The Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum will be conducting a photographic preservation project in 2001.  The museum staff will be properly storing its photographic collection and making scanned copies for exhibit and research.  This program is funded in part by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit organization promoting understanding of the history, traditions, and ideas that shape our lives and the communities in which we live.  These funds were awarded in the form of the Kansas Heritage Program Grant.  This is a $3,500 grant to be used in one of six ways.  The Program categories are:  Basic Research, Oral History, Cataloging/Indexing, Care of Collections, Language Preservation, and Collections Access.

 

Many of the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum's photographs are original Prettyman, Cornish and Croft photographs.  Prettyman was one of the primary sources for photographs of Native Americans both in Indian Territory and the Cherokee Outlet.  Cornish also photographed Native Americans as well as early Arkansas City scenes and people.  Prettyman, Croft and P.A. Miller produced the few photographs of the opening of the Cherokee Outlet on September 16, 1893.  The collection of photographs is valuable to Arkansas City, Kansas and our nation, because the photos depict the history of the area, the Cherokee Outlet and the Native Americans.  Prettyman is well known to historians as a primary source of Native American and early Pioneer photographs.  By preserving these photographs, the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum will be preserving the heritage of Arkansas City. 

 

William S. Prettyman

 

William S. Prettyman's ancestors came to America in 1638 to be among the first pioneers.  Prettyman's parents lived in Princess Anne county, Maryland, where on November 12, 1858, William was born.  William lived his life as the others in his family had lived, on the edge of civilization, a pioneer, a nomad.  He longed for adventure.

By the time that the Civil War had ended, William was old enough to enjoy stories of "Indians" and pioneers.  Maryland was now populous and was no longer the frontier, but the early residents entertained William with stories of settlement.  The land west of the Mississippi river was unsettled.  As he grew to manhood, William S. Prettyman urged to travel west and experience life.  It was at the age of 21 William stepped off of a train in Emporia, Kansas with only 5 cents in his pocket.  He used the money to purchase a postcard to send home and announce his safe arrival. 

William tried a number of odd jobs before he arrived at a profession that he enjoyed and that fascinated him.  William became the apprentice of a Civil War photographer, I.H. Bonsall, who operated a gallery in Arkansas City, Kansas.  This would become his life's work. 

Prettyman captured the West as it changed from the frontier to a civilized state.  He photographed the evolution of the Native American from a "hostile Indian" to a civilized white replica.  He not only traveled into Indian Territory to photograph the natural environment of the different tribes, but members of different tribes approached him in his studio.  He photographed all aspects of the West.  He photographed old Civil War Veterans in their fading gray or blue uniforms, pioneer women in their sunbonnets, cowboys and outlaws.  Prettyman photographed Bob Dalton both alive in his studio and dead in Coffeyville, Kansas.  Prettyman also photographed the Boomer leader, David L. Payne who was one of the major instigators to open the Oklahoma Territory and The Cherokee Outlet for Settlement.  He was also the official camp photographer at Camp Schofield in 1889. It was Prettyman's cameras that photographed the opening of the Cherokee Outlet on September 16, 1893. 

Prettyman was a premier photographer.  He photographed history in the making.  He captured an element of the "Old West" that would not have been captured without him.  He produced photographs that tell the history of the area of South-Central Kansas and North Central Oklahoma.  Without these photographs, the history of the area would be lost.  Many of Prettyman's original photographs and glass plate negatives are housed at The Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum.

When the West that he knew began to die, Prettyman sold his business, his home and moved to the Far West in 1905.  He abandoned his priceless plates in his Arkansas City Gallery, he left behind all his collection.  He took only one camera.

It is largely due to his apprentice, George Cornish, that his collection survived.  Each time that Cornish moved to larger quarters, he took along the remnants of the work of Prettyman and Bonsall.  He converted all negatives into photos and stored the plates with care.  It is to his credit that the portion of the collection is today housed at the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum.  "Never did Cornish attempt to borrow the greatness of his teacher, nor claim the authorship of his work.  Some he protected by copyright in his own name, but these pictures continued to be identified as Prettyman's work.  Prettyman never sought a copyright on any of his pictures.  Long after Prettyman left Kansas, Cornish produced an album of photographs made from choice plates in his collection.  He did not have to include his former partner's name but he titled the album 'Oklahoma Views, by Prettyman and Cornish'."

(Cunningham, Robert E.  Indian Territory, A Frontier Photographic Record.  University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma:  1957)

 

 

 I.H. Bonsall

I.H. Bonsall moved to Arkansas City in 1872.  He had previously been a Civil War photographer.  He, like other Civil War photographers had taken at least one glass plate of President Abraham Lincoln.  He not only photographed the War of Rebellion, but its aging veterans.  Once in Arkansas City, Bonsall set up a gallery on the corner of Central and Summit streets.  His home was a log cabin in the 300 block of East Central.  His favorite things to photograph were the street scenes of Arkansas City, especially Summit Street.  He was the teacher to William S. Prettyman who would later become a primary source for photographs of the Native Americans in Indian Territory.  It is due to the skill of this teacher that Prettyman became the success that he did.  It is said that it was due to Bonsall's age that he himself did not become the forerunner in Native American photographs.    He was unable to travel around in Indian Territory as his apprentice did.  

 

George B. Cornish

 

Largely to one man goes the credit for preserving what little is left of the thousands of plates made with such precision and perseverance by William Prettyman.  This man was George B. Cornish, a protégé and youthful partner of Prettyman's who had a greater respect than his teacher for this monumental record.  Cornish stood on the platform that hot September day in 1893 when one of history's greatest photographs was made.  He manned one of the cameras and tried to guess the fraction of a second when a fast-moving scene would reach its dramatic peak.  He never revealed which of the three pictures was his.

Cornish continued as a photographer in Arkansas City throughout his life.  Each time he moved to larger quarters he took along the remnants of the work of Prettyman and Bonsall.  To assure their continued existence he made glass positives of many of these plates, which he kept in careful storage.  Only when an original negative was broken did he open the store to make another negative.  When unbreakable acetate film became available he made negatives on this material.

Never did Cornish attempt to borrow the greatness of his teacher, nor claim the authorship of his work.  Some he protected by copyright in his own name, but these pictures continued to be identified as Prettyman's work.  Prettyman never sought a copyright on any of his pictures.  Long after Prettyman left Kansas, Cornish produced an album of photographs made from choice plates in his collection.  He did not have to include his former partner's name but he titled the album "Oklahoma Views, by Prettyman and Cornish."  After the death of Cornish, the plates became a part of the Cunningham Collection, and now are back in the land of their origin.

Prior to his death in 1946, Cornish's studio was on West Fifth Avenue.  A local attorney now occupies the building.

 

Thomas Croft

 

Thomas Croft moved to Arkansas City from Illinois in 1885.  His family lived for a while on South H Street in the Sleeth Addition.  Later they built a home on North Third Street His studio was near the corner of Summit Street and Central Avenue. 

Thomas Croft was an associate of William Prettyman, a famous photographer from Arkansas City, Kansas. Croft was present on September 16, 1893 at the opening of the Cherokee Outlet for settlement.  Prettyman, Croft, and P.A. Miller set up a platform on the northwest corner of the Chilocco property.  On the 20-foot scaffold they sat up three cameras positioned to photograph the opening of the land rush.  Prettyman left the other two men to take the photographs while he ran for land in the race.  The three men agreed not to tell who actually took which photograph, however Croft's son George has revealed that his father is the photographer who took the famous photo of the opening of the Cherokee Outlet. 

In addition to the now famous photo of the horses taking off in the race for land, Croft took two photos before noon.  One shows the line up at close range with all modes of transportation awaiting the opening and the other shows an incoming stagecoach.

Croft preferred landscape and outdoor photography.  He and George Cornish took many pictures of business buildings and scenes around Arkansas City and published booklet in 1900 called "Arkansas City Illustrated."

Thomas Croft is said to have been responsible for the first known photograph of a tornado in action.  On May 12, 1896 at 4:00 P.M. he and Albert Potter, from near Maple City, Kansas, were in Oklahoma City doing some retouching while George Cornish watched a storm brew.  George told his father that the tornado was coming right at them, so Thomas grabbed his camera and took the photo.  The photo was used in many scientific publications among others. 

Thomas Croft went into the Oklahoma Territory on occasion to photograph the Native Americans.  In fact, some are now famous photographs of the Native Americans. Many of his photos have been printed on china and used as souvenirs.   His glass negative collection is still in tact in his family's possession.