Mead family dugout in Ford County, Kansas
Date: Between 1875 and 1889
In this undated photograph, the L.A. Mead family stands outside their dugout located near Bloom, Ford County. Dugouts such as this, as well as sod houses, were common dwelling places on the high plains of Kansas due to the lack of wood and other natural resources. This family was fortunate enough to have glass windows, wood siding, and a stovepipe; these amenities would have been considered luxuries by many pioneers out west.

Rhees Singley's sod house
Date: 1870 ?
View of Rhees Singley's sod house near Plains in Mead County, Kansas.

First house built in Lawrence, Kansas
Creator: Lamon, W. H.
Date: between 1855 and 1858
The first house built in Lawrence, a log cabin, belonging to Clark Stearns (also known as Charles Stearns). It was located at 620 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, Kansas.

Pawnee Lodge
Date: Between 1860 and 1890
Pawnee Lodge with families gathered around. Copied from the Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 77, plate 50.

Wichita Indian grass house
Date: Between 1890 and 1899
Grass house of the Wichita Indians near Anadarko, Oklahoma, is cone shape with a thatch of long grass laid in tiers that overlap like shingles. The Wichita have been identified historically with Quivirans that the Coronado expedition encountered in south-central Kansas in 1541. The group moved south into what is now Oklahoma early in the eighteenth century where they are located today.

Cheyenne Indian lodges
Date: Between 1870 and 1879
This is a photo of several Cheyenne Indians sitting in front of their lodges near Anadarko, Indian Territory. The original photo is at the National Archives.

Bark covered Sac and Fox lodge house
Date: Between 1850 and 1870
Sac and Fox tribal members in front of bark covered lodge house.

Homesteads in Sheridan County, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1900
These are photographs of two unidentified farmsteads in Sheridan County. In the first photo, there is a frame barn with a fence. The house is built partly of sod. People are standing on the porch, one man is in the yard and two more men in front of the barn. Horse-drawn wagons are parked by the side of the sod house. In the second photo, a two-story house is shown with one story on the left and ridge extensions. Visible are an arched entry onto the porch and three chimneys. There is one windmill behind house and another by the barn. Pine trees are growing around the farmyard.