Leavenworth History

Leavenworth is the oldest city in the state of Kansas and as such has a very rich history.
For a link to Historic Districts in Leavenworth, click here:Leavenworth Historic Districts
     Much of the history is accessible by viewing the original articles published in the city's newspaper, the Leavenworth Times, which was first established in 1859.
     Current issues of the Times (the past twelve months) are available in the periodical section of the library. Issues as far back as 1859 may be accessed on microfilm. The films are housed behind the Circulation Desk (Reference Staff will assist with obtaining the film and explaining procedures).
     The Leavenworth Times is partially indexed and information may be retrieved using a computer on the main floor (Reference Staff will assist). The index can prove to be a useful tool as one searches for articles from the past. While indexing of all dates and time periods has never been completed, the index does include issues as far back as 1859 in some instances.

The Vertical File in the Kansas Room contains the following:

League of Women Voters. Leavenworth. [City statistics]

[Sections on city wards taken from various 19th and early 20th century city ordinances]

"Leavenworth Is Just Fifty-Eight Years Old Today." Leavenworth Times. June 13, 1912.

"The Reservoir at Pilot Knob Into Service by Xmas." Leavenworth Times. Dec. 4, 1938.

The Illustrated Guide Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth, and Vicinity. [Booklet from 1957 located in the Kansas Room cabinet]

Seckler, Harry H. "'Who was Who' When the City was 30 Years Old in 1884." Leavenworth Times. March 6, 1951.

"Kansas: A Temperance Mass-Meeting at Leavenworth." New York Times. March 8, 1874.

"Temperance: Mass Meeting at Laing's Hall Last Night." Speech by Geo. T. Anthony. Leavenworth Times. March 17, 1874.

"Prodigal's Return." Daily Times. March 22, 1874.

"Drydale Saloons are to be Closed by U.S. Marshals." Leavenworth Times. June 23, 1917.

"Veterans Given Real Protection for First Time." Leavenworth Times. June 23, 1917.

"A Celebration Is Planned For Centennial of Platte Purchase." Leavenworth Times. August 7, 1938.

Seckler, Harry H. "Few Here Recall Those Early Days Along the River Levee." Leavenworth Times.

"The Last Train Out of Easton." Leavenworth Times. October 25, 1935.

"$600 Bankrole Launches Huge Industry Here." Leavenworth Times. March 6, 1936.

"Wreckers Topple A Brick Chimney."Leavenworth Times. June 17, 1941.

"To The Times: Knows About Hat Factory." Leavenworth Times. June 17, 1941.

Paragraph of information about completion of concrete steps at "Stuby" park. June 20, 1941.

"... Told In Interesting Way by Pioneer Woman." Leavenworth Times. ND.

"A Century ago In and Around Leaverworth." Leavenworth Times. ND.

"Leavenworth Had a Disastrous Fire 81 Years Ago This Month." Leavenworth Times. ND.

"Second Expedition From Post to West." Leavenworth Times. ND.

"Leavenworth Couple Present An Interesting History of County and City to the Public Library." Leavenworth Times. ND.

"Scraps of Pioneer History Picked Up Here and There." Leavenworth Times. ND.

Article about the Historical Essay Contest. Leavenworth Times. ND.

"A City Directory of 1887 Reveals Changes in Living." Leavenworth Times. ND.

"Heart of the One-Time Busy Goosetown Being Demolished; It First Was Called Cincinnati." Leavenworth Times. March 1, 1942.

"'RedLegs' Was Name to Spread Terror Among Border Evil-Doers." Leavenworth Times. ND.

"True Stories of Old Time Leavenworth." Mutual Savings Association Pub. Fall, 2003.

[Photo copy of a picture of soldiers (ca. World War I) at some celebration]

Pittard, Karen. "Leavenworth of 1885 Recalled." Leavenworth Times. April 4, 1990.

Pittard, Karen. "Leavenworth of 1885 Recalled." Leavenworth Times. April 4, 1990.

Reichley, John. "Living in Leavenworth." Leavenworth Times.

"From the Files of the Times Events 100 Years Ago On 8-8-88." Leavenworth Times. August 7, 1988.

A Self-Guided Tour of Historic Leavenworth. [Booklet]

Johnston III, J. H. "The Women Who Helped Open the West." Leavenworth Times. December 1, 1989.

Parish, Connie. "Historic Districts Pending Approval.: Leavenworth Times. Apr. 26, 2002.

Ramsey, Roy. "Harvey Girls Carry on Tradition of Service." Leavenworth Times. December 9, 1991.

Biographical Sketch of Col. D. R. Anthony. Ca. 1908. [Located in the Kansas Room cabinet]

[Draft of a historical essay by Evelyn Delawey]

Johnston III, J. H. "Leavenworth Felt Quake Which Jarred Area in 1895."

"New Glory for Early Barristers." Leavenworth Times. May 5, 1976.

McCullough, Robert F. "Fragments of the Past." Popular Photography. January 1970.

[List of historical plaques put up by the Leavenworth County Historical Society]

A Visitors Guide to historic Leavenworth [Pamphlet]

[Photo copied sections of several city directories 1859-1882]

[Photo copy of a Leavenworth street map]

[photo copy of a Leavenworth street map with wards marked]

Kansas Centennial Commemoration at Leavenworth Kansas June 11-17 1861 ... 1961 [Booklet located in Kansas Room cabinet]

"Paragraphing the Town." Leavenworth Times. July 24, 1941.

"Tree Planting On Courthouse Yard Favored." Leavenworth Times. Aug. 17, 1941.

Trowbridge, Catherine. "Burned into Memory." Leavenworth Times. December 31, 1991.

Leavenworth Long Ago. [Booklet of biographical sketches]

[Section copied from an unknown history of Leavenworth]

[Plastic covered map of Leavenworth from 7th to the river and Choctaw to Cheyenne]

"The Story of Leavenworth." Leavenworth Times

[Street maps and historical brochures]

Leavenworth Area Chamber of Commerce. "Historic Leavenworth First Incorporated City of Kansas."

Seckler, Harry H. "There Was Bustling Activity Along the City's River Levee Before the Turn of the Century." Leavenworth Times. July 3, 1949.

Seckler, Harry H. "Leavenworth Was Once Boom Town of 35,000 in Early Days." Leavenworth Times. March 19, 1950.

"Reminiscences of Early Day Folk and a Yuletide." Leavenworth Times.

Piche, Ron. "By Any Other Name, It Wouldn't be the Same."

Seckler, Harry H. "Vaccinated for Railroad Center But it Didn't 'Take'." Leavenworth Times.

Parish, Connie. "Underground Railroad Group to Meet Here at Documented Site. Leavenworth Times. September 17, 2000.

Parish, Connie. "Narrow Gauge Won Leavenworth a Place in Railroad History." Leavenworth Times. July 4, 1999.

Copies of photos from the year 1937. Leavenworth Times. January 2, 1938.

Fisher, James J. "People Out the Chill on Klondike." Kansas City Star. August 23, 1996.

Seckler, Harry H. "Leavenworth's 95th Birthday Will be on Sunday, June 12." Leavenworth Times

Seckler, Harry H. "Enacting City's First Laws Was Tough Job for Pioneers." Leavenworth Times July 17, 1949.

Seckler, Harry H. "Pioneer and Modern Traffic Ordinances Very Much Alike." Leavenworth Times. July 24, 1949.

Parsons, Steve. "Bit of City's History Goes Up in Smoke." Leavenworth Times. December 19, 1978.

Seckler, Harry H. "City's Old Time Enjoyed Moulders Annual Grand Ball." Leavenworth Times.

"Entire Community Turns Out to Welcome Triumphant Return of the 20th Kansas." Leavenworth Times.

Seckler, Harry H. "The City Market - Maters Were Rough on the Cheaters." Leavenworth Times.

Pearson, Charles G. "Oscar Wilde Still Popular Abroad, But Leavenworth Didn't Like Him." Leavenworth Times. 

Remburg, George J. "When Hemp Furnished Big Industry and Greased Weather in this Area."

Dyer, Laverne N. "Lincoln Spoke from the Planters Hotel Steps in Early Days of Prominence." Leavenworth Times.

[A photocopy of a styilized map of Leavenworth from heritage magazine February 1976]

Feller, John M. & Ruth H. Feller. History of Leavenworth Kansas. [Historical essay]

[Picture of the River front in 1888]

"Progressing with Leavenworth Past and Present and Future." Recon November 1967.

"Leavenworth Electrified." Leavenworth Times. October 21, 1979.

[A 1991 calendar showing historical events]

Historic Leavenworth First Incorporated City of Kansas.

"Good Old Days Were Changing Fast." Leavenworth Times December 22, 1985.

Hanna, John. "New Attorneys in Kansas Follow Sherman's March." Lawrence Journal World. April 25, 1997.

Leavenworth Pioneer Days Souvenir Program May 27, 28, 29, 1948. [Booklet located in the Kansas Room Cabinet]

Leavenworth Kansas. [Booklet]

Johnston III, J. H. "Leavenworth History - Part 5 [also included are parts 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 25, 30, 37, 38, and 41]

Holladay, Iva. Historical Pageant of Leavenworth County. [Located in the Kansas Room cabinet]

[Photocopy of a picture of downtown Leavenworth]

[Miscellaneous pictures from Leavenworth calendars]

"As City Directory Saw it Early Leavenworth." Leavenworth Times. January 22, 1967.

Suhr, Jim. "Archeology Students look for Artifacts Here." Leavenworth Times. July 17, 1988.

Cheney, J. R. "What Could Have Happened to Emily Evans?" May 12, 1974.

"Bar Association to Mark Site of Early Law Firm" Leavenworth Times. April 26, 1976.

"Law Offices Remembered." [photo] Leavenworth Times. May 16, 1976.

Stewart, Karen Kirks. "Remberance of Things Past." Leavenworth Times. June 8, 1986.

Leavenworth Progress 1996. October 17, 1996.

Leavenworth Kansas the Pioneer City of Kansas. [Original essay located in the Kansas Room cabinet]

"Leavenworth Government Institutions Give Town its Flavor." Kansas City Times. June 12, 1987.

Parsons, Steve. "Bit of City's History." Leavenworth Times. 1978.

Wiebe, Mark. "With Her Words History Comes Alive." Kansas City Star. April 25, 1996.

O'Rourke, Margaret. "History Important to Downtown Revitalization." Leavenworth Times. January 17, 1988.

"The Spirit of '75 Was One Marked by Novelty." Leavenworth Times. December 22, 1985.

"Eluding the Ghost of Christmas Future." Leavenworth Times. December 22, 1985.

"Recovery Monopolized the Holidays." Leavenworth Times. December 22, 1985.

"First Marriage in County At Kickapoo 103 Years Ago." Leavenworth Times. February 18, 1940.

"Three Women And One Man Naturalized." Leavenworth Times. Sept. 15, 1938.

"First Kansas Paper Printed Under Leavenworth Elm Tree." Leavenworth Times. Jan. 11, 1940.

"Leavenworth, in Earlier Days, Was 'Queen City of the West'." Leavenworth Times. Feb. 15, 1940.

"B.P.W. Club Enjoys Old Fashioned Party." Leavenworth Times. Oct. 20, 1937.

"Leavenworth Union Workers March in Labor Day Parage" Leavenworth Times. Sept. 6, 1938.

"A Kidnapping Occurred In Leavenworth in 1859." Leavenworth Times. Aug. 25, 1938.

"Citizenship in Granted Three." Leavenworth Times. Jan. 3, 1940.

"January an Important Month In the History of Leavenworth." Leavenworth Times. Jan. 9, 1940.

"Platte Purchase a Homestead Lure." Leavenworth Times. Nov. 25, 1938.

"Leavenworth's First Cub Scout Pack." Leavenworth Times. Dec. 11, 1938.

"Doctor Diamond Dick: Leavenworth's Flamboyant Medicine Man." Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains 26 (Spring 2003): 2-13, ill.

Reichley, John. "It Makes a Great Dog's Tale." Leavenworth Times. September 26, 1996.

Masenthin, Tricia. "Program Digs into Coal-Mining History." Lansing Current. October 12, 2006.

"Baseball Memories Last a Lifetime for Local Man." Leavenworth Times. Jan. 8, 2004, ill.

"Reflections on Bain City." Leavenworth Times. Jan. 11, 2004, ill.

The Times [Commemorative Issue]. "Leavenworth: 150 Years of History." Leavenwrth Times. June 27, 2004.

Pearson, Charles. "The Anthonys: A Leavenworth Dynasty." Leavenworth Times. June 27, 2004.

"Leavenworth -- At Its Beginning." Flyers for Historical Symposium celebration, at the Riverfront Community Center in Downtown Leavenworth, June 12, 2004.

Newspaper Photos - Leavenworth's first public swimming pool; Abernathy Furniture workers' strike; High prison officials at conference; Old hospital at Veterans Administration Home and its demolition; Leavenworth interurban car plunging through trestle weakened by rains; Convict Floyd Ramey, thwarted escapee; Court house scandal figure, Howard Pete Oliver; Prison executive R.H. Hudspeth who was named warden of Leavenworth's federal prison.

[Hand written notes on Leavenworth History by Alice Lambert, located in the Kansas Room cabinet]

List of historic plaques by the Leavenworth County Historical Society.

"Leavenworth Times 2000: A Chronological Index of Area Businesses." Leavenworth Times. January 30, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1900-1909." Leavenworth Times. February 20, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1910-1919." Leavenworth Times. March 19, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1920-1929." Leavenworth Times. April 16, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1930-1939." Leavenworth Times. May 21, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1940-1949." Leavenworth Times. June 18, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1950-1959." Leavenworth Times. July 16, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1960-1969." Leavenworth Times. August 20, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1970-1979." Leavenworth Times. September 17, 2000.

"Leavenworth Times Capsule: 1980-1989." Leavenworth Times. October 15, 2000.

"Leavenworth times Capsule: 1990-1999." Leavenworth Times. November 19, 2000.

"Leavenworth County Genealogical Society History." Chronicle Shopper. Octover 4, 2000.

"City of Leavenworth - Major Accomplishments 1974 – 1992."

"Progress 2006." Leavenworth Times. Insert. March 2006.

"Progress 2008." Leavenworth Times. Insert. March 2008.

Leavenworth County Historical Society Podcast Series

"Looking Back: Leavenworth." Leavenworth Times. Weekend Edition, ill. March 6, 2010.

See Also:'Looking back : a pictorial history of Leavenworth, Fort Leavenworth, and Lansing, Kansas' Kansas Room book at Leavenworth Public Library: K 978.138 JOH