Old military crossing, Louisville, Kansas
Date: Between 1890s and 1900s
These four black and white photographs show William Darnell with his cows at the old military crossing of Rock Creek, which was below the dam at Louisville, Kansas.

The dairy herd of the Security Benefit Association farms in Topeka, Kansas
Date: 1930
The Security Benefit Association, a fraternal organization that evolved into an insurance organization, charged the members a nickel a month for hospital care, an orphanage for their children if the member died, and an old folks home all centered around a model farm in the western portion of Topeka, Kansas. This was part of the model farm, a herd of registered Holsteins.

Milking of cows on Riley County farm
Date: 1903
A photograph showing Nellie Zimmerman White milking a cow while her daughter, Flora White, watched. The dairy farm was located east of the Kaw River bridge across from Manhattan. They delivered and sold milk to the Manhattan area.

Silas Smith's second wife: a popular story complete in one volume. Souvenir edition
Creator: Cobb, E.M.
Date: 1908
Promotional pamphlet produced by the Union Pacific Railroad highlighting the beauty and picturesque scenery of the Butte Valley in California.

Kansas. A complete and comprehensive description of the agricultural, horticultural, stock raising and mineral resources of Kansas
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: 1903
This Union Pacific Railroad pamphlet promotes Kansas as an abundant and ideal place to settlement.

Kansas. Resources, population, industries, opportunities and climate
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: 1909
This Union Pacific Railroad pamphlet highlights the natural and human resources found in Kansas at the time of publication.

A handbook of useful information for immigrants and settlers
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1880-1889
Published by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, this pamphlet encouraged agricultural settlement on railroad lands in Kansas by glorifying the state's natural resources including water, soil, mineral deposits and plant life. Printed by the Kansas Farmer in Topeka, Kansas.

$190,235,814 For Dairy Products
Date: 1917
Promotional brochure designed as a talk to encourage the construction of good roads in the state of Kansas highlighted by comparable rural roads in Wisconsin that promote crop and dairy production.

Comparative Cost of Travel
Date: 1919
Promotional brochure exhorting the virtues of automobiles and trucks over team drive carriages in the hauling of agricultural products over good roads.

Henry L. Denison to Joseph Denison
Creator: Denison, Henry
Date: May 11, 1859
Henry Denison wrote from Manhattan, Kansas Territory, to his uncle, Joseph Denison, who was traveling away from home. Henry reported that the cornerstone of Bluemont College had been laid the day before, and described the festivities, including speeches and the planting of a kind of time capsule behind the cornerstone. He added that crops had sprouted and were growing beautifully; emigrants continued to pass through on their way to Pikes Peak.

Kansas. The land of golden horizons
Date: Between 1940 and 1960
A pamphlet that lists the many attractions Kansas has to offer. A number of photos can be seen covering various subjects, from Kansas agriculture to Kansas' strides in technology.

Kansas Emergency Relief Committee accomplishments movie
Creator: Kansas. Emergency Relief Commission
Date: 1936
This motion picture film documents the various work projects completed in Kansas during President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. It begins with an introduction to the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee personnel, starting with the executive director, John G. Stutz. It then shows the various projects across the state, including the construction of farm ponds and lakes as part of the Water Conservation Program, the renovation and construction of courthouses, schools, libraries, and other public buildings, and the weaving and sewing rooms that produced clothing for needy Kansans. It also includes footage of rabbit drives, dust storms, and women sweeping piles of dust out of their homes. Click on the thumbnails below to play each clip. Click on Text Version for a detailed description of each chapter.

Milkmaids contest, Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Alan Sells Studio; Topeka, KS
Date: Between 1900 and 1920
Milkmaids contest at Kansas Free Fair in Topeka, Kansas.

Union Pacific Railroad Company, Livestock Bulletin No. 108
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: August 14, 1913
This bulletin is a promotional advertisement providing aggregate valuations for livestock contained in the areas west of the Mississippi River ("on farms in the states on and tributory to the Union Pacific Railroad") for the time period between 1910 and 1913.

Southern Kansas. Letter in the march number of "camp's emigrants' guide to Kansas," from a New York farmer
Date: March 8, 1880
Railroad advertisement of published letter from New York farm emigrant lauding the agricultural bountifulness of Kansas to prospective eastern settlers.

Ninth annual exposition and fair, Manhattan, Kansas
Date: September 24 - 27, 1878
This poster advertises the ninth annual exposition and fair at Manhattan, Kansas. Highlights include livestock, agricultural crops, horse racing, baby judging contest, musical and other entertainment events.

Twelfth annual fair, Manhattan, Kansas
Creator: Blue and Kansas Valley Agricultural Society
Date: September 19 - 23, 1881
This poster announces the twelfth annual fair of the Blue and Kansas Valley Agricultural Society to be held at Manhattan, Kansas. Highlights include livestock, horse racing, agricultural crops and other entertainment events.

Twenty-ninth Biennial Report, Statistics by county showing population, acreage, production, and livestock, 1933-1934
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1935
This section of "Statistics by Counties, Showing Population, Acreage, Production, and Livestock" is from the Twenty-ninth Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, to the Legislature of the State for the Years 1933 and 1934. It contains statistics compiled by the State Board of Agriculture pertaining to crop conditions, livestock, and other farm products. The most useful sections for seeing the impact of the Dust Bowl on agriculture are the sections for the counties of Finney, Ford, Grant, Haskell, Hodgeman, Morton, Seward, and Stevens in western Kansas.

Thirtieth Biennial Report, Statistics by county showing population, acreage, production, and livestock, 1935-1936
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1937
This published report contains statistics compiled by the State Board of Agriculture pertaining to crop conditions, livestock, and other farm products for all Kansas counties. It was copied from the Thirtieth Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, to the Legislature of the State for the Years 1935 and 1936. The most useful sections for seeing the impact of the Dust Bowl on agriculture are the sections for the counties of Finney, Ford, Grant, Haskell, Hodgeman, Morton, Seward, and Stevens in western Kansas.

Thirty-first Biennial Report, Statistics by county showing population, acreage, production, and livestock, 1937-1938
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1939
This published report contains statistics compiled by the State Board of Agriculture pertaining to population, crop conditions, livestock, and other farm products in western Kansas during the Dust Bowl years of 1937 and 1938; copied from the Thirty-first Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, to the Legislature of the State for the Years 1937 and 1938. The most useful sections for seeing the impact of the Dust Bowl on agriculture are the sections for the counties of Finney, Ford, Grant, Haskell, Hodgeman, Morton, Seward, and Stevens in western Kansas.

Kansas Agricultural Summary, 1937-1938
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1939
This published report contains information about field crop statistics, precipitation totals, yields from wheat, corn, oats, hay, alfalfa, and sorghum crops, and information about livestock. These statistics range from 1866 until 1938. The report is included in the Thirty-First Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture (1937-1938).

Adolph Duever farm near Bremen, Kansas
Creator: Hawkins, Omar F. (Omar Finlay), 1890-1967
Date: March 27, 1929
View of people and dairy cattle on the Adolph Duever farm near Bremen, Kansas. A man and woman are each posed with cows, and a second woman is in the center of the photograph with a dog. Also visible are a milking machine, part of the barn, and dairy cows in a fenced corral to the right of the barn.

Dorothy Robbins Wick and Jessie Robbins Akers
Date: Between 1888 and 1892
Photograph of Dorothy Robbins Wick and Jessie Robbins Akers carrying milk cans at their farm near Topeka, Kansas.

Ho! For the new Kansas! The Upper Arkansas Valley
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
Date: July 1875
This brochure from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company is in the form of a newspaper. It advertises three million acres of land for sale in southwestern Kansas. The brochure explains the prices and terms of sale, and provides quotes from successful farmers in the area as to their ability to raise abundant crops. It lists where to get information about land sales in states east of Kansas, the local agents in specific Kansas communities, and the stations and the distances between stops on the AT&SF eastern division and the Arkansas Valley route

Governor John Carlin interview
Creator: Beatty, Bob, 1966-
Date: February 12, 2004
Click the thumbnail images below to play clips of Kansas Governor John Carlin discussing his experience as governor of Kansas from January 8, 1979 to January 12, 1987. Bob Beatty, Political Science Department, Washburn University, conducts the interview as part of the Kansas Governors Recorded History and Documentary Project, Dr. Bob Beatty and Washburn University, 2005. Carlin was serving as Archivist of the United State at the time, and the interview was recorded at his Washington, D.C. office. A complete transcript of the interview is available by clicking Text Version below. The interview is the basis for Beatty's article "'Be Willing to Take Some Risks to Make Things Happen': A Conversation with Former Governor John Carlin." Kansas History, v31 n2 (Summer 2007/2008).