the cattle trade by building a railroad to the area. For the farmers, the cowboys did not keep the cattle from the farm fields and their cattle infected the eastern cattle with Texas Tick Fever. Farmers in Sedgwick County joined with local citizens, upset by the prostitution, drunkenness and gambling brought by the cattle trade. In 1875 the two groups joined to persuade the state legislature to move the quarantine line for Texas cattle west of Wichita. After the cowboys and the cattle trade departed in 1876, agriculture played a larger role in the economics of the area. Town businessmen were reluctant to give up the large profits, but farming did hold the promise of constant market for goods rather than the unstable feast and famine cycle of the cattle trade, Farms in 1880's were not subsistence farms but businesses which affected and were affected by local, state, national and international events. For example, demand for American wheat fell sharply when wheat from Russia flowed once again after the Crimean war, causing American prices to fall dramatically. Farms were powerful economic and political engines. Through the Grange, a rural based social and political organization, attempted to use their clout and gain a louder and more important political voice for farm related issues like railroad freight charges and low grain prices. They were active through the 1890 in local, state and national politics.
DeVore Farm - Smith House interior
This farm family would be of similar wealth to the Murdock family (House in Residential Area) but with neighbors far away, farm living was less formal than those in town. Kitchen - Guests enter from the porch. Guests would enter the working part of the house, which most Victorians would find socially unacceptable. - Note the advanced coal burning stove, the mirrored reflective oil lamps, and the many hand powered conveniences.Dining Room - Family would gather for meals and occasionally a formal meal. Note the marble top buffet. - Stairs in the east lead to the 3 bedrooms on the second floor. One for the Parents and babies, one for the girls and one for boys. Amount of space indicates the relative wealth of the family. - All bed rooms unheated in winter. Sitting Room - Used as a place of family relaxation and visiting with neighbors and family. Parlor organ, stereoscopes, cast iron toys and farm journals in a room with a mansard style stove. A small fire heats the room nicely.
Blacksmith Shop - uneven threshhold
The Blacksmith Shop located in the Business District of Old Cowtown Museum represents a general repair shop, with emphasis on agricultural equipment repair, in Wichita during the 1870s. The blacksmith’s trade was an important business to the early settlement of Wichita. Before Wichita received railroad service in 1872, the blacksmith shop provided a necessary means of production and repair. In the absence of a sufficient, affordable and a continuous quantity of tools, farm equipment, and other hardware, the blacksmith shop was a business which was central to the economic base. After Wichita received railroad service, the role of blacksmiths and their trade changed. The railroad provided more mass produced and factory manufactured goods. The railroad expanded Wichita’s industrial base to include foundries, wagon and farm equipment manufactures, and other industries which provided goods and services previously tied almost entirely on the blacksmiths’ trade. However, the railroad also increased settlement and expanded Wichita’s agricultural base to such a degree that the blacksmiths and their trade continued to provide an essential business need throughout Wichita during the 1870s. As evidence, the 1875 census listed only 11 blacksmiths. The Wichita City Directory of 1878 listed twenty‑four individuals as blacksmiths and twelve businesses, specifically, as blacksmith operationsG.A Millar Blacksmith Shop is named after a blacksmith who came to Wichita in the middle 1880s from Michigan. His shop boasted the sign “Shoe anything that wears hair.and don’t fly” His Jockey Shop at 923 East Douglas provided services for all animals from work horse to trotting horses. During this period, the wheelwright and farrier trades (the farrier was engaged specifically in the fitting and shoeing of animals) were businesses which were closely aligned with to the blacksmith. A "general blacksmith shop" usually included those skilled in the wheelwright and farrier trades in order to meet the growing agricultural industry needs. . The general shop represented the changing role of technology in Wichita.
Marshal Office - 1 step
The Marshal’s Office located in the Business District of Old Cowtown Museum interprets the growing formal law enforcement in Wichita. In 1870 Wichita was a 2nd class city with 2000 inhabitants The newly created city council drafted ordinances and appointed Ike Walker the first marshal on July 25. William Smith succeeded Walker within less than a year but resigned after only 2 days ostensibly to pursue other prospects. Mike Meagher accepted the position and served ably for three years.Experiences with cattle herds passing by on their way north to Abilene shaped the city ordinances passed in 1870. The opening of the 1872 season saw Wichita, already a trading center and now a rail terminus, poised for ascendancy among Kansas cattle towns. Wichita shaved ninety miles off the trip to Abilene or to Ellsworth, the previous destinations for herds to be shipped to eastern markets.Becoming a cattle town changed law enforcement. Wichita maintained a five person police force through most of the 1870s. During cattle season Wichita’s police force would temporarily increase through the hiring of “special police”, or citizens authorized to maintain order. The city needed laws to keep the peace, and yet had to be somewhat selective in enforcement so not to make the cowboys feel unwelcome. Alcohol and firearms were a deadly mix. To assist them, in 1871, the City Council spent $13.50 to purchase 50 brass tags for the sole purpose of checking guns. The Marshal would give the individual a number and lock up his gun; the man would then return the number to the Marshal on his way out of town and retrieve his weapon.The signs at the river crossing on Douglas Avenue and at Douglas and Emporia posted June 7, 1871 on a 3’ x 4’ board read: Notice – All persons are hereby forbidden the carrying of firearms, or other dangerous weapons within the city limits of Wichita under penalty of fine and imprisonment. By order of Mayor. Signed J. Meagher, “Marshal”. Prostitution was regulated through a series of regular “fines” that amounted to a licensing function. Brothel owners and individual girls were expected to pay for the privilege of operating in the town and the police could say they were enforcing the laws.There was not a lot of violent crime and the jail was often used as a drunk tank. The Wichita City Eagle publisher Marshall Murdock complained in the Eagle about the cost of the jail and the lack of occupants.Without the cattle trade, officers were left to their usual duties: peacekeeping, warrant service, night watches, arrests, fine collection though additional duties could include street repair, dog catching. The top reported complaints in 1876 were pot holes in the street, kids drag racing on Douglas Avenue on Friday night, postal rates going up and service going down. A divorce case drawing a lot of attention in court. By the end of the 1880s, policemen were wearing uniforms, rather than just a badge and there was a move to disarm them as there was so little need for that level of enforcement.Wyatt Earp is Wichita’s best known law enforcement officer even though his service can be considered less than glamorous. He served as an “Assistant Marshal” and “Special Policeman”. He worked to keep the peace and collect debts, although he also repaired sidewalks and streets and shot stray dogs.In January of 1876, He assaulted his boss political rival and was promptly fired. By May of 1876, Earp had left Wichita and was on to Dodge City, Kansas. In 1879, he left Dodge City for Tombstone, Arizona Territory.INTERIORMarshal Office LobbyBrass Tokens exchanged for firearmsHandcuffs
Meat Market - 2 steps
The Meat Market located in the Business District of Old Cowtown Museum represents the diversification of local markets in Wichita, Kansas during the 1870s. Nineteenth century Americans consumed great amounts of meat. Nearly every meal included beef, pork, poultry, or fish. Imported specialty items such as oysters and other seafood were commonly found on local bills of fare. Professional hunting was a vital business in early Wichita. Hunters supplied local meat markets with wild game, and sent great quantities of meat to eastern markets and restaurants. Game animals included buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, and game birds such as ducks and geese. Fish caught by nets in the Arkansas River were also a staple of meat markets in Wichita. Wild and domestic meats were shipped from Wichita to eastern markets in special insulated railroad cars cooled with blocks of ice. Oysters were shipped from the East to Wichita on express trains that traveled 4-5 days. Oysters were packed in barrels bewteen layers of ice and straw. The top layer might be a bit suspicious but the rest arrived alive and edible. The vast herds of buffalo, wild game, and flocks eventually became depleted and their habitat became occupied by farms and towns. People relied more and more on the domesticated animals that came from the growing agrarian economy of Sedgwick County. INTERIORItems in the photographsCheese and Sausage on counter with cheese wheel on a cheese knifeIce plow for scoring ice in consistent patterns before the ice was cut into blocks, moved to ice houses until needed for refrigerationOyster Barrel - Victorians were oyster crazy. In the months with "R" they could be shipped by express train from the east coast in 4 days. Packed in barrels in layers of ice, straw, oyster (Repeat) they arrived quite aliive and edible.
Scale House - 3 steps
The Grain Elevator and Scale House located in the Industrial Area of Old Cowtown Museum represents the role of agriculture in Sedgwick County and agribusiness in Wichita. As farming moved from subsistence to industrial production farmers needed an offsite place to store large quantities of grain until they could be sold. The wagons full of grain were weighed on the wooden platform at the scale house before unloading at the elevator. The wagon would be weighed on the platform scale and the clerk would note the weight. After emptying the grain in the elevator the wagon was weighed again. Grains are sold by weight/ bushel and the difference between the first and second weights was the crop weight for which the farmer would be paid. A farmer could also store his grain to sell at a later time, though he did have to pay a storage fee.
Arkansas Valley Grain Elevator - long steep ramp
The Grain Elevator and Scale House located in the Industrial Area of Old Cowtown Museum represents the role of agriculture in Sedgwick County and agribusiness in Wichita. As farming moved from subsistence to industrial production farmers needed an offsite place to store large quantities of grain until they could be sold. During harvest time in the late 1870's, Wichita's streets were jammed with horse-drawn wagons filled with grain waiting their turn to unload at one of eight grain elevators.After weighing, the wagons full of grain were driven up the west ramp into the elevator. The grain was unloaded and lifted to the top of the building where it was distributed into bins. Railroad cars at the side of the elevator were loaded by gravity from the bins above. Farmers who came to purchase grain drove their wagons inside to be loaded from the overhead bins by way of a canvas chute.Elevators were some of the first industrial applications of steam power, though with the fear of grain dust explosions, the plants were often in buildings removed from the elevator.Prices for storage and captive high prices for freight by the railroads brought the Grange into existence and political activity by farmers.The 50-foot tall grain elevator at Old Cowtown Museum typifies rural elevators of this era.
Wichita and Southwestern Rail Road Depot - step up to telegraph room
The Santa Fe Depot located in the Industrial Area of Old Cowtown Museum, represents the dynamic and transforming role the railroad had on Wichita is and Sedgwick County’s economic, transportation, and communication developments during the 1870s. In persuading the Texas cattle trade to come to Wichita, it needed to become a railhead, a place where the cowboys could bring their herds to market and transport them east. Many towns competed for this honor and the papers were full of speculation of when and where the rail roads would go. While waiting for the settlement of Osage Land, the Santa Fe Rail Road bypassed the town. Citizens pooled their resources and passed county bonds to create their own railroad to meet with the Santa Fe, 20 miles north at Newton.With this lifeline to the outside world the railroad to brought goods, services and settlers as well as shipped farm products, cattle finished goods and provided quick transportation for its citizens.One can now take the rail road cars at Wichita one morning and be in St. Louis the next morning and in Chicago the evening following. We are now within the bounds of civilization.Wichita City Eagle, May 17, 1882Telegraph -- Along with the rail road came the telegraph. Originally designed to assist the railroad in monitoring and coordinating its trains, it quickly became useful for distributing national news, sending information without waiting for the mail on the stagecoach and conducting business across the countryWith these two tools of transportation and communication the city prospered until it became the largest city in Kansas.
Eagle Cornice Works in Depot storage
The Eagle Cornice Works located in the Industrial Area of Old Cowtown Museum, represents the industrial development in the growing town. It was founded in 1883 by W. N. Caswell and F. Buckley. The company specialized in the production of galvanized window cornices, window caps, dormer windows, tin, iron, and slate roofing and the wholesale of sheet metal.The sheet metal façades were popular between 1880 – 1910 and replaced earlier more expensive and labor intensive decoration made of stone, wood, or cast iron. This made it possible for businesses of lesser means to project an image of wealth and prosperity heretofore only available to those of means. This business represents the rapid diversification of industries in the Wichita area. It prospered despite having no locally available raw materials, relying instead on the railroad to bring raw materials and carry out finished goods. This same practice was observed over and over throughout Wichita’s history. Without raw materials Wichita relied on the daring intuition and pluck of the entrepreneurial spirit of those who inhabited the place.
Wolf House - 2 steps, narrow doorway
The Wolf House located in the Industrial Area of Old Cowtown Museum, represents a dwelling on the outskirts of town and a type of home where a new immigrant would live as they began their lives on the frontier. Many immigrants found this area to be a promising for establishing a homestead and came with little to start their new life. The house portrays a German family which was the largest foreign nationality to settle in Wichita. They formed a diverse social and economic network as well as a dedication to the town.INTERIORLooking in the front door into the kitchen one can see on the left side of facing wall a framed copy of the Lords Prayer,Looking in the front door into the kitchen, immediately to the left one can see german newspaper and printing that was used as wall paper to cover deformities in the wall.Looking straight into the bedroom one can see a sewing machine and shoe lasts that were used to support the shoe while nailing or sewing a new sole on a shoe.Looking into the bedroom to the right one can see a work bench and the tools of the trade. Looking into the bedroom to the left one can see a modest bed and washstand. The family started with only the very basics and prospered with hard work and diversityNotice the German writing on the trunk the shoe lasts are setting on. Outside you may also notice the collection of chickens appropriate to the time. A cobbler by day and a farmer by night.The house was built in 1883 by German immigrant, Henry Wolf who arrived in the Galesburg Township in Kingman County just after the Civil War ended in 1865. Wolf was a farmer who eventually had one of the finest farms in the area. He also worked as a cobbler during the winter to supplement his farming livelihood. It was moved to Old Cowtown Museum from Kingman County in 1978.
Livery Stable - uneven ground
The Livery Stable, located in the Industrial Area of Old Cowtown Museum, represents transportation, communication and economic development in Wichita and Sedgwick County during the 1870s. The Livery Stable was one of the businesses crucial to transportation and communication in early Wichita. The livery was a commercially operated horse stable that rented and boarded horses, mules and vehicles. People arriving in town on horseback or in a horse drawn rig could board their horse or horse and rig at the stable as long as needed. Animal owners could also buy feed for their animals. Livery stables rented saddle horses, teams and wagon rigs to people arriving by stage or train and to Wichita’s urban populace. Many people believe that most people in the 1870s owned their own horse and or buggy. The care of a horse requires a building, regular feeding and daily care that few people in town could afford. It was also not inexpensive to board a horse at the livery stable. Most people walked in town. Should they need to travel they could use the stage or rent a mount or carriage. Livery stables also served as auction houses where the buying and selling of horses and mules, wagons and carriages or any other horse drawn vehicles occurred. Proprietors of livery stables also often served as veterinarians or had a partner who performed medical treatment for the stable’s horses and mules.** Our livery stable houses a reproduced stage coach of the era. Guests are welcome to get inside and see what mass transit was like. Stages were pulled by 2 or 3 teams that went at a steady gallop over unpaved rough roads with potholes and washouts. Stage stations were place at regular intervals so that horses could be traded out and travelers could stretch their legs. In Wichita it cost .05 a mile for 1st class (sat on the upholstered seats) .04 for 2nd class (a bench placed in the center of the stage with no back support or .03 a mile for 3rd class up on the luggage rack.
Masonic Hall - One step
The Masonic Lodge Hall is located in the Industrial Area of Old Cowtown Museum. It represents the Freemasons, a civic and social group consisting of men of all occupations from the surrounding area. They came together to talk about local news and ideas for improving the town and region. The first Wichita lodge was chartered in the 1870s. Many of the leading men in the early days of were masons. They met in a building called a Masonic Lodge Hall.The sign on the building symbolizes the Masons. The Square and Compass signify integrity and virtue and were tools of operative masons. The “G” letter sometimes found inside the symbol stands for both God and Geometry. The exhibit inside represents the two major orders of masonry, the Scottish Rite and the York Rite.
J.P. Allen Drugstore - 2nd floor access stair way only
The J.P. Allen Drug Store, located in the Business District at Old Cowtown Museum represents the the formal health practice of the 1870s. There was a close relationship between the increasingly scientific medical and pharmaceutical practices as indicated by the shared ownership of the building by the Allen Brothers. The downstairs drug store was operated by J.P. Allen. The front retail area contained the patent medicines, liquors, paint, window glass and related medical and items. It also contains the soda fountain that dispensed “health” drinks that were carbonated. The back area contains the prescription lab with the red glass screen that prevented customers from learning the druggist compounds and copying them. The second floor contains the office of Dr. Fabrique and a dental office. Medical conditions and practices of the late nineteenth century were inconsistent, inexact, and unregulated. Nineteenth century physicians such as Dr. Allen and Dr. Fabrique faced many challenges in their practices as they struggled against home remedies and Patent Medicines while championing the more scientific medical field. INTERIOR https://soundcloud.com/j-anthony-horsch/drug-store-narrative-2When coming up the south stairs, the first room one comes to the dentist office. Dentistry was becoming more than just tooth pullers and was moving toward the scientific approach we know today.In the middle of the room, by the patient chair is a device with a long slender tube. That is the dentist drill. As there is no electricity for the drill, it is foot powered so one can hope for a dentist with a steady rhythm. There are also no electric lights so mirrored reflections from the sun are best but the light of kerosene lamps can work. Go on a sunny day for best results.The middle waiting room has no receptionist. Just wait your turn.The doctor office is modeled after Dr. Andrew Fabrique, sometimes called the Father of Medicine in Wichita. He was a well trained surgeon, having been to school and worked side by side with others during the Civil War. Medicine was becoming more regulated but still open to lots of poorly or non trained physicians. The doctor saw some patients in the office but made many house calls. The Drug Store was built on site in 1996. It replaced the single story drugstore that was moved from that location and is now interpreted as the Music store.
Land Office - narrow doorway
The Land Office, located in the Business District of Old Cowtown Museum, represents the transfer and dispersal of land in early Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas. There were two types of land in the Wichita area and two types of land offices existed in Wichita during time of 1865-1880. There were several private real estate firms and a U. S. Land Office which sold government land. The land in the Wichita area was part of the Osage Reserve, and owned by the native nation. They negotiated variously with several railroads and the United States Government over the sale of the land. By final treaty with the U.S. government, the land was held in trust and sold by the government for the benefit of the Osage Nation. Once sold, it could then be resold for any price by the private individual(s) who purchased it from the government. One wrinkle in this process is that many followed the time long practice, of placing pre-emption claims on the land before it was legally available with the expectation that it would be sold to the government. Some of the first land claims in the area that became Wichita were made by D. S. Munger, a partner of the Wichita Land and Town Company in 1868. The claims were made at a time when the land legally belonged to the Osage Indian Nation as trust lands.The first white settlers filed quit‑claims with the hope that Congress through treaty negotiation would make the Osage trust lands available for legal settlement. In 1870, negotiations were completed and the land became available from the Osage Nation at $1.25 an acre.A land boom followed the location of industries such as rail road development, the cattle trade, and agricultural expansion in the area. During the 1870s there were real estate agents who worked out of land offices and served as sales representatives to prospective sellers and buyers of the surrounding land.In addition, the land agents acted as legal representatives to Eastern land buyers, collecting their rents and tending their business interests in the West.The land agents also acted as a welcoming committee to newly arrived immigrants in their promotion to acquire buyers. The land agents also indirectly acted as county extension agents in their zeal to prove the value of the new land to their prospective buyers. Displays of corn and wheat, the produce of gardens and orchards, together with evidence of the superiority of the tall prairie grass hay and game animals one might expect to find, were exhibited in the land office of the period.
McKenzie House - 2 steps and high threshold
The McKenzie House located in the Residential Area of Old Cowtown Museum is representative of a rental property within the city. The House interprets a rented house occupied by a single middle-class schoolteacher. The woman possibly was someone who had "gone West" and left her extended family in search of adventure and a good man. This was not an uncommon story in the 1870s. In 1878, the population of Wichita on the East side of the river was estimated at 4,200. Of those, the City Directory listed the residence and occupations of 99 single women. Many of these ladies were widows residing in their own homes. The rest rented or “boarded” their residences. The occupations listed most were laundresses, followed by domestics such as cooks, chambermaids, and waitresses, but a number of single women owned their own successful businesses such as dressmakers and milliners. INTERIORhttps://soundcloud.com/j-anthony-horsch/mckenzie-house-narrative-interiorThe ParlorThe parlor in the McKenzie House was considered a special room. The nicest furnishings occupied the room, and great care was taken to maintain the newness and "specialness" of the room. However, because this type of home had only one parlor, the woman would have used it more frequently than a formal parlor in a larger home. Although company would have been entertained in the parlor, she may have gathered here in the evenings as well. The BedroomThe bedroom area reflects the lifestyle of a single woman. The furnishings such as the bed, dresser, and artwork were typical and necessary for a singles woman to functhion in Victorian society.KitchenA sparse kitchen is not featured in the building. The Kitchen would contain a cookstore that provides warmth to the whole house.The McKenzie House was owned by Leo McKenzie whose family owned the Wichita Carriage Works. It is believed to have been built in the 1880s. Research shows that it may have been located at 3rd and Water Streets. The McKenzie family owned several rental houses. The home - along with the Story-and-a-Half House - were donated by the McKenzies and moved to Old Cowtown Museum in 1961.
Story and a Half House - 1 step in front
The Story and A Half House located in the Residential Area of Old Cowtown Museum is representative of a typical lower to middle class home of the late 19th century.The Story-and-a-Half House is an exhibit represents family life in the 1870's. The house is representative of a lower-middle income family in early Wichita after the arrival of the railroad in 1872. It was a “starter house” for a small family that had aspirations of moving up. It was an ‘everymans house” that had a succession of many residents, and therefore represents a generic family home, one of many that provided the backbone of the growing Wichita economy. Visiting school groups may participate in domestic activities such as laundry and butter churning, as well as children's games in the small side yard.The house is built on a rectangular I-Plan with two rooms arranged one behind the other and a shed kitchen directly behind them. The upper floor is called a half-story because its ceiling follows the slope of the roof line. For this reason, the residence is known at the Museum as the Story-and-a-Half House. The reference is apparent when compared with the full two-story Murdock House next door. This unassuming vernacular house was common throughout the 19th century. The simple style was typical for moderate-income people of the late Victorian era.The Story-and-a-Half House was moved to the Museum in 1961. The house was donated by Leo McKenzie, whose family founded the Wichita Carriage Works in 1885. The original location of the structure was at the 900 block of Fairview.INSIDE https://soundcloud.com/j-anthony-horsch/story-and-a-half-house-int-narrativeThe ParlorThe first room through the front door is the parlor. It represents the public image of the family to all guests. The nicest furnishings occupied the room, and it was kept clean and tidy and able to recieve guests at any time. However, because this type of home had only one parlor, the family would have used it more frequently than a formal parlor in a larger home. Although company would have been entertained in the parlor, the family may have gathered here in the evenings as well. Despite more frequent use, the room was regarded as the best room in the house, and its contents were treated with special care.The Middle RoomThe Middle Room would have been used for a number of family activities. Although meals would have been served here, the table could be folded down to make room for sewing and other home activities. The children’s toys and schoolbooks in the lower shelves of the china cabinet indicate that the children may have spent much of their free time here. While some of the work of the household may have been based from the room; it would be the place where more casual visiting and activities. In the southeast comer of the room are two doors one leading to the stairway to the two small bedrooms, One for the children and one for the parents. In keeping with the name of the house, story and half, there is only full head room in the center of the room which are not accessible to the public, but are currently used, for storage. The family probably used the back door most frequently.The KitchenThe small kitchen demonstrates the difficult working conditions of a nineteenth century home. Space was limited, and extreme weather conditions could make the kitchen a very difficult place to work. The wood-burning stove was used for cooking. On particularly hot days, cooking would have been done early in the morning, or cold meals would be served as much as possible. In cold weather, the stove was a source of heat. There is no icebox in the home. Food, which needed to be kept cool, would be kept in a cellar, down a well, or on the back porch during the winter months. Although the kitchen is small, it is well stocked with equipment and utensils. A pitcher and basin by the back door served as a "kitchen sink" for those entering the house with dirty hands and faces.
Murdock House - 2 step front - ramp on side to backdoor
The Murdock House, located in the Residential Area of Old Cowtown Museum, represents a comfortable middle class Victorian household in 1870s Wichita. It was the home of Marshall M. Murdock, his wife Victoria, and their three children. Their home was built in 1874. In 1874, Marshall M. Murdock, founder and editor of the Wichita City Eagle, built his fine home at Fourth and Oak Streets (St. Francis and Murdock). Wichita business leaders wanted to establish a Republican newspaper in Wichita recruited Murdock. Murdock was the premier publicist for the city and was known nationally almost as much for his unswerving loyalty and promotion of Wichita as for his extravagant writing style. "Eaglehurst", as the house was known, hosted many men of state and national reputation due to Col. Murdock's business and political associations. Mrs. Victoria Murdock carried out the role of a proper Victorian wife who was a gracious homemaker. She was opinionated and supported her husband as a sounding board for his many ideas. She was also very active in many civic projects in town.100 years later, the house was moved to the grounds of Old Cowtown Museum under sponsorship by the Midtown Association. Members of the group raised funds and donated many hours toward the exterior restoration of the house. The additions that had been added to the house in later years were removed, and the original core was retained in order to accurately represent the house in its initial time period.The Murdock House features basic characteristics of Gothic Revival style of architecture that was popular in the mid to late 19th century. The steeply-pitched gabled roof, cresting at the ridgeline, hoodmolds over the windows, and curvilinear elements on bargeboards and porch brackets offered a model of finery in newly-founded Wichita.This elegant dwelling was among the most stylish residences of the day in Wichita. In its time the structure symbolized Wichita's rapid advancement from frontier trading outpost to successful urban center.The building is the most stylish upper middle class home on the museum grounds, but in the city of Wichita there were many larger and more ornate homes in the city.
Hodge House - ramp and narrow doorway
The Hodge House in the residential district of Old Cowtown Museum represents life of the an African-American family in early Wichita.The Hodge House was built by Wesley Hodge, an African-American blacksmith from 1878-1885. In 1880, Wesley was 40 years old and his wife Millie, a homemaker, was 38. They and their children Fannie, 15, and James, 13, who worked as a bootblack, lived in the house. When they arrived in Wichita in 1876, they joined a growing population. In 1875, the census listed Wichita as having a population of 62 African Americans. By 1880, it had grown to 246 people.Wesley passed away in 1885 at 45 leaving his wife Millie to support their two teenage children. At same time, the family acquired the former Presbyterian/Catholic Church building. It was moved to 605 N. Main next to their home and converted into a rooming house. The rooming house continued to support Millie Hodges throughout her long life. She lived to be 97 years old and never remarried. She was active in the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church where her daughter Fannie played its first organ in 1878.Before this home was relocated to Old Cowtown Museum, people within the community assumed it was a parsonage because of its location next to a church. It wasn't until one of Old Cowtown Museum's curators dug deeper into its history that it was discovered the home belonged to the Hodges, one of Wichita's first African-American families. In 2011, Old Cowtown Museum renamed the "Parsonage" the "Hodge House" and redecorated the interior to accurately tell the story of this family
First Presbyterian Church
The First Presbyterian Church in the residential district at Old Cowtown Museum represents one of the social and religious organizations of the permanent residential community in Wichita during the 1870s. Churches played an important role in the development of the social, cultural, and political climate in 1870s Wichita. They took an active role in defining the standards they believed would lend to developing a family‑orientated climate. The Presbyterian church was active in the local Temperance movement, supported blue laws and other anti vice activities that flourished in the town.In 1870, the Presbyterian congregation built the first permanent church structure in the town at the intersection of Wichita and Second Streets for $1500. There was much resistance from church leaders in the East that were not comfortable spending such a sum in a town with such a lawless reputation. The church was sold to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic Church in late 1872 for $550 including furnishings and moved to 2nd and St. Francis Ave. Later, the building was used as a boarding house owned by Mrs. Millie Hodge who moved the structure to the 600 block of N. Main. A second story was added to the structure as a boarding house, and windows were added on the front of the first floor. After a fire in 1949 destroyed the second floor, the building was condemned.However, this structure that once served as a religious center for the first settlers of Wichita was about to serve the City once again. Eighty years after its construction, the building sparked a project that was to become Old Cowtown Museum.In the early 1940s the dilapidated structure caught the attention of Victor Murdock, Editor of the Wichita Eagle. Murdock and Managing Editor Dick Long determined that this building was important to Wichita's history. Murdock tried to purchase the building but died before he could accomplish his goal. In a tale of last-minute rescue in 1949, Dick Long bought it from a salvage company for $400, a price which included what was believed to be the adjacent parsonage.Long and other civic-minded Wichitans founded Historic Wichita Cowtown, Inc. to raise money for restoration. They also planned to acquire other buildings in honor of Murdock's dream. In 1952 the Church and Parsonage (later discovered to actually be the Hodge House), the Munger House, and the Jail were moved to a site on the Arkansas River which has become the grounds of Old Cowtown Museum.Wichita architect Harry Overend directed the restoration of the frame structure to insure historic authenticity. The hand-hewn trusses were retained and native walnut was harvested to replace the floors.
