A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: Abilene's First School

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum recently featured the exhibit City on the Plains: A Look at Abilene Architecture. The following is a brief look at Abilene's First School. (Photograph courtesy of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.)

The first schoolhouse in Abilene was constructed in 1868 by Mathais Nicolay.  Nicolay was an 1866 settler of Abilene, a bridge builder, and carpenter.  The building was originally located at the corner of Southwest Second and Mulberry streets and became a residence in later years.  In 1969, the building was moved and restored, and today stands on the eastern edge of Abilene's city limits.

Upcoming Event: Kansas Statehood Ball Scheduled for January 28, 2012

The Dickinson County Historical Society will celebrate the 151st birthday of the state of Kansas at the 17th annual Kansas Statehood Ball on Saturday, January 28 at Sterl Hall in Eisenhower Park from 7 pm to 10 pm.

This event will be for the whole family, and the public is invited to come in period clothing (Victorian era clothing is not mandatory). The cost of the dance will be $5.00 per adult, $3.00 for members of the Dickinson County Historical Society, and $2.00 for children (3 to 12 years of age). Mr. Robert Thomas from Fort Scott will be the preceptor (or dance instructor and social director) for the evening. He and his wife Anita will demonstrate the 1860 period dances.

The evening will begin with the traditional Grand March followed by a waltz. Mr. Thomas will also discuss 1860 ballroom etiquette. Everyone can join in and participate in each of the dances. Other dances that will be performed will include the Virginia Reel, the Jenny Lind Polka, and the flirtatious “Hat Dance."

Music will be provided by the Kansas Brigade Band and assisted by Peggy Meuli on the piano. This band is comprised of a number of musicians from the local area. Originally organized by the late Fred Schmidt, the Kansas Brigade Band has performed for nearly twenty years for Civil War events around the state of Kansas. Even if you are not much of a dancer, the 1860 period music is reason enough to attend.

The Kansas Statehood Ball is an educational program provided by the Dickinson County Historical Society. Refreshments will be provided throughout the evening. For more information on the Kansas Statehood Ball or about joining the Dickinson County Historical Society, please call 785-263-2681 or visit our website at www.heritagecenterdk.com.

A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: the Duckwall Bros. Racket Store

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum recently featured the exhibit City on the Plains: A Look at Abilene Architecture. The following is a brief look at Abilene's Duckwall Bros. Racket Store. (Photograph courtesy of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.)

This particular photo was taken in 1912 and features Santa Claus making his debut outside the Duckwall Bros. Racket Store.

On May 10, 1901, a small general store was opened on the west side of Broadway Street.  Just a few short years later, Duckwall Bros. Racket Store moved to their new location across the street (where the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle office is located today).  Also known as a five and dime store, this Duckwall Bros. store had a long history in Abilene.  In some of Bill Jeffcoat's writings from the 1950s, he mentions that downtown Abilene was a bustling place to visit on Saturday nights.  The stores would be packed with customers buying products and getting a bite to eat at a lunch counter, all while children ran around the aisles, often unattended.  Of course, while this particular Duckwall store is no longer in operation, the company has maintained a presence not only in Abilene, but in twenty-three states.  Known as ALCO Stores, the company has over two hundred store locations.

A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: a former Brethren in Christ Church

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum recently featured the exhibit City on the Plains: A Look at Abilene Architecture. The following is a brief look at Abilene's former Brethren in Christ Church. (Photograph courtesy of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.)

This church no longer stands in Abilene, but was located on the corner of Buckeye and Northeast Seventh streets.  The Eisenhower family were members of the church’s congregation, and Dwight attended the church’s Sunday School as a young boy.  The Brethren in Christ Church has had a long history in Abilene and the surrounding Dickinson County area.  Known as River Brethren at the time, many of Dickinson County's early settlers and town builders were members of this denomination.

A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: the Lyric Theater

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum recently featured the exhibit City on the Plains: A Look at Abilene Architecture. The following is a brief look at the Lyric Theater. (Photograph courtesy of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.)

The Lyric Theater was a small, one screen movie theater located at the corner of Spruce and Northwest Fourth streets.  The movie that was showing at the Lyric Theater when this photograph was taken was Oh, for a Man!, which was released in 1930.  According to a few of the museum's visitors, in addition to showing movies inside, the Lyric would feature screenings on their roof during pleasant weather.

Sarah Vowell's Unfamiliar Fishes, and Westward Expansion

I recently finished Sarah Vowell’s book, Unfamiliar Fishes.  If you are not familiar with Vowell’s work, she is the author of a number of books on a variety of historical topics.  She writes in a very conversational tone, and makes references to modern day issues and pop culture.  As she conducts research for her books, she visits many tourist destinations and research libraries.  Often times in her books, she will pause from the historic narrative to tell a story or anecdote about a museum she visited or a person she met.  These asides all tie into the main narratives of her books, and provide a fun way to learn about a historical topic.  In some of her past books, Vowell has written about presidential assassinations and pilgrims.  Even if you are not aware of her work as an author, there is a good chance you have heard her voice.  Vowell has had a career in public radio, formerly working on Public Radio International’s This American Life, and was a voice actor in the Pixar superhero movie The Incredibles.  Unfamiliar Fishes, published in 2011, is her most recent book, focusing on the arrival of New England missionaries in the Hawaiian islands.

What does this book have to do with Dickinson County, Kansas history?  Not much at all.  But while reading it, I was greatly reminded of the hardships of the Kansas Plains Indian tribes in the late nineteenth century.  In her book, Vowell shows how upon their arrival in Hawaii, New England missionaries not only taught natives about the God of the Christian Bible, but also implemented an entirely different way of life for the Hawaiians.  The Hawaiians were introduced to new styles of clothing, home construction, and a plethora of other concepts and ideas.  Native American tribes living on the plains of the Midwest found themselves in a similar situation.  Boarding schools sprang up across the Midwest at the turn of the twentieth century, of which many Native American children were forced to attend.  This is not necessarily a topic I discuss with young schoolchildren as they visit the Heritage Center, but we do talk about how the lives of Plains Native Americans drastically changed as pioneers moved west.  One of the best ways to present this idea to kids is to talk about buffalo, or American Bison.  As kids, most of us are taught that Plains Indians used every part of the buffalo.  This is an idea that is ingrained into our heads at a young age.  As kids visit the museum, we talk about how many tribes were dependent on the buffalo for many aspects of their lives.  I then remind the kids that as explorers and pioneers traveled west, buffalo hides became worth a lot of money.  It has been estimated that over four million buffalo were killed from 1872 to 1874.  Some historians even place this figure upwards of seven million.  Suffice it to say, this greatly changed the way of life for many Native American tribes on the plains.

 

American history is filled with situations such as this.  After all, the United States is a melting pot of different cultures, people, and ideas.  Of course, there were many positives and benefits that westward expansion and growth caused, but we must never forget the people that were hurt by this progress.

To learn more about Sarah Vowell and her work, visit here.

A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: the Seelye Mansion

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum recently featured the exhibit City on the Plains: A Look at Abilene Architecture. The following is a brief look at the legendary Seelye Mansion. (Photograph courtesy of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.)

This enormous home was once said to be “the finest home between Topeka, Kansas, and Denver.”  To this day, the mansion is a testament to the fantastic wealth of A.B. and Jennie Seelye.  Built in 1905, the Seelye Mansion was state of the art at the time of its construction.  The family visited the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis to view many amenities and features that would later become a part of their house.  Thomas Edison’s original fixtures and light bulbs were used throughout the mansion.  The home also boasted six telephones, with additional telephones in the carriage house and garage.  This was very uncommon for a home, considering that many homes in Abilene did not have a single telephone.

A Brief Look at Abilene's Historic Buildings: the Dwight D. Eisenhower Boyhood Home

The Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum recently featured the exhibit City on the Plains: A Look at Abilene Architecture. The following is a brief look at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Boyhood Home. (Photograph courtesy of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio Museum.)

This simple Victorian cottage was built in 1887 by Ephriam Ellis, who was a school teacher in the community. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grandfather, Jacob, purchased the home five years later. It was later deeded to Dwight’s uncle, Abraham Lincoln Eisenhower. Abraham decided to move west in 1898, and offered the home to David and Ida, parents of Dwight and five other boys that grew up in the house.

Bill Jeffcoat took this photograph and used the image for a postcard to be sold to Abilene tourists in the 1940s.  Ida Eisenhower was still living in the home at the time.  When Jeffcoat arrived to the home, he noticed that Ida was sweeping the front porch.  When she saw that Jeffcoat was setting up a camera to take a picture of her home, she dropped her broom and rushed inside the house.  If you look at this image closely, you can notice Ida's broom leaning against the right side of the porch.