Facet Browse

Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, Kansas (Cattle in foreground), Lawrence, Kansas. 323 miles west of St. Louis, Mo.

Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882

This stereograph shows Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, Kansas. Visible in the photograph are business buildings, different forms of transportation, and people and cattle in the street. It is from Alexander Gardner's series, Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division.

Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, Kansas. 323 miles west of St. Louis, Mo.

Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882

This stereograph shows Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, Kansas. Visible in the photograph are business buildings, different forms of transportation, and people and a wagon on the street. It is from Alexander Gardner's series, Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division.

Road construction, Beloit, Kansas

This photograph shows men building roads on a Good Roads Day, Beloit, Kansas.

Street scene in Arkansas City, Kansas

This photograph shows what could be the main street of Arkansas City, Kansas. A number of business buildings are visible as well as horse drawn wagons/carriages and a trolley car.

Thomas Ewing, Jr., to Dear Sir

Ewing, Thomas, 1829-1896

In this letter from Leavenworth, Ewing began with comments on a note that was being extended and ended with observations about his city's rapid growth and bright prospects. "Majors & Russell," he predicted, "will only start a portion of their trains from Nebraska City. They will do all their business here as far as the capacity of the town & neighborhood will permit."

Joseph Harrington Trego to Alice Trego

Trego, Joseph H. (Joseph Harrington), 1823-1905

Joseph H. Trego wrote from his cabin in Sugar Mound, Kansas Territory, to his wife Alice in Rock Island, Illinois, about his journey from Kansas City to Sugar Mound. His friends, Thomas Ellwood Smith (Ell) and his brother Edwin (Ed), and himself were poorly prepared as they expected to stay in public houses during the journey, not camp outside as their wagon transportation preferred. As the road they took went right down the Missouri state line, Trego contrasted the well-established farms to the East with the "open, wild prairie" to the West. He and his brother, upon arriving at their cabin, found that they had "Hoosier" neighbors (from Indiana), who were pleasant but proslavery. Trego recounted the difficulty they had acquiring home furnishings and food, fighting adverse weather at every turn. He spoke at length of how he was comforted by writing to his wife, as he and his friends greatly missed their families.

Front Street in Dodge City, Kansas

A stereograph showing Front Street in Dodge City, Kansas. Businesses visible in the stereograph include J. Mueller, Dodge House, and Billiard Hall.

North side of Front Street looking east, Dodge City, Kansas

Knight, J. Lee, photographer

A view of the north side of Front Street looking east from Third Street, Dodge City, Kansas, during the early 1880s. Businesses visible in the photograph include a saddle shop, and a blacksmith and wheelwright.

James Griffing to William Smyth

Griffing, James S. (James Sayre), 1822-1882

James Sayre Griffing wrote from Topeka, Kansas Territory, to William Smyth, editor of the Owego (New York) Times. Griffing described in some detail his family's overland journey to Kansas Territory in a "double waggon." He commented upon the quantity and nature of provisions to take on an overland journey, methods for crossing streams and rivers, and the advantages of a good "fowling piece" for hunting wild game. Griffing also observed that the amount of travel in and through Kansas Territory had increased during 1859, due in part to the Pike's Peak gold rush. Griffing also mentions interactions with Native Americans in the area.

Three Block trail outfit of New Mexico enroute for Sterling, Kansas

Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936

This is an 1898 photograph of the "Three Block" trail outfit of New Mexico, enroute for Sterling, Kansas. It shows cattle, mess wagons, mounts and riders. There were an estimated 15,000 head of cattle in this herd.