Copy slide of a photo array of individual portraits of the members of the Abilene High School Class of 1897 of which John Sayles is a member.

Andrew L. Bowers was born in 1852 in North Carolina. Upon moving to Texas, his first job was as a day laborer on an iron bridge at Columbus, TX. He was eighteen years of age. At nineteen he was promoted to foreman, with the Delaware Bridge Company. Afterward, he worked for the railroads, steadily climbing their ranks until he reached the position of Superintendent of Construction for the Northwest division, covering the area from Spring to Fort Worth. He eventually left the railroad, resigning to look after his investments. He became interested in the Salt Works of Palestine, helping to develop that important new enterprise and serving as its first president. He married Nellie O’Connell, on May 31, 1882 in Corsicana. They were the parents of five children: Irene, Mabel, Andrew Jr., Willie, and Bernard. In 1890, the need for a Building and Loan Association became acute in this section, and Mr. Bowers, along with several others, organized the Mechanics’ Building and Loan Association. This was one of the earliest organizations of the kind in the state of Texas. In 1906 he bought from Governor Thomas M. Campbell, a controlling interest in the Palestine National Bank and was made president. …

Photograph of the Fort Worth High School graduating class of May 1897. The fifteen individuals wear formal attire, men in tuxedos and women in white, full-coverage dresses. The photograph is mounted to a board, and below the photograph an additional strip of board with handwriting listing the names of the individuals is attached to the backing board. Top row, left to right: Ronnea Wilson, Walter Sudarth, Emma Griffith, Sam Truplett, Mary Young, Mable Simpson, Salby Atwell. . Middle and bottom row: Georgia Prackett, Lyman Barber, Edith Ellis, Maggie McLean, Annie Emery, Lita Ryan, Jewell Weaver, Ada Brattlion.

Photograph of Bessie Rembert with dark and curly hair. She is wearing a gauzy dress with a wide, ruffled neck.

Photograph of The D. C. Riley House, in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Photograph of the Evans Drug Store at Enid, Oklahoma.

Photograph of the exterior of the Old Sabine Hotel in Port Arthur, Texas. Several horse-drawn carriages are stopped in front of the building, and people stand on the porch.

Photograph of Nora, Nan, Leona, John, Mary Belle (Granny), and W. O. Reeves posing together. Mary Belle and W. O. Reeves are both wearing black while the children are wearing white. There is a decorative backdrop with a wicker chair to the left of Mary Belle Reeves and a table right of W.O Reeves which he presses his hand upon.

Photograph of flood damage in the city of El Paso, Texas, after a large flood hit the area in 1897. A store call "John Finnigan and Co." can be seen in the right background of the photo, and remaining floodwaters can be seen in the foreground.

Two men and a little girl at the bar. A rooster is standing on the stool next to the girl. Fulton's was located at 1608 Lavaca St.

A color photograph of the Hexagon Hotel is shown here. Please note the Convention Hall to the right (north) of the Hotel. The Convention Hall was built in 1925 to accommodate the West Texas Chamber of Commerce Convention, and was built over a portion of the foundation of the electric power plant of the hotel. In 1897 Galbraith was granted, by city ordinance, a 50-year franchise to illuminate the city. The Hexagon Hotel was torn down in 1959. Ira Tarwater (who had been contracted to do the work) remarked that "[I]t was the most novel building I have to tear down." He later said that he regretted doing it. The Convention Center was demolished in 1977.

This photograph is a cleaned-up version, by A.F. Weaver, of the Hexagon Hotel, at approximately the time of its completion. (The site has been cleaned, and the trash removed.) Construction of the Hexagon Hotel started in 1895, and it opened for business in 1897, to ameliorate Mineral Wells' torrid summertime heat years before air-conditioning became available, its design was such that it could catch every vagrant breeze, and cool the hotel. A DC generating plant (seen behind and to the left of the hotel) furnished power to an electric light in each room. It was the first electrically-lighted hotel in Mineral Wells. the plant was operational when the hotel opened. There was also a steam laundry and an ice house, as well. The ice house produced its first block of ice in 1903. The builder/owner, Mr. David G. Galbraith (along with five other men) held the patent for acetate. Mr. Galbraith was a prominent cattleman from Colorado City, Texas. He came to Mineral Wells in hopes of curing a sever attack of rheumatism. He took the baths, and found that they helped him, so he decided to remain in Mineral Wells, and open a hotel. The original photograph, included in …

Photograph of JA Glass and a self-built car. He drove the car from Wichita, Kansas to Enid, Oklahoma.

Mounted photograph of the front of a house with various women and children posing on the porch and front steps, the front yard, and the second floor balcony. Handwritten blue and black ink inscriptions below the image read: "(Annie, Daisy, Lottie Emery.) 415 Wheeler St. (now College Ave.) Bertha Preuitt, Sybil Wilson, Lois Wilson holding Aline, Fannie with Paul, Bess Wilson, and Grandmother Emery (Dr. D. Emery Allen's mother.) It was at this home I hung out my 'shingle' 1897."The recto bottom left corner of the mount is missing and the mount has overall abrasions and staining. There are water stains running along the recto bottom of the mount and extending partway up the front right edge. Brown adhesive stains are visible along all four verso edges.

Photograph of Karl Tostmann and his cricket team in Germany. With in the picture Tostmann is identified by a hand drawn circle around him. The whole team is pictured wearing striped shirts and dark colored pants. Two boys are lying on the ground in front of the team with cricket items around them.

Photograph of Lizzie Wessendorff (written on back of photo in ink). The little girl has on a white dress with a small, white bow in the back of her hair. She is standing in front of a mirror. Floral print carpet in foreground. Photograph is mounted on a pale gray cardboard mat. Bottom of mat in red reads: Lorenz Art Gallery Extra Finish (in palette with brushes) Richmond, Texas. Photograph is faded and has yellow spots across it.

Photographic portrait of Lizzie Wessendorff as a toddler (about 2 years old), ca. 1897. Wessendorff is wearing a white cotton dress with lace around neck, arms, and hem. She is also wearing a brooch, necklace, and bracelet. Wessendorff is posed sitting on a stool in front of a mirror. Image is mounted on white matte with embossed vine pattern around perimeter. Photographer identified on matte as "Lorenz. Richmond, Tex."

Copy print of two unidentified men standing inside a dry goods store, leaning against the glass counters on either side of the store. There are shelves lining the walls, behind the glass cases containing boxes, jars, and cans, some of which are stacked in pyramids. Handwritten notes below the image say, "Dad's Store" and "Grocery, Drug & Hardware."

Photograph of the class at Oak Glade School, with Mrs. Dave Hinshaw as the teacher. Located in Major County, Oklahoma.

Photograph of the town of El Paso,Texas, taken from the top of the county courthouse after a large flood hit the area.

Photograph of Byrd Williams Jr. in a three-piece suit.

Photograph of a group of students of different ages standing as a group in front of a wooden building. A handwritten note on the back of the photo says: "Antonio Frank, Jr., Dacus, Tex., Bethel School."

Photograph of children posed for a class picture in front of the small school house. One of the girls in the front row holds a chalkboard. A handwritten note on the back of the photo indicates the locations for Walter and Alwin Schuhmann.

Photograph of Fern Munson wearing a checked dress and scarf. "1897 - 19 yrs of Age" is written on the back.