Old Cowtown Museum Interpreter Manual Historical Background 2019 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................... 5 Interpretive Themes of the Three Major Time Periods Covered ................................................... 5 Five Interpretive Districts and Their Themes .................................................................................. 5 An Outline Of The Essential Wichita History 1865 To 1880 .......................................................... 7 A Brief Overview Of Kansas History And Settlement ................................................................... 10 Historical Overview Of Wichita & Sedgwick County ................................................................... 10 National 1870s Historical Context ................................................................................................... 13 WICHITA HISTORY POPOURI ....................................................................................................... 16 Early Settlement ........................................................................................................................................................... 16 “Great American Desert?” .......................................................................................................................................... 16 The Munger House: Wichita’s Oldest Residence ..................................................................................................... 17 “A Well - Kept Park” ................................................................................................................................................... 17 “The Happy Valley” ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 The Bone Trade: The Buffalo Disappear .................................................................................................................. 17 Chisholm Trail and The Four Horsemen ................................................................................................................... 18 Selling Wichita: The Role of Newspapers in Early Wichita .................................................................................... 18 Delano & Wichita: So Close, and Yet So Far ............................................................................................................ 18 Delano: No Organization…No Interference ............................................................................................................. 19 Delano: Settled Down and Settled In ......................................................................................................................... 19 The Faces of Wichita .................................................................................................................................................... 19 Minorities in the Cattle Trade ..................................................................................................................................... 19 The African American Population in Early Sedgwick County ................................................................................ 19 Urbanization and Agrarian Expansion 1876 – 1880.............................................................................................. 20 Women in Wichita ........................................................................................................................................................ 21 HISTORY RESOURCE BOOKS ABOUT THE TIME PERIOD................................................... 21 HEIRLOOM GARDENS ..................................................................................................................... 22 PICTURES TRACING THE GROWTH OF THE CITY OF WICHITA ...................................... 24 POPULATION OF WICHITA, SEDGWICK COUNTY AND KANSAS ...................................... 26 Delano/West Wichita ......................................................................................................................... 27 GUIDELINES FOR INTERPRETATION OLD TOWN DISTRICT ............................................. 28 Old Town District–Heller Cabin ...................................................................................................... 29 J. R. Mead Hunter, Trader, And Freighter ............................................................................................................... 31 Old Town District - Drovers Camp ................................................................................................. 33 General History of Cowboys........................................................................................................................................ 33 Cowboys and the Cattle Drives ................................................................................................................................... 34 Old Town District – Trapper’s Cabin ............................................................................................. 35 Old Town District - The Munger House ......................................................................................... 36 GUIDELINES FOR INTERPRETATION RESIDENTIAL AREA ............................................... 40 2 Residential Area - Murdock House ................................................................................................. 40 Residential Area – Hodge House ...................................................................................................... 43 Residential Area - First Presbyterian Church ................................................................................ 44 Residential Area - One Room School .............................................................................................. 46 Wichita’s First Schools ................................................................................................................................................ 47 Residential Area - The Story And A Half House ............................................................................ 48 Residential Area - McKenzie House ................................................................................................ 49 GUIDELINES FOR INTERPRETATION BUSINESS DISTRICT ................................................ 51 Business District - Marshal’s Office ................................................................................................ 51 Business District - Meat Market ...................................................................................................... 53 Refrigeration ................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Business District - Turnverein Hall ................................................................................................. 55 The Turnverein Society ................................................................................................................................................ 55 Germans In Wichita ..................................................................................................................................................... 56 Business District - Southern Hotel ................................................................................................... 57 Business District - Fritz Snitzler’s Saloon ....................................................................................... 58 Business District - Drug Store .......................................................................................................... 60 Business District - Land Office......................................................................................................... 63 Business District - Barbershop ......................................................................................................... 64 Business District - Law Office .......................................................................................................... 67 Business District – Fechheimer’s Dry Goods and Clothing Store ................................................ 68 Business District - The Wichita City Eagle ..................................................................................... 69 Other Newspapers in Wichita ..................................................................................................................................... 70 Business District – Gill’s Mortuary ................................................................................................. 71 Business District - Carpenter Shop .................................................................................................. 73 Business District – Finlay Ross Furniture Store ............................................................................. 75 Furniture styles during the Victorian Era ................................................................................................................. 77 Business District – Harness and Saddlery ....................................................................................... 79 Business District - Baldwin Photographic Gallery ......................................................................... 80 Capturing a Glimpse of Early Wichita ......................................................................................................................