On July 7, 1909, four cars of the 10-coach Santa Fe No. 5 rolled into 8 feet of fast-moving flood water just half a mile from Pomona, Kansas. 300 people were aboard the train; all but one--a 4-year-old named Georgie Rhodes--survived. #KansasHistory #Railroads #Floods #PomonaKS #OttawaKS @histodons

One of the men who helped extend the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe to New Mexico and his wife. Judson and Archanna Winston. #Topeka #Kansas #KansasHistory #history #cemeteries #gravestones

https://post.news/@/tauycreek/2RzESfGHKtb0Fi88ZXC5tyjsO8C

1931 INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE: A crowd lines the west side of the South 200 Block of Main Street in Ottawa as the Bob's Clothes Shop float rolls down the street. Bob of Bob's Clothes was likely Robert Latimer, who owned DeTar and Latimer's clothing store at 219 South Main in Ottawa, Kansas. #IndependenceDay #fourthofjuly #KansasHistory

All Franklin County Historical Society Locations will be CLOSED on Tuesday, July 4, 2023 to commemorate Independence Day.

@histodons

I worked on 2 research projects during my 2 1/2 months at the Territorial Capital Museum in #Lecompton back in 2017.

One was the Hoch-Wald Tuberculosis Ranch near Grover. You can read it at the Historic Lecompton website: https://lecomptonkansas.com/the-hoch-wald-ranch/ #DouglasCounty #Kansas #history #KansasHistory

One of, what I think, is one of the more interesting things I've found (so far) during my #KansasHistory research. 𝗖𝗼𝘄 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, a small island in the Missouri River that was home to Native councils, the U.S. military and Lewis and Clark. #Kansas #Missouri #history

http://www.tauycreek.com/2019/03/still-in-green-though.html?q=cow+island

March 6-10, 2023, is Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
Jack McClure photographed this tornado just after the tornado hit Antioch Cemetery northeast of Homewood, Kansas, on May 20, 1957. It became known as the Ruskin Heights tornado. It began its long track to the KC Metro area when it touched down at Williamsburg, cutting through Franklin County. The tornado ultimately killed 39 and injured 531. #KansasHistory #KSWX #FranklinCOKS #Tornadoes @histodons

THIS SUNDAY! March 5, 2 p.m. Ken Spurgeon talks about bringing Sod and Stubble to the big screen and why the story still resonates with us today. Learn more at olddepotmuseum.org. #KansasHIstory #KansasMovies #SodAndStubble
@histodons

THE CLOCK IN THE TOWER. Many Franklin Countians today might be surprised to learn that the clock in the west tower on the roof is not original to architect George Washburn’s 1893 courthouse. The clock was installed as a memorial to Edwin M. Sheldon, who died of complications from pneumonia on April 11, 1911. #ClockTowers #KansasHistory #FranklinCountyKS #Horology #KansasArchitecture @histodons

The Franklin County Historical Society is working on a new exhibit, and we need your help! Our upcoming exhibit tells the story of the Civil Defense and Ground Observation Corps. If you have local artifacts, please contact brannana (at) olddepotmuseum (dot) org.

#KansasHistory #ColdWar #CivilDefense #FranklinCountyKS #OttawaKS #PomonaKS #RichmondKS #PrincetonKS #RantoulKS #LaneKS #WellsvilleKS #CentropolisKS #PeoriaKS #AppanooseCommunityKS @histodons

In 1885, despite community protests, Franklin County built the Locust Street Bridge, which became an important corridor across the the Marais des Cygnes River in #OttawaKS. The flood-battered bridge was torn down in 1961 to make way for flood control. #KansasHistory #Bridges @histodons

From 1913 to 1970, all Kansas license plates expired at the same time. During the 1950s & 1960s, new plates became available January 2, & it was a rush to the courthouse to snag the first plate issued in the county. Car & truck owners stood in long lines to pay for new plates before the old ones expired. Plates could be reserved, but a registrant could only reserve the same number he or she owned the previous year. Kansas switched to a staggered system in 1971. #KansasHistory @histodons

Join us in person or online for Grady Atwater's presentation on John Brown and early Lane, Kansas during our January 29 86th Annual FCHS Meeting. Free program with a great historian and storyteller. Learn more: https://www.olddepotmuseum.org/january-29-john-brown-and-lane-kansas-subject-of-86th-annual-fchs-meeting-presentation/

@histodons #KansasHistory #BleedingKansas #OttawaKS

@genealogy @histodons

Christmas in Franklin County in words and photos:

Pence’s Super IGA, southeast corner of Fourth & Main, decorated for Christmas. The Mode O Day company sign can be seen above. This building is now the home of Corner Market and Impact Wealth Planners. 11/

#Christmas #FranklinCountyKS #OttawaKS #KansasHistory

@genealogy @histodons

Christmas in Franklin County in words and photos:

An invitation, dated December 16, 1924, to celebrate Christmas in Williamsburg. “Mr. and Mrs. Lay, This is to ask you to be our guests at Dinner. Christmas Day –1924. Mary and John will be here. So hope nothing will interfere with your coming. PS. The boys are welcome if the care to come. Alice McEvoy.” 10/

#FranklinCountyKS #KansasHistory #Christmas #WilliamsburgKS

@genealogy @histodons

Christmas in Franklin County in words and photos:

Women and children surround the Nativity scene at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church in Richmond, Kansas. Photo by J.B. Muecke. 9/

#RichmondKS #FranklinCountyKS #KansasHistory #Christmas

@genealogy @histodons

Christmas in Franklin County in words and photos:

Decorating an aluminum Christmas tree in preparation for a party at Elks Lodge #803 in Ottawa, Kansas. The woman on the right is identified as Carol Gleason, and the boy is her son, John. Photo by J.B. Muecke. 8/

#FranklinCountyKS #OttawaKS #Christmas #KansasHistory

@genealogy @histodons

Christmas in Franklin County in words and photos:

Handwritten plum pudding recipe on stationary that reads "Office of J.D. Bodley & Son, wire and Picket Fence, No 424 South Main Street." Recipe in alt text. 7/

#KansasHistory #Christmas #OttawaKS #FranklinCountyKS

@genealogy @histodons

Christmas in Franklin County in words and pictures:

Letter to Abbie Bachelder (She later became Abbie Maxwell) from her friend D. W. Palten. They sent her a Christmas present of $100. They asked her not to tell anyone about the money. 1866. 6/

#FranklinCountyKS #RichmondKS #Christmas #KansasHistory

@genealogy @histodons

Franklin County Christmas in words and photos:

The Stoltz family in their home at 4th and Hickory (where the US Post Office now stands) in Ottawa, Kansas at Christmas. Pictured Elizabeth Stoltz holding baby Herman, Fred Stoltz holding Fred Jr., children William, Elizabeth, and Mary on the floor, and Andrew Volk stands in the doorway. 1897. 5/

#KansasHistory #OttawaKS #FranklinCountyKS #Christmas

@genealogy @histodons

Christmas in Franklin County in words and pictures:

Partially used sheet of Christmas seals used to raise money for the Tuberculosis and Health Association which later became the American Lung Association. 1930. 4/

#KansasHistory #FranklinCountyKS #Christmas