Larned Sanborn Maps 1884-1937

Seth McFarland

October27, 2022

In 1867, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company began producing uniform large-scale maps of of over twelve thousand cities and towns in North America including the United States, Canada and Mexico. These maps were designed to help determine the hazard of properties in these cities. The maps provided historians with information for each structure and use of the time. They are an unrivaled source made available through the Library of Congress. Sanborn Maps of Larned were produced from 1884-1937. The museum staff have been tracing the development of Larned through using these maps, and have been able to note historic changes in the town.

Attached is an enlarged image of Broadway between 4th and 5th Street from 1920. Other interesting features to the map are the map key, and the description of the water feature which was first started in 1887. The map key provides color code used to indicate the building materials used on each building surveyed.

Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA

 

 

 

Who Were These People?

Part 7: Jerry Toles

 Carol Jenkner, Educator

            When asked about the origin of the name of Toles Avenue, most people in Larned will give you a blank look. “Who?” they ask. Ask the right people, those people who like to do some local history research now and then, and you might get, “Jerry Toles? He was one of Larned’s town founders.” A search of cemetery records, comes up empty. A search of early city directories (the earliest one we have is 1886) also comes up empty. Who was this guy and why would Larned name a street after him?

            After a great deal of searching, the most complete answer to the question turned out to be a fairly obscure set of volumes published by Tucker-Vernon Company of Cimarron and Larned, Kansas titled Along The Old Trail: A History of the Old and a Story of the New Santa Fe Trail. One of our volunteers provided excerpts from early newspapers that also gave a great deal of information.

            Jerry Toles arrived in Larned in April 1872 in the company of A.A. Thorpe and R.H. Ballinger from Chicago. He had been in real estate and insurance before coming to Kansas. He was an agent with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad when he came to Larned and was instrumental in platting the townsite. Toles bought an interest in the Larned Townsite that he later donated to Larned. By November 1875, Jerry Toles was the president of the Valley Bank, the first bank in Larned. Cashiers were reportedly Thomas Edwards and Mrs. Kate McMunn Toles; Mrs. Toles was said to have been the first female bank cashier west of the Mississippi River. He sold the bank around 1878 to a pair of men who were unable to maintain its solvency.

            In 1887 the Toles family left Kansas for California where they first settled in San Diego, later removing to Los Angeles where Jerry Toles was very successful in the banking business. He died at the age of 98 years old, April 3, 1930. Up until that time, it was reported that he was still driving his own car, had recovered from a broken hip, and retained all of his mental facilities.

           

 National Apple Day

 

 

Today, October 21, is National Apple Day.   Fresh and dried apples were basic staples in western forts.   In an account from 1867 from a soldier camped near Fort Larned, one solider reported that General Custer had a barrel of apples. 

Apples would have been a treat for travelers on the Trail and early pioneers when available.    Fresh fruit was a rare commodity, and the Kansas climate can be challenging to grow apples. According to culinary historian Sam Arnold, one other popular use of apples was for producing applejack.   It surpassed rum in popularity in the early nineteenth century.    During the winter, a keg of hard cider was allowed to freeze.  As the water solidified, the alcohol would remain liquid, and the highly potent applejack could be drawn off without heat distillation. 

Today, throughout Kansas, one can find Louisburg Cider from Louisburg Cider Mill.  The mill has been producing cider products since 1977, and available at different locations in Larned, including the Santa Fe Trail Center.

Photographers

Carol Jenkner

Education Director

Santa Fe Trail Center

 

            This week’s article continues with photographers as its theme. Many of the early photographers in towns such as Larned did not stay long. Some never intended to and steadily moved West sometimes making a name for themselves when they found their niche. The earliest photographers found in Larned date back to circa 1880. There were almost certainly earlier ones as well that have not come to light.

            The earliest list of photographers with connections to Larned includes George Benjamin Wittick and R.W. Russell, the men who took the known stereoviews of Larned mentioned last week. There were also J.R. Douglas, Douglas and White, E.A. Harris, and Misters Mojonier and Ritter. The Mojonier name is associated with an early hardware store in Larned located next to Landauer and Schnack Dry Goods noted as being between 6^th and 7^th Streets, presumably on Broadway.

            The 1886 Larned City Directory gave the names of J.J. Hargrave, J.R. Wilson, Smith and Wilson, D.N. Wheeler, L.W. Marble and a Mr. Nutting whose name appears on a photograph as Wheeler and Nutting. Mr. Marble was responsible for the stereoviews of Doerr’s Big Store. The others were noted as being primarily portrait artists.

            By 1910 the city and county directory listed W.B. Conard, the Dirks Studio, D.B. Garver and L.W. Marble. W.B. Conrad showed up in 1921 directory. The Misters Conard and Conrad, both with the initials W.B. appear in the 1921 directory at two different addresses. And then, to confuse matters further, a search through some of the photos in our archives turned up a pair of photographs, one signed C.W. Smith and one signed G.W. Smith. There are some photos just marked Smith, Larned, Kansas. Which one was he?

            By 1930, Larned had the Conrad Studio, the Rowland Studio and a photographer named Grenell with a studio at 9^th and Broadway. In 1931, Rowland was still listed, but Stutzman Studio, and Guys Cottage Studio had been added. Then there was Comrade Smith. More about him next week.