Annual Review: Picturing history in Wilson

In the early hours of Nov. 6, 2009, a fire gutted the Czech Opera House in Wilson, Kansas, destroying more than a century of historical documents and photos, a devastating blow to a cultural landmark.

Now, thanks to a partnership between KU Libraries and the Wilson Tourism Hub, part of that history is back — and growing.

Melinda Merrill, the hub’s president, was simply being a gracious alum when she hosted KU faculty and staff during the 2023 Wheat State Tour. The itinerary included stops in Lucas and Nicodemus, a visit to Wilson’s Czech Egg, and a night at Merrill’s restored Midland Hotel.

During the trip, conversation turned to the Opera House fire and Merrill’s efforts to preserve local history. That sparked an idea from Phil Cunningham, curator of the Kansas Collection at KU’s Spencer Research Library: digitize the Arthur Jellison Photograph Collection and return it to Ellsworth County.

The result is a public exhibit that debuted in February – bringing Wilson’s past back into view.

“It was a lot of fun – we had a cocktail party, they had dinner and spent the night and then they continued on the tour,” Merrill recalled. “Within about a week, Phil called me and said they had this collection of Arthur Jellison’s work and he really felt like that work should be in the town where it was created.”

Cunningham, a Kansas native who joined the library staff in early 2023, had been combing through Spencer Library’s holdings as part of his on-boarding. The Jellison Collection had been flagged as a priority due to its condition and large number of potentially dangerous nitrate negatives – film consisting of a base of cellulose nitrate, a highly flammable and unstable material, used by early photographers.  

Jellison owned and operated a photography studio in Ellsworth County during the first half of the 20th century, capturing studio portraits, weddings, community events and school photos. The Jellison family consulted with former Kansas Collection curator Sherry Williams in the 1980s, but a family move prompted the donation to Spencer for safe keeping in 1998.  

Cunningham sent Merrill a sample of photos to choose from, along with an offer to provide prints for display as digitization of the full collection began. Merrill and her team selected more than two dozen images, with the Wilson Heritage Museum contributing a similar number. The photos now hang in a shared workspace at the Wilson Tourism Hub, connected to the Midland Mercantile. Before the official February opening, a preview event welcomed Jellison family and friends to help identify the images.

“We are excited to bring these images home to Wilson and hear the memories shared behind each photograph,” Merrill and her staff wrote in a social post about the event.  

KU Libraries staff have digitized more than 1,500 images from the collection through June, including 104 document images, 326 print images, 344 acetate negatives and 769 nitrate negatives. Digitization specialists Melissa Mayhew and Warren Lambert handled the nitrate film inside a controlled lab at Spencer Research Library’s Conservation Services, following strict safety protocols.

“With a digital camera it takes seconds to capture images, but on a flatbed scanner it’s five to 20 minutes depending on the size of the negatitve,” Mayhew said. “It took a really long time to do these compared to a digitizing less hazardous types of film downstairs where we could just snap, snap, snap, snap.”

Since the exhibit debut, many others have come forward with other Jellison images and various community artifacts. Originally slated to be temporary, Merrill plans to keep the Jellison photos on display. More prints provided by KU Libraries are on the way in the near future.  

“The whole purpose of that group coming out here was to expose them to more of Kansas and its landmarks," Merrill said. “Phil was able to synthesize the information that he was getting here and turn it into an incredible product. People love the exhibition. We’re not taking it down, we’re just adding to it.”

As the images are added to Spencer’s Digital Collections, they’re being tagged with metadata and descriptions, making them accessible worldwide at digital.lib.ku.edu, which hosts more than 150,000 items. Spencer Research Library holds more than 1 million photos, including similar community collections from Joseph Pennell (Junction City), Duke D’Ambra (Lawrence), George Cornish Studio (Arkansas City), and Hannah Scott Studio (Independence).

“A lot of communities don’t have the resources that exist at the Kansas State Historical Society or here at KU – they're working with what they have and the worst case scenario is you have a fire or some kind of catastrophe," Cunningham said. “This project was a good opportunity for us to recognize that we’re a resource for the whole state and that we’re willing and able to support the whole state.” 

This content first appeared in KU Libraries 2024-25 Annual Review, a publication that reviews accomplishments of the past year and provides a glimpse of priorities moving forward. See this story and the full issue in the downloadable pdf.