Bluemont College in Manhattan, Kansas
Creator: Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882
Date: 1867
A photograph of a Bluemont College building in Manhattan, Kansas. The photograph was taken by Alexander Gardner as part of the series Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division.

United States Experimental Grass and Forage Station, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
A photograph of the United States Experimental Grass and Forage Station No. 1 in Finney County, Kansas. The photo shows a residence, windmill, and several outbuildings. A man with two horses and a buggy are also visible.

Wes Jackson to John Carlin
Creator: Jackson, Wes
Date: November 9, 1978
Wes Jackson, director of The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, writes to Governor-Elect John Carlin to offer suggestions on energy policy. Jackson provides details on what he calls "soft energy paths," an idea that emphasizes conservation and the use of diverse and renewable sources of energy. He argues against large-scale, centralized electric power facilities and for smaller-scale, decentralized implementations of solar, wind, hydro, and other sustainable forms of energy production. A short note by Governor-Elect Carlin acknowledging receipt of Jackson's letter is included.

Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas
Creator: Riddle, J. R.
Date: 1885
View of Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas.

Farm machinery class at Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas
Creator: Orr, S. C.
Date: 1910?
A photograph showing students studying agricultural implements at Kansas State Agricultural College (Kansas State University), Manhattan, Kansas. Visible in the photograph are two barns.

Isaac Tichenor Goodnow to Eli Thayer
Creator: Goodnow, Isaac Tichener, 1814-1894
Date: May 24, 1858
Isaac T. Goodnow wrote from Manhattan, Kansas Territory to Eli Thayer in Worcester, Massachusetts. Goodnow asked Thayer for his support for Bluemont Central College (predecessor to Kansas State University), a college chartered near Manhattan which would have "an Agricultural Department of a most thorough practical character." Goodnow asserted that "now when the victory [for free staters] in the main is won" it was time to focus attention on schools and churches.

George Washington Carver
Date: between 1930 and 1940
Portrait of George Washington Carver.

Kansas demonstration train. "Cow, Sow & Hen"
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
Date: May 1, 1922-May 13, 1922
These field notes document the activities of the "Cow, Sow & Hen Special," a farm demonstration train operated by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad and the extension office of the Kansas State Agricultural College. The notes document the location, time, weather, attendance, speakers and departure time. The notes reveal the author's expectations concerning the intended audience and its response to the exhibits and instruction. Demonstration trains such as this one represented an alliance between railroad companies, agricultural scientists and, manufacturers to promote settlement, improve farm management, and market commercial farm products. The railroad's Agricultural Development and Publicity Office managed the trains.

Cow, sow and hen train
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
Date: May 13, 1922
This circular, distributed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, announces the arrival of the "Cow, Sow & Hen" demonstration train at Osage City. The flyer identifies the speakers and topics and especially invites women to attend. Demonstration trains such as this one represented an alliance between railroad companies, agricultural scientists, and manufacturers to promote settlement, improve farm management, and market commercial farm products. The railroad's Agricultural Development and Publicity Office managed the trains.

Dairy, swine and poultry special
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
Date: March 13, 1922
Itinerary for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad farm demonstration train on dairy, swine, and poultry. The list includes descriptions of railroad cars and equipment, program for each stop, purebred sire exchange, and the division of costs between the Kansas Agricultural College of Manhattan, Riley County, and the Santa Fe Railroad. Demonstration trains such as this one represent an alliance between railroad companies, agricultural scientists, and manufacturers to promote settlement, improve farm management, and market commercial farm products. The railroad's Agricultural Development and Publicity Office managed the trains.

The Matfield Green project
Creator: Jackson, Wes
Date: April 23, 1997
Wes Jackson, farmer, geneticist, and director of the Land Institute at Salina (Saline County), Kansas, presents an outline of a project at Matfield Green (Chase County) to his student interns. The outline lists information on the history, expansion, programs, staff, publicity, and future of the project. Jackson's involvement in Matfield Green was motivated by his interest in developing a sustainable development model for small, rural communities. The project generated some controversy with local residents. Jackson's work reflects a broader movement in the late twentieth century to develop agricultural and community systems more in line with ecological principles.

Shelterbelt project in Reno County
Creator: Stoeckeler, Joseph
Date: 1944
This photograph, taken by Joseph Stoeckeler in 1944, is of a shelterbelt in northwest Reno County, Kansas, constructed in 1937. Shelterbelts, planted in the late 1930s, consisted of various heights of trees and shrubs that served as windbreaks to protect newly-planted crops (such as wheat) by helping to prevent the soil in which they were planted from blowing away in the wind.

Harry Umberger to Willard Mayberry
Creator: Umberger, Harry
Date: December 23, 1933
This letter from Harry Umberger, the Director of Extension at Kansas State College (now Kansas State University), was addressed to Willard Mayberry, secretary to Gov. Alf Landon. The letter discusses the reduction of railroad transportation rates for livestock feed, because the depression, combined with the droughts of the 1930s, had made it difficult for farmers to feed their livestock. Umberger recommended that the rates be reduced for at least thirty days (preferably sixty days) in order to keep stock alive during the winter. The letter is accompanied by a state map labeling the counties who needed these rates, with the red shaded section indicating which counties were in the greatest need.

Harry Umberger to Governor Alf Landon
Creator: Umberger, Harry
Date: July 18, 1934
This letter from Harry Umberger, the Director of Extension at Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University), accompanied a map designating the drought relief counties as of July 1934. The map indicates the primary and secondary drought relief counties suffering the most through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The map includes a key to explain the highlighted portions.

To battle dust
Creator: Topeka Journal
Date: March 16, 1936
This article from the Topeka Journal discusses farmers' efforts to reverse the effects of blowing soil in western Kansas. Farmers in the Dust Bowl would receive a federal allotment to fund the listing of between 1 and 2 million acres of land. The allotment was expected to be 20 to 40 cents per acre of land that was listed.

Southwest is not lost
Creator: Kansas City Times
Date: February 25, 1937
In this brief article Harry Umberger, chairman of the Kansas wind erosion committee, contradicts reports circulating in New York City that the Southwest will never be able to produce wheat again. He goes on to describe the reasons for blowing soil and the steps that must be taken to make farming the Dust Bowl a profitable -- yet environmentally stable -- enterprise.

Day by day Kansas is rapidly washing away
Creator: Topeka Capital
Date: December 4, 1932
This brief article discusses the importance of decreasing water erosion, which has washed away approximately ninety percent of the productive soil in eastern Kansas. Two remedies which are suggested are terracing and the planting of blue grass sod (which will bind the soil together). Scientists at Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University) were experimenting with these two techniques.

Map of Kansas. The direct route to all points in central, southern and southwestern Kansas is the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1884
This bouchure includes a map of Kansas showing the routes of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad within the State of Kansas. Shading on both sides of the main line of the railroad indicates the Land Grant. All unsold lands are within a colored portion of the map. The brouchure includes a smaller map showing all of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe routes and connecting lines in the United States and Mexico. The brouchure advertises "Land Explorers' Round-trip Tickets", good for forty days at cheap rates. Approximately 18 panels describe these features of Kansas agriculture to be in good condition: dairy, Kansas sugar, irrigation, railroad lands, vacant lands, manufacturing, fuel supply, and education in Kansas.

A glimpse of the Southwest; New Mexico, the Santa Fe Route
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1884
This brochure advertises the "Fertile Rio Grande Valley" of New Mexico. Rich in gold, silver, copper, lead, iron and coal along with forests, farms, orchards, vineyards, meadows and flocks and herds. The brochure describes the history of territory and the State of New Mexico; describes the land; tells of the natural resources that are being mined; and, of the agricultural crops being raised. The climate, the towns and educational opportunities are described. Two maps show the route of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail Road System in the United States and Mexico; and, the whole State of New Mexico.

To Kansas & Colorado : Kansas Pacific railway, the great through route!
Creator: Kansas Pacific Railway Company
Date: August 1875
This Kansas Pacific Railway brochure promotes land acquisition, tourism and freighting in both Kansas and Colorado. Included is a map of Kansas and Colorado with the Kansas Pacific Railway marked. There are timetables for the Kansas Pacific and connecting lines. On the reverse side is a view of Manhattan, Kansas, and Clear Creek Canon in Colorado. There is mention of the State University at Lawrence and the State Agricultural College at Manhattan.

Kansas Girls Industrial School. Graduating into society
Date: 1938
This silent film documents the State Industrial School for Girls in Beloit, Kansas, and depicts every aspect of the school's educational, vocational, and boarding programs. The Women's Christian Temperance Union established the school in 1889 and it was later acquired by the state. The purpose of the school was to reform economically or socially disadvantaged girls between twelve and sixteen years old. The school taught sewing, weaving, cooking, gardening and horticulture, wood carving, clay modeling, and the general duties of the household. The film showcases the following programs and activities: healthcare and hospital, housework, laundry, sewing, bakery, cooking, religious instruction, student government, dancing, table tennis, roller skating, Independence Day parade, flag drill, folk dance, track and field, and patriotic instruction. At the time the film was made the school included seven housing units (or cottages), a schoolhouse and farm buildings on 200 acres. Directed by Grace A. Miles. Photographed by Joseph A. Thompson.