Flour mill in Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Fornwald, Clarence
Date: June 1936
This is a photograph of a mill in Topeka, Kansas. Clarence and Janice Fornwald took the photograph while they were on their honeymoon. They started from Pittsburg, California, and traveled through Utah, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., New York, New England, and eventually to Quebec, Canada. A restaurant with a "lunch" sign is in the foreground.

Soden's flour mill and dam, Emporia, Kansas
Creator: Walker, Russell W.
Date: Between 1920s and 1930s
These two black and white photographs show the Soden flour mill and dam along the Cottonwood River in Emporia, Kansas. The two-story structure was built in 1860 by William T. Soden. It later burned to the ground in the 1930s.

Cattle pens and railroad cars at Silkville, Kansas
Date: Between 1903 and 1910
A photograph showing cattle in a stockyard and railroad stock cars in Silkville, Kansas.

Cedar Bluff Mill, Rossville, Kansas
Date: Between 1870 and 1912
The Cedar Bluff Mill was built in 1869 by Joseph Perry, three miles north of Rossville on Cross Creek. Flour was manufactured there until the 1880s and later the mill was used for coarser products. The Pottawatomi Indians were the principal patrons as they brought their grist to be ground. Ben F. Reser purchased it about 1900 and ran it for many years. This photograph is provided through a pilot project to host unique cultural heritage materials from local libraries on Kansas Memory and was accomplished by mutual agreement between the Northeast Kansas Library System, the Rossville Community Library, and the Kansas Historical Society.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1899-1900
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1901
This biennial report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on dairying, road construction, livestock and other agricultural topics. Also covered are county statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, assessed valuation of property, and a listing of churches for each county. State statistics, crop and livestock statistics are also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1897-98
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1899
This biennial report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on beef and pork production, farm poultry, Kansas mineral products,livestock,and other agricultural topics. Also covered are county statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, assessed valuation of property, and a listing of churches for each county. State statistics, crop and livestock statistics are also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1895-1896
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1897
This biennial report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on corn, sorghum, cows, steer, heifer beef, livestock and other agricultural topics. Also covered are county statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, assessed valuation of property, and a listing of churches for each county. State statistics, crop and livestock statistics are also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1893-94
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1895
This biennial report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on livestock and other agricultural topics. Also covered are county statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, assessed valuation of property, and a listing of churches for each county. State statistics, crop and livestock statistics are also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1887-88
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1889
This biennial report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on livestock and other agricultural topics. Also covered are county statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, assessed valuation of property, and a listing of churches for each county. State statistics, crop and livestock statistics are also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1885-1886
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1887
This biennial report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on livestock and other agricultural topics. Also covered is 1885 Kansas census data. County statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, and assessed valuation of property. State statistics, crop and livestock statistics are also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1876
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1877
This annual report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on livestock and other agricultural topics. A subject of note is a report of the Centennial Managers focusing on Kansas's efforts in celebrating the nation's centennial. Also covered are county statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, industry,and assessed valuation of property. State statistics, crop and livestock statistics are also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1873
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1874
This annual report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on livestock and other agricultural topics. Also covered are county statistics for population, acreages, productions, live stock, and assessed valuation of property. Information on the Ninth Annual State Fair and the Transactions of the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Academy of Science is also included.

Transactions of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1872
Creator: Kansas State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1873
This annual report from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture includes information on the birds and plants of Kansas. It also covers crops, livestock, and coal. County statistics include population, acreages, productions, live stock, and assessed valuation of property. State statistics and crop and livestock statistics are also included.

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.

Soden's flour mill and dam, Emporia, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1909
This black and white photograph shows the Soden flour mill and dam along the Cottonwood River in Emporia, Kansas. The two-story structure was built in 1860 by William T. Soden. It later burned to the ground in the 1930s.

Kansas City Stockyards, Kansas City, Missouri
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
This black and white photograph shows a portion of the cattle yards at the Kansas City Stockyards in Kansas City, Missouri. The facility, established in 1871 along the Kansas River and the Kansas Pacific and Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks, became one of the leading livestock markets in the United States. The stockyards closed for business in October of 1999.

Kansas City Stockyards, Kansas City Missouri
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
This black and white photograph looking from the northwest shows a portion of the cattle pens at the Kansas City Stockyards in Kansas City, Missouri. The facility, established in 1871 along the Kansas River and the Kansas Pacific and Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks, became one the leading livestock markets in the United States. The stockyards closed for business in October of 1999.

Wheat market in Offerle, Kansas
Creator: Cox, Jno. E.
Date: October 16, 1916
A photograph showing horse drawn wagons waiting at the wheat market in Offerle, Kansas.

Depot and grain elevator in Lancaster, Kansas
Date: Between 1915 and 1920
A photograph showing Woodhouse & Company grain elevator and the depot at Lancaster, Kansas. Lancaster is in Atchison County.

Embroidered flour sack
Date: between 1915 and 1916
This heavily embroidered textile is made of panels cut from cotton flour sacks and rejoined with bands of handmade lace. The text is embroidered in the colors of the Belgian flag, and indicates Pawnee County, Kansas, contributed 1,000 sacks of flour to "Belgium Sufferers" in 1914-15. The bag apparently was embellished by needle workers at the orphanage in Hoesselt, Belgium. This sack originally contained Kansas flour sent overseas during World War I for relief efforts organized by the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Some of the sacks were embroidered by Belgian women and returned to the United States as an expression of gratitude. The Kansas Belgian Relief Fund received this sack and placed it on display in a downtown Topeka store before donating it to the Kansas Historical Society.

Embroidered flour sack
Creator: Kiowa Roller Mills
Date: between 1915 and 1916
This cotton sack for Kiowa Milling Company flour was embroidered and embellished with fringed braid. The sack's printed designs are over-embroidered in the colors of the Belgian flag. This sack originally contained Kansas flour sent overseas during World War I for relief efforts organized by the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Some of the sacks were embroidered by Belgian women and returned to the United States as an expression of gratitude. The Kansas Belgian Relief Fund received this sack and placed it on display in a downtown Topeka store before donating it to the Kansas Historical Society.

Embroidered flour sack
Creator: Veltkamp, Angele
Date: between 1915 and 1916
This cotton sack for Manhattan Milling Company flour was cut open along one side, embroidered, and embellished with braid and ribbon. Embroidered designs include the Belgian government's coat of arms; a French message whose English translation is "The union makes the force;" the years 1914-1915; and the names of the needle worker, Angèle Veltkamp, and the town Hasselt (Belgium). This sack originally contained Kansas flour sent overseas during World War I for relief efforts organized by the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Some of the sacks were embroidered by Belgian women and returned to the United States as an expression of gratitude. The Kansas Belgian Relief Fund received this sack and placed it on display in a downtown Topeka store before donating it to the Kansas Historical Society.

Embroidered flour sack
Creator: Russell Milling Company
Date: between 1915 and 1916
This cotton sack for Russell Milling Company flour was heavily embroidered and embellished with a linen ruffle. The printed company emblem and text have been over-embroidered, and there is a small appliquéd silk U.S. flag as well as the sentiment "God bless you!" The sack's back includes the names of the needleworker, Caroline Gielen, and the town Bilzen (Belgium). This sack originally contained Kansas flour sent overseas during World War I for relief efforts organized by the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Some of the sacks were embroidered by Belgian women and returned to the United States as an expression of gratitude. The Kansas Belgian Relief Fund received this sack and placed it on display in a downtown Topeka store before donating it to the Kansas Historical Society.

Cotton gin
Creator: Southern Cotton Gin Company
Date: between 1860 and 1865
The Southern Cotton Gin Company of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, manufactured this wood and cast metal cotton gin. Joseph Piazzek, a Polish immigrant living in Valley Falls, Kansas, purchased it for $60. Although not a significant crop in Kansas, cotton was grown more frequently during the Civil War when southern cotton was scarce. Piazzek processed bolls from as far away as Fort Scott in southeastern Kansas, typically accepting one-fifth of the finished product as his fee.

Embroidered flour sack
Creator: Excelsior Water Mill
Date: between 1915 and 1916
This cotton flour sack is embroidered with satin floss and sewn to a silk backing. Embroidered designs include the flags of Belgium, United States, and France; the year 1915; a French message whose English translation is "God Blesses Our Benefactors;" and the name of the St. Joseph Orphanage. This sack originally contained Kansas flour sent overseas during World War I for relief efforts organized by the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Some of sacks were embroidered by Belgian women and returned to the United States as an expression of gratitude. The Kansas Belgian Relief Fund received this sack and placed it on display in a downtown Topeka store before donating it to the Kansas Historical Society.