Sunflower Surplus / Barteldes Building

by Kelli Kuhlman

The Sunflower Surplus Shop we know today was originally a seed store owned by F. Barteldes. The company grew and imported seeds to be sold throughout the Midwest by catalogs and a group of traveling salesmen. This is a present-day picture of the building.

Fredrick Barteldes was one of three men from a German Immigrant Society (called Deutche Ansiedlungs Verein) or The New Settler’s Association, to come to Kansas territory in 1856. The location committee was sent out to choose a town site in the new Indian Territory, which was not yet a state, but had been opened up for settlement by the Kansas-Nebraska bill passed in May 1854. The three Germans signed contracts with Chief Paschal Fish for 774 ½ acres of land. The Indian bought back some of the lots, but left enough land for the town to be started. It was named "Eudora" after Chief Fish’s daughter.

F. Barteldes started a small grocery in Eudora, but moved to Lawrence in 1874 when a relation, F.W., came down from the north to help him. He opened a grocery at 804 Mass. St. that eventually turned into a seed company too. It was founded on a capital of only five dollars. The business prospered until it was burned in Quantrill’s Raid in 1863. The Kansas Seed Co. was one of the first buildings to be reconstructed afterwards. In 1884 Max Wilhelmi joined the company. He and F.W. operated the firm after F. Barteldes died in 1887. The store did very well and opened another site in Denver by the late 19th century.

This picture shows an original wall in the upstairs Bike Shop. Today, the bike shop is connected to the surplus shop, but originally, the seed company was located only in the surplus part. The wall pictured is made of native Kansas limestone with spots of brick where patching repairs were needed. The walls in the surplus shop are very similar. Although the building was burnt in 1904 and in 1997, the same walls remain and can be viewed throughout the store.

The cast iron front along the top of the building is also a survivor of the two fires. The Italianate features such as the flat roof and decorative molding are typical of the time period in which it was built. Many houses built in the 1860’s have the same style, including some of the mansions in Old West Lawrence. The F.W. Barteldes’s residence, located at 721 Indiana, had the same architecture. It was located in the upper-class neighborhood of the 1890’s, and F.W. Barteldes was considered one of the most prominent citizens of Lawrence in 1898. His house was unusual because he had a bowling alley installed in the back for his avid bowling habits. You may see a picture of F.W. Barteldes and his residence at this link.

This is a recent picture of the back of Sunflower. The bottom floor is used to display merchandise, and a staircase in the Bike Shop section leads to an upper level where camping gear is sold. A second floor loft serves as a storage area. Originally, the first level was used to sell merchandise, the second served as office space for operating the branches in Denver and Oklahoma, and the third floor was used for packaging purposes. When the Ridenour and Baker Grocery closed in 1888, they left a large stone warehouse on New Hampshire Street unoccupied. It was located directly behind the company. During the early 1900’s, the Seed Company purchased the building and used it to store and package seed. The strange door on the second floor was part of a bridge connecting the warehouse and the store. It helped to transport goods between the two buildings. Eventually the bridge was taken out when the company closed in 1963, but the random door remains.

The rich tapestry of history surrounding Lawrence and its downtown area has added uniqueness to the city for many years. It is interesting to learn about our communtiy and see things from a time other than ours. Sunflower Surplus Shop is a perfect example of the blend of past and present that makes our city so fascinating. For additional information on this and other landmarks of Lawrence history, visit the Osma room on the lower level of the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.

Bibliography:

1. Kohl, Robert, http://www.ci.lawrence.ks.us/localhistory/citizens/barteld.html. Copyright 1997, Lawrence Public Library.
   
   
2. Dary, David. A Pictorial History of Lawrence. Copyright 1992, by Allen Brooks printing inc.
3. Eltschinger, Debby. The Eudora Community Heritage of our USA Bicentennial, by the Eudora Bicentennial Committee.

© Kelli Kuhlman, 2000.

Historic Places / Student Projects / Community Connections / West Junior High / USD 497