Local historian to give presentation on 'movers and shakers' of 1900s

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- A local historian will be giving a show-and-tell presentation of the movers and shakers of Fort Scott during the early 1900s.

Don Banwart's presentation will consist of the showing and discussion of a number of photos and documents that served as correspondence between Fort Scott attorney Eugene Ware and several other attorneys and business owners. The presentation will be given as part of the Old Fort Genealogical Society's annual meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the First United Methodist Church's Fellowship Hall, 301 S. National Ave.

Banwart said he spent nine days sifting through a collection of documents at the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka, Kan. The documents were a collection from Ware that was donated by his wife after his passing. Banwart said that even with nine days invested in rooting through the extensive collection, he has only scratched the surface.

"I just got the tip of the iceberg," he said.

During Monday's presentation, Banwart will share photocopies of the photos and documents for the audience to review, discuss, and take home. Some of the first correspondence he will discuss is an invoice from J.E. Agar in 1894 that was sent to B.F. Othick, who had done some work on a house owned by Ware. Banwart said the document is interesting because Agar later purchased the Pioneer Lumber Company which was located on the southwest corner of Wall Street and National Avenue.

Banwart said he will be bringing about 76 different documents, however he does not anticipate getting through each one.

"We'll be going through each one of these and talking a little bit about each one of them," he said. "It's really interesting ... It should be a real interesting evening."

Banwart said another one of the more interesting documents is a letter from a local attorney that was written about Rice, the man who started the Western Insurance Co. In the letter the attorney referred to Rice as "a big crook." Banwart said the letter predated the opening of Western Insurance by about 10 or 15 years.

The presentation is open to the public and free of charge.