Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Leavenworth in Leavenworth County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Cyclone Carry

Carry A. Nation

 
 
Cyclone Carry [sic - Carrie] Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 22, 2010
1. Cyclone Carry [sic - Carrie] Marker
Inscription.
Carry Amelia Nation, the Kansas Prohibitionist, who became internationally known for breaking up saloons, was born in Kentucky in 1846. The widow of an alcoholic, she remarried and settled in Medicine Lodge, Kansas.

The state constitution prohibited the open saloon but many Kansas towns had them. Mrs. Nation launched a one-woman campaign against alcoholic spirits, carrying a hatchet and a Bible. She prayed for fallen souls and left hatchet marks on bars. Her first bid for national fame came in December 1900, when she demolished the Carey Hotel bar at Wichita and destroyed its liquor. Most of her saloon smashing was done in Kansas, although she made a number of trips out of state.

She was arrested 30 times. She published temperance magazines and lectured and sold miniature hatchets to finance her war on alcohol. Carry Nation visited Leavenworth in March 1901, but without her hatchet. She did no damage while in Leavenworth. Ferdinando Mella, proprietor of the National Hotel at 4th and Cherokee, arranged for a police escort and stayed with her as she visited several locations in town and took a streetcar to the Soldiers Home.

The word had spread of her impending visit and the bars were closed. After Mr. Mella escorted her to her room on the second floor of the National Hotel, the saloon on the first floor was
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
opened and did a brisk business, largely because of the many people who had turned out to see Cyclone Carry, as she was called by the newspapers. She did not return to Leavenworth until January 1911, when in ill health, she was brought by a nephew to the Evergreen Sanitarium at Maple Avenue and Limit Street. She died there five months later, [on] June 9, and is buried in Belton, Missouri.

Called "saintly" by some and "crazy" by many, Carry Nation was at one time, the most talked-about woman in the world.
 
Erected by City of Leavenworth. (Marker Number 3.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & ReligionCommunicationsIndustry & CommerceWomen. A significant historical year for this entry is 1846.
 
Location. 39° 19.042′ N, 94° 54.81′ W. Marker is in Leavenworth, Kansas, in Leavenworth County. Marker is at the intersection of 4th Street (State Highway 7) and Cherokee Street, on the right when traveling north on 4th Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Leavenworth KS 66048, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Knights of Columbus Hall (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lincoln at Stockton Hall (about 300 feet away); Stockton Hall (about 300 feet away); Russell, Majors & Waddell
Cyclone Carry [sic - Carrie] Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., December 22, 2010
2. Cyclone Carry [sic - Carrie] Marker
Looking north on 4th Street
(about 300 feet away); Site of Offices of Russell, Majors, and Waddell (about 300 feet away); Leavenworth Masonic Building Association (about 400 feet away); Heritage Court / Celebration of the Midwest Family (about 600 feet away); Freedom Tree (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Leavenworth.
 
Regarding Cyclone Carry. The marker is one of a series of audio historic wayside markers - push a button on the marker and the narration (transcribed above) is given.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
 
Also see . . .
1. Carry A. Nation. Encyclopedia of Arkansas website entry (Submitted on May 5, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.) 

2. The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation (her 1905 autobiography). Google Books website entry (Submitted on May 5, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.) 
 
Additional keywords. Prohibition, temperence
 
Carrie Nation in 1910 image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Philipp Kester, circa 1910
3. Carrie Nation in 1910
Carry A Nation (1846–1911) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Thomas Onions, June 12, 2011
4. Carry A Nation (1846–1911)
“Faithful to the cause of Prohibition ‘She ”Carrie ‘she was done what she could’.” buried under the name “Carry A. Nation” as a way for the Prohibition folks to continue to try to pass the 19th Amendment) is buried in the Belton Cemetery in Belton, Mo.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 11, 2022. It was originally submitted on May 5, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 891 times since then and 18 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week December 27, 2015. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on May 5, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.   3. submitted on December 20, 2015, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.   4. submitted on August 27, 2012, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=42172

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 19, 2024