150 Things I Love About Kansas

Kansas Museum of History
150 Things I Love About Kansas
Highlights from the Kansas Museum of History
These are our 150 favorite things in the museum. But there
are many more things to love about Kansas. Visit the special
exhibit and tell us what you love about our state.
Items marked with an asterisk are included in the special exhibit,
*
150 Things I Love About Kansas. All other items are displayed in our main gallery.
150things
18 61
KANSA
S
20 11
I LOVE ABOUT
KANSAS
Underlined items are links to our website with images and stories.
Landscape
We love the Kansas landscape because it’s beautiful, subtle, and varied.
Examples in the museum:
*Birger Sandzen print, “Castlerock”
*Herschel Logan print, “Valley Home”
Stach one-room school
*C.A. Seward print, “Smoky Hills”
*Kim Casebeer painting, “Thunder Over the Flint Hills”
*Banner from the Symphony in the Flint Hills
*Quote by Satanta, “I love to roam over the prairies.
There I feel free and happy, but when we settle down,
we grow pale and die.”
*Photo of a rowboat on the Kansas River, 1867
*Video of modern wind turbines
Windmill from the 1890s
Buffalo (in our prairie diorama)
Prairie chickens (in our prairie diorama)
Wichita Indian grass lodge
Sod house
Limestone fenceposts
Stach one-room school, 1877 (on our grounds)
Stan Herd’s railroad mural (behind our locomotive)
Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Avenue
Topeka KS 66615-1099
785-272-8681 • kshs.org
REAL PEOPLE. REAL STORIES.
Pin created for Kansas
Lions Club members
The Wizard of Oz
W
e love The Wizard of Oz because Dorothy spends the entire story trying
to get back to Kansas!
E
xamples in the museum:
*Drawing of Elphaba from Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked
*First edition of L. Frank Baum’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
*French poster for The Wizard of Oz
*Scarecrow doll made by L. Frank Baum’s son
*Pins created for Kansas Lions Club to trade at national meetings
*Quote by Dorothy Gale: “There’s no place like home!”
People
We love Kansans! Everyone has a story.
Examples in the museum:
*Quote by Dwight Eisenhower: “The proudest thing I can say is that I am from Abilene.”
*Christmas card sent by aviator Amelia Earhart
*Hatchet pin, dress, and other items from temperance activist Carry A. Nation
*Saber carried by African American officer during the Spanish-American War
*Platinum record from the rock band Kansas
*Track shoe worn by Wes Santee at the Helsinki Olympics, 1952
*Medal given to African American educator Mamie Williams by Washburn University
*Kansas Navy uniform worn by Dr. John Brinkley (the goat gland doctor)
*Lobby card for movie version of William Inge’s play, Splendor in the Grass
*Wolf Creek power plant logo drawn by artist Blackbear Bosin
*Quilt, “Iris Garland,” designed by Topeka artist
*Study drawn by John Steuart Curry for the Kansas Capitol murals
*Art Deco lectern used by Alf Landon during his 1936 presidential campaign
*Future Farmers of America jacket worn by Land Institute founder Wes Jackson
*Bean pot from Wichita restaurateur Concepción Lopez of Connie’s Mexico Café
*Drawing by Wild Hog, Northern Cheyenne Indian
Stach one-room school
*Story cloth made by Hmong immigrants in Kansas City, 1980s
*Humorous postcard depicting giant ear of corn
*Poem by Langston Hughes, “I Dream a World”
*Quote by William Allen White: “When anything is going to happen
in this country, it happens first in Kansas.”
*Photo of early suffragist Clarina Nichols
*Photo of Medal of Honor recipient and African American soldier John Denny
*Clock from actor Ed Asner’s office on the set of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
*Boxing gloves worn by world heavyweight champion Jess Willard
150 Things I Love About Kansas
Boxing gloves worn
by Jess Willard
©2011 Kansas Historical Society
*Letter written by runner Glenn Cunningham at the 1936 Olympics
*Suitcase from Whizzo the clown, WIBW-TV
Television camera from the first television station in Kansas, WIBW-TV
Fired clay carving, the oldest artifact in the museum
Photo of Kansa Indians (our state takes its name from the tribe)
Child’s tipi from Plains Indian tribe
Full-sized tipi in the Southern Cheyenne style
Violin played by early settler
Whizzo the Clown’s suitcase
Flier honoring Pap Singleton for encouraging African American settlement in Kansas
“Don’t Spit on the Sidewalk” brick from Dr. Samuel Crumbine’s health campaign
Painting supporting votes for women, 1893
Statehouse doors smashed during the 1893 Legislative War
Broom given to the Populist Party to “sweep” their opponents from the Capitol
Portrait of Mary Elizabeth Lease, Populist orator
Quarantine sign from 1918 influenza pandemic
Filmmaker Osa Johnson’s book, I Married Adventure
World War I mess kit etched with soldier’s wartime experiences
Spanish-American War uniform with bullet hole
Charles Curtis political cartoon (the only American Indian elected U.S. Vice President)
Baseball trophy from 1867 state championship
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka legal documents
Eisenhower’s World War II field jacket
Chainmail from an early Spanish expedition (found in central Kansas)
Sunflowers
We love that the sunflower—sunny, open, & bright—personifies the Kansas character.
Examples in the museum:
* Original Kansas state banner with sunflower design
*Sunflower campaign button for Dwight Eisenhower
*Cap covered in sunflower pins from Alf Landon’s 1936 presidential campaign
*Sunflower costume worn during Kansas centennial, 1961
*Kansas National Guard uniform jacket with sunflower patch
*Cowboy boots with Kansas sunflowers worn by Governor Fred Hall
*Kansas Turnpike sign with sunflower logo
*Chair carved from cottonwood tree by chainsaw artist
*Kansas quarter featuring sunflowers, 2005
Cowboy boots worn by Governor Fred Hall
150 Things I Love About Kansas
©2011 Kansas Historical Society
Temporary street signs
from Greensburg
Weather
We love Kansans’ resilience in the face of severe weather.
Examples in the museum:
* First known photo of a tornado, 1884
*“Tornado” print by Herschel Logan
*Tornado illustration from the children’s book The Bravest of Us All by Brad Sneed
*Traffic signs and temporary street signs from Greensburg tornado, 2007
“Drouthy Kansas” painting by Henry Worrall
Wheat
We love that Kansas is the breadbasket of the world.
Examples in the museum:
*Bottle of Turkey Red wheat brought to Kansas by Mennonite farmers
*Wheat weaving of a U.S. eagle
*Fair poster illustrating a woman holding a sheaf of wheat, Wichita, 1891
*Kansas grain sack sent to Europe for food relief following World War I
*Stained glass church window depicting wheat
*Kansas license plate with wheat logo
*Farmers overalls made by Key Industries of Fort Scott
*“Elevator” painting by Phil Epp
Plow invented by a Kansas farmer
Wild West
We love how Kansas is known around the world for its western heritage.
“Elevator” by Phil Epp
Examples from the museum:
*Rifle from Jesse James gang shootout, 1874
*Stetson cowboy hat
*Fragments cut from trousers of Dalton Gang after the Coffeyville raid, 1890
*Reward poster for the capture of the Bender family, 1873
*Actor Reb Russell’s jacket given to him by silent film star Tom Mix
*Gunsmoke lunch box
*Movie poster for the western Wichita, 1955
*Flint Hills Rodeo chaps
*Child’s cowboy outfit
Covered wagon like those used on the Oregon Trail
Navajo trade blanket brought to Kansas over the Santa Fe Trail
Portrait of a pioneer staking a claim
Painting of a Pony Express rider
Log cabin built near Salina, 1860s
150 Things I Love About Kansas
Gunsmoke lunch box
©2011 Kansas Historical Society
Stagecoach used in western Kansas, 1868
Boot worn by George Armstrong Custer while stationed in Kansas
Cheyenne war lance
Gatling gun from a Kansas fort
Branding irons used on Kansas ranches
Winchester rifle used by lawman to rob the Medicine Lodge bank, 1884
Kansas Centennial
We love how Kansans celebrate our history.
Examples in the museum:
* Kansas centennial banner, 1961
*Colt revolver made for the Kansas centennial, 1861
*Elizabeth “Grandma” Layton painting celebrating Kansas’ 125th anniversary
*Kansas centennial postage stamp, 1961
*Poster of the Kansas sesquicentennial postage stamp, 2011
*Centennial salt and pepper shakers in the shape of wheat shocks
*Banner from 400th anniversary of Coronado’s exploration of Kansas, 1941
Centennial salt and
pepper shakers
Painting of the Kansas exhibit hall at the U.S. centennial exposition, 1876
Bleeding Kansas/Civil War
We love that Kansas has long been known as a symbol of freedom.
Examples in the museum:
Portrait of famous abolitionist John Brown
Pike purchased by John Brown for planned slave revolt
Civil War flag carried into battle by Kansas African American soldiers
Kansas’ territorial seal, 1850s
Sign from New England company encouraging immigration to Kansas
“Admit Me Free” flag promoting Kansas to enter the Union as a free state
Tombstone for Kansas abolitionist murdered for his beliefs
Chair sat in by John Brown at a stop on the Underground Railroad
“Admit Me Free” flag
Early photo of African American woman aided by Kansas abolitionists
Shackle cut from escaping slave’s ankle
Reward poster for escaped slaves heading to Kansas Territory
Howitzer purchased by free-staters to defend Lawrence
Kansas Constitution, 1859
Painting of the Civil War battle of Mine Creek, the only major
battle fought in Kansas
150 Things I Love About Kansas
©2011 Kansas Historical Society
Flag dropped by Quantrill’s raiders at Olathe during Civil War
Musical instrument destroyed during Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence
Business
We love Kansans’ ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit.
Examples in the museum:
*Pizza Hut toy bank from restaurant chain founded in Wichita
*Mug from White Castle restaurants, started in Wichita
*Pitcher made by Dryden Pottery of Ellsworth
*Painting of small-town hardware store in Alta Vista
Cessna, Learjet, and Beech aircraft models from Wichita, “Air Capital of the World”
Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber model
Miner’s cap from central Kansas salt mines
Silkworm cocoons from Utopian colony, Silkville
Printing press from William Allen White’s Emporia Gazette
Diner inspired by Valentine Manufacturing of Wichita
Pizza Hut toy bank
Phillips 66 gas pump
Coleman Company portable stove made in Wichita during World War II
Biplane, one of the first successful aircrafts flown in Kansas
Locomotive and two train cars from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
150 Things I Love About Kansas
©2011 Kansas Historical Society