Mark Twain's Home in Kodachrome: By G.C. Stevens

 

Samuel L. Clemens

Pen Name "Mark Twain" (Two Fathoms)

Drawing from the Authors Collection

Mark Twain 1835- 1910, writer, lecturer and western intellectual. Who's works were central to the American civil war and western history, was an exceptionally popular author, who's reputation is still highly regarded today. He wrote travel books, an autobiography and novels. His most famous novels "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and the Adventures of Huckleberry Fin"(1884), both which were based upon his life along the Mississippi River in Hannibal Missouri.  Has been remembered and memorialized in many ways. His writings are still available, the internet has many webpages dedicated to Mark Twain, and many movies have made about him, his characters and many parallel characterizations in 20th and 21st centuries have appeared. These adaptations have been created for our entertainment.  Below you will find a series of promotional business sized cards, that were probably sold in local gifts shops, no doubt somewhere along the Great River Road, on the Mississippi River. A body of water which Abraham Lincoln once called the "Father of All Waters." These small business sized cards were created from photos credited to John Winkler and Kenneth Botkin. Not much is known about either of these men. Though some clues were found online. Kenneth Botkins. is probably the photographer, Kenneth C. Botkins of Hannibal Missouri (see Find a Grave)   .  Much less is known about John Winkler and no substantial information appeared online about him. The photos on the  cards were taken using various film types including Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Anscochrome colors. Kodchrome is known for it's rich warm tones and ultra fine grain. This film was great archival film because of its stability and can last over one hundred years, with minimal fading. Ekadachrome, while it had vivid colors and faster processing, is less stable and can fade over time, especially towards blue of magenta. Anscochrome was introduced in the 1950's and was generally used in 16mm by both amateur and professional photographers alike. The cards in this collection are in exceptionally good condition and tell a lot of Mark Twain's home in Hannibal Missouri. Each is accompanies by its description below. Which is located on each card, in the same way that an RPPC post card would display it.

The original package which contained the cards

Civil War: Telegraph Corps: By O.J. Fargo Army of the Southwest

 

Military telegraph construction corps photo from the Library of Congress (1)

Telegraph Corps 1861-1865

The exigencies and experiences of the Civil War demonstrated, among other theorems, the vast utility and indispensable importance of the electric telegraph, both as an administrative agent and as a tactical factor in military operations. In addition to the utilization of existing commercial systems, there were built and operated more than fifteen thousand miles of lines for military purposes only.

Serving under the anomalous status of quartermaster's employees, often under conditions of personal danger, and with no definite official standing, the operators of the military telegraph service performed work of most vital import to the army in particular and to the country in general. They fully merited the gratitude of the Nation for their efficiency, fidelity, and patriotism, yet their services have never been practically recognized by the Government or appreciated by the people.

For instance, during the war there occurred in the line of duty more than three hundred casualties among the operators -from disease, death in battle, wounds, or capture. Scores of these unfortunate victims left families dependent upon charity, as the United States neither extended aid to their destitute families nor admitted needy survivors to a pensionable status.

The telegraph service had neither definite personnel nor corps organization. It was simply a civilian bureau attached to the Quartermaster's Department, in which a few of its favored members received commissions. The men who performed the dangerous work in the field were mere employees -mostly underpaid, and often treated with scant consideration. The inherent defects of such a nondescript organization made it impossible for it to adjust and adapt itself to the varying demands and imperative needs of great and independent armies such as were employed in the Civil War.

Moreover, the chief, Colonel Anson Stager, was stationed in Cleveland, Ohio, while an active subordinate, Major Thomas T. Eckert, was associated with the great war secretary, who held the service in his iron grasp. Not only were its commissioned officers free from other authority than that of the Secretary of War, but operators, engaged in active campaigning thousands of miles from Washington, were independent of the generals under whom they were serving. As will appear later, operators suffered from the natural impatience of military commanders, who resented the abnormal relations which inevitably led to distrusts were rarely justified, none the less they proved detrimental to the best interest of the United States.

On the one hand, the operators were ordered to report to, and obey only, the corporation representatives who dominated the War Department, while on the other their lot was cast with military associates, who frequently regarded them with certain contempt or hostility. Thus, the life of the field-operator was hard, indeed, and it is to the lasting credit of the men, as a class, that their intelligence and patriotism were equal to the situation and won final confidence.

1. O'Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882, photographer

Created / Published

photographed April 1864, [printed between 1880 and 1889]

Headings

-  United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Library of Congress

250 Years of The United States: Early Settlement of Iowa by G.C. Stevens

 

Photo from the inside cover of Broad Axe and Bayonet

The Role of the United States Army in the Development of 

the Northwest, 1815-1860 by Francis Paul Prucha photo taken

by the Author G.C. Stevens

Moving far west beyond the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, pioneers headed west for large tracts of land where a new territory had been opened in 1833. They came on foot, on horseback, in prairie schooners or in covered wagons. With no roads, no bridges and no infrastructure to rely on, they followed Native American trails in their search for a place to settle. They negotiated, traded with and fought Native American Indians as they pushed into the deep interior of the continent. This expansion resulted in both conflict and settlement. But nothing could have ever changed what was coming. Following hot on the heels of that expansion was the creation of the technology of the railroads and telegraph. New technologies which would the pave the way for future settlement.

G.C. Stevens

Introduction: 

Over the next year the CSL&OH.A. will bring you articles and stories about the history of our nation and American culture. This is the first of these articles and was drawn from a publication produced by the Iowa Department of Transportation, entitled "Discovering historic Iowa Transportation Milestone".

Early Exploration

When French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet traveled down the Mississippi River in 1673, the land the surveyed, which would become Iowa was “Pays Inconnu,” the unknown land west of the great river. These explorers paddled their canoes on the west bank of the Mississippi on June 25, 1673, and they became the first Europeans to set foot on Iowa land, claiming it for France. The landing was near the mouth of the Iowa River in what is now Louisa County. On April 30, 1803, the land we now know as Iowa became part of the territory of the United States. It was included in the $15 million Louisiana Purchase transaction made with Napoleon Bonaparte in the Treaty of Paris. The average price per acre was approximately three cents. After the purchase, President Thomas Jefferson selected Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead a great expedition of exploration and inventory to the head waters of the Missouri River and their objective was to identify an overland route to the Pacific Ocean by way of the Columbia River. Their expedition (1804-06) passed along the western border of Iowa.

The grave of Father Jacques Marquette SJ. located in St. Ignace MI.

Photo taken by the Author.

They explored this region and made observations about its geography and studied it's plant and animal life. A monument erected in 1935 on a bluff north of Council Bluffs marks the site where Lewis and Clark held council with the chiefs of the Oto and Missouri Native American tribes. Further north, at Sioux City, a 100-foot tall monument marks the burial   place of the only person to die on the historic journey. Expedition member Sergeant Charles Floyd became ill probably with appendicitis and died suddenly near present-day Sioux City. He was buried on Aug. 20, 1804, on a hill on the Iowa side of the Missouri River. 

In 1805 the famed and controversial, Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike pushed his keelboats up the Mississippi and passed the Iowa shore during the famous Pike Expedition which set out to discover the source of the Mississippi River. Settling Along the Banks of the Mississippi Iowa’s oldest cities are found along the Mississippi River. These bustling river towns were the commercial hubs of pioneer Iowa. Many early settlers who established these economic centers arrived by flatboat, raft or keelboat. Settlers usually built boats large enough to carry their families and all their possessions, including hogs, chickens and cows. Until the arrival of steamboats, keelboats were the primary means of transporting people and freight up and down the rivers. More streamlined than flatboats, keelboats had long rudders that extended from the rear of the boat; sometimes they had masts and sails.

                                          Early Pioneers

Moving far west beyond the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, pioneers headed west for large tracts of land where a new territory had been opened in 1833. They came on foot, on horseback, in prairie schooners or in covered wagons. With no roads, no bridges and no infrastructure to rely on, they followed Native American trails in their search for a place to call home. They negotiated, traded with and fought Native American Indians as they pushed into the deep interior of the continent. This expansion resulted in both conflict and settlement. But nothing could have ever changed what was coming. Following hot on the heels of that expansion was the creation of the technology of the railroads and telegraph. New technologies which would the pave the way for future settlement.

G.C. Stevens

Reference The Iowa Dept of Transportation "Discovering historic Iowa Transportation Milestone"

Happy Thanksgiving From CSL&OH.A.

I thought I'd share this message from the Sons of Union Veterans. I am the descendant of Joseph Curtis who served with the 54th Illinois Infantry Volunteers and a proud member of the SUV. 

God Bless Our Republic

- G.C. Stevens,                    Historian,Reenactor & Author.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

-Abraham Lincoln

American Battlefield Trust

In Search of Jesse James in Adair Iowa: G.C. Stevens

 

Photo permission of the Adair News

I now come down to the Iowa train robbery, which occurred the 21st of July, 1873, and which filled all western Missouri with spies, detectives and armed men in search of us. The newspapers made me out the leader of the band. With me, according to the papers, were Frank James, Arthur McCoy and the two Youngers. You remember the outlines of the robbery. A rail was removed from the track resulting in an engineer killed and a general rifling of an express car thought to contain money belonging to the United States. An Iowa sheriff named Bringolf came down to Kansas City with a pocket full of requisitions. He made some magnificent promises, not a few threats, hunted everywhere except in the right place, and, as far as I'm informed, is still in Kansas City waiting for something to turn up. 

- Jesse James

- A Terrible Quintet by John Newman Edwards from Jesse James: The Best Writings on the Notorious Outlaw and His Gang by Harold Dellinger.

  

11/23/2025,

 During my recent presentation at the James Farm, in Kearny Missouri, I met a member of the Friends of The James Farm, Dennie Anderson. He told me he was from Iowa and, I later learned that he was an avid genealogist and a descendant of Jesse James. He was very interested in Jesse James connection to Iowa. So, I gave him my information, and he reached out to me via email. We decided to meet at the site of the 1873 Adair Iowa Train Robbery. I also wanted to get back to Adair to take a look around to see if I could locate the old railroad section house that was mentioned in the history. As the story goes the James Gang went to the section house (see photos below) commandeered some tools from the house to use in the train robbery.

 I met Dennie and his wife Vonda at the location and we walked the site. We did a closer examination of the remnants of the train bridge, took photos, and did some minor metal detecting, though nothing of any value was located as a result of the metal detector scan. And due to conditions only a small area was examined.  The terrain there is rough and overgrown with vegetation. So, it's a fairly difficult site to detect at. Before I went out to the site. I went online and located some satellite photos of the train robbery site on Google earth (see photo below). 

The Train Bridge

It was observed that it appeared that several sections of rail were embedded in the large pile of debris that is now on top of part of a section the old railroad bridge. Several decent photos of the rails were taken of sections of track.  And I was able to snap clear photos of the ends of the rails, which is very important, because the configuration of train rails is well documented, and can give us a fairly good time frame on when the track was manufactured. I sent the photos to Mike Wendel who is the Director of the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad Museum in Boone Iowa. They examined those pictures and returned this response:

Our track person here said the track is old, probably 1870s. Phil said that you would need to measure the height of the rail and look on its sides for printing. Very interesting photos Gene if you find yourself out there again in the future and try to see more of the sides of the rail it may help. Really appreciate you sending these. 

-Mike Wendell Museum Director

 

A monument dedicated to the famed robbery located at 

Melvin Memorial Park Adair Iowa

Photo by the author

A photo of the section house that appeared on 

the facebook page "Abandoned Iowa" posted by Andrew Haus.

The information stated that this house which once housed a

 "Jesse James Museum" had been torn town

Photo google earth. A direct look at the old bridge site

noting an unusual gouge in the terrain adjacent to bridge area

An overview of the entire site

The old railroad bridge looking east down Turkey Creek. 

Photo by the Author

Track can be seen buried in the mound of dirt and debris 

photo by the author

Pilings from the bridge. Actual age unknown

A very old an pitted section of rail or track plate photos by the author

A very clear picture of the very end of a piece of track. The photo 

is very important, and the configuration of railroad tracks 

are very documented and can determine that age 

and manufacturer of the track.

Photos by the Author

Same as above. Though its worth noting that this particular track

is very different and has a flare in the bottom of it. 

Bottom picture courtesy of 

https://drrajivdesaimd.com/2017/10/28/derailment/

Copyright 2025