CHERRYVALE — On Sunday, Feb. 27, 1910, the Union Electric Railway tried to sneak its first trolley car into this southeast Kansas town. They wanted to do a test run, without attracting a crowd. But word spreads fast in a small town. And although Cherryvale was already home to a glass factory, a bicycle factory, shovel and barrel factories, an iron works, a marble works, the largest zinc smelting plant in the world and six brickyards, people still got excited about something new. So a big crowd formed on that chilly Sunday morning — possibly including 3-year-old Mary Louise Brooks and seven-month-old Vivian Jones and their parents.
Fifteen years later, Cherryvale was still prospering, but both girls had moved away. Little Mary Louise was dancing semi-nude in the Ziegfeld Follies in New York and Vivian was taking high school drama classes in Independence, over her mother’s strong objections.
“You want to be an actress, trying to lead men into sin?” Euphemia Jones screamed. “You’re going to Hell!”
Lucy’s sidekick
Both girls went on to become famous actresses. Louise Brooks was the iconic flapper girl and seductive leading actress in silent films. Her bobbed hairdo was recognized throughout the world and copied by star-struck girls everywhere. Vivian Jones became Vivian Vance, playing Lucille Ball’s next-door neighbor in the “I Love Lucy” TV series. Vivian’s hilarious portrayal of Ethel Mertz made her the first winner of an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
Today, Cherryvale shows few signs of the prosperity that was celebrated that morning in 1910. The trolley shut down in 1947, and the factories had all shuttered long before that. Many of the streets are still paved with the bricks made here a century ago. But several storefronts are boarded up, the Welcome to Cherryvale sign could use a fresh coat of paint and the whole town is a little rough around the edges. There is a street named after Vivian Vance, and her childhood home is still standing. Louise Brooks earned no such recognition. Dancing semi-nude may have semi-disqualified her from being honored by the city.
Both actresses are still remembered in the Cherryvale Historical Museum, but their exhibit isn’t the museum’s most popular. That would be the glass case of murder hammers used by the infamous Benders — America’s first family of serial killers. The murderers included Old Man Bender and Ma Bender, who spoke very little English, plus John and Kate Bender, both in their 20s. The two older Benders were surly, but John and Kate were friendlier. They might have been brother and sister. Or they might have been husband and wife. Nobody was really sure.
Disappearances begin
In 1871, the Benders built a one-room cabin adjacent to the Osage Trail, about seven miles northeast of where Cherryvale was established a few months later. They used a canvas wagon cover to divide the single room into two. The smaller room in the back served as their living quarters. The larger room in front was where they sold dry goods and offered hot meals to travelers. A bench and wooden table were provided for customers to enjoy their food. But soon after the Benders opened the inn, travelers along the Osage Trail began to disappear.
The disappearances continued for several months, until Dr. William Henry York failed to show up at his destination. His two brothers began searching for him. One of them was Colonel Alexander York, a Civil War veteran, lawyer and a member of the Kansas State Senate. He had a search party of 50 men who questioned every traveler and searched every inn along the Osage Trail but no
hard evidence was found.
“So in March of 1873, a meeting was held at the Harmony Grove schoolhouse to discuss next steps,” our museum tour guide, Carol Staton, told us. “Colonel York’s search party was there, along with 75 local people. But the Benders were there, too.” Plans were made for a thorough search of the entire area.
Killers abscomb
By the time the search party arrived at the murder cabin, all four Benders had vanished. But the searchers were horrified by what they found on the abandoned property. There was a trap door beneath a bed, leading to a cellar caked with dried blood. In the garden behind the cabin were a dozen graves, all containing murder victims with skulls crushed and throats slit. The Bloody Benders, as they came to be known, were never apprehended. But after examining the evidence, officials pieced together a likely scenario of how the murders were committed.
Once a traveler had taken a seat on the bench, with his back to the canvas curtain, Kate engaged the guest in conversation to determine if he was far from home and traveling alone. If he met the right criteria, Old Man Bender would smash him in the back of the head with a hammer, then slit his throat and dump his body into the cellar through the trap door. After dark, the Benders dragged the bodies out of the cellar and buried them.
Word of the murders spread quickly, and more than 3,000 people were soon swarming the crime scene. Some were reporters from as far away as New York and Chicago. Most were souvenir hunters. The entire cabin was destroyed and all the contents were taken, except for the three murder hammers. A city official named Leroy Dick found the hammers during the first discovery of the crime scene, and took them home to preserve the evidence. “The head of the biggest hammer perfectly fit the depressions in the victims’ skulls,” Carol told us. The hammers remained in his possession until 1967, when his son willed them to the museum.
They’re now preserved in a glass case, next to a notarized statement of their authenticity. In the same room, there’s a canvas curtain behind a table that’s set for a solo traveler. There’s just one bench, so the guest must sit with his back to the canvas. Just like back in 1873.
“I thought it would be the young people who’d sit here and have their picture taken,” Carol told us. “But I was wrong. It’s the older people who always sit down and pose for a photo.”
To prove Carol’s point, I sat at the table while she reached around from behind the canvas with a toy hammer. The simulated murder weapon has a flexible plastic handle that spells out BENDER. It’s available to purchase at the museum and makes a nice souvenir for a Kansas history buff or a fan of dark humor.
The museum is open Sundays from 1 pm to 3 pm, or by appointment. Call Carol at 620-336-2241 to arrange a guided tour. The museum is at 322 E. Main in Cherryvale, in the one-story building next to the old church. And stay tuned for new developments. Efforts are underway to find the exact location of the Bender cabin and then search for artifacts.
Contact Joe Norris at joe.norris47@gmail.com.
