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.

Drainage canal in Wichita, Kansas
Creator: United States. Dept. of the Interior
Date: April 1959
Two photographs of a drainage canal in Wichita, Kansas. One photograph shows the canal looking upstream from the Ninth street bridge and the other looking upstream from the Lincoln street bridge. The photographs were removed from a United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey, Wichita Drainage Canal, Kansas, April, 1959, publication.

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.

Highway 24 through Rossville, Kansas
Date: Between 1945 and 1979
Kansas Highway 24 going west through Rossville, Kansas. The tall building to the left of the highway is the high school. The long building behind it is the bus barn and industrial arts building. 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.

Golden Belt road at Kingsville, Kansas
Date: 1910-1950
Southeast of Rossville, Kansas, (between Rossville and Silver Lake) stood the town of Kingsville which Andrew Wilson built and erected at his own expense. The town included a depot (pictured), hotel, store, blacksmith shop, cattle yard, scales, and a stone school house. In 1877 the Kansas Pacific Railroad advertised that "the quickest and safest route to all points east or west is the KPRR "Golden Belt Route." This name was later applied to the highway that closely paralleled the railroad. This picture was taken the same time as Unit ID 99766. 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.

Half Way Park, Kinsley, Kansas
Date: Between 1950s and 1960s
This black and white postcard shows the Half Way Park sign in Kinsley, Kansas. The park is located along the juncture of Kansas U.S. Highway 50 and 56. The town of Kinsley, in Edwards County, is also the official half way point from New York City and San Francisco, California.

Steel bridge on the Big Arkansas River in Kinsley, Kansas
Date: 1912
A photograph showing an automobile crossing the steel bridge over the Big Arkansas in Kinsley, Kansas. The bridge was built in 1907 by the Wichita Construction Company.

Official 1963-64 Kansas highway map
Creator: Kansas. State Highway Commission
Date: 1963
This official highway map of Kansas includes a mileage chart, speed limits, state lakes, the population of counties and cities, tourist attractions, and inset maps of Wichita, Topeka, Salina, Lawrence, Hutchison, and Kansas City.

Blue River wagon bridge in Manhattan, Kansas
Date: July 04, 1898
A photograph showing the Engel twins with their bicycles on the Blue River wagon bridge in Manhattan, Kansas.

National Old Trail's road
Date: Between 1920 and 1925
Notes and maps on the National Old Trail's Road, a route that stretched from Boston, Massachusetts to San Francisco, California. The National Old Trail's Road was established in 1912 and crossed the length of Kansas, intersecting such famous trails as the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail.

Relay car in Kinsley, Kansas
Date: April 22, 1910
A photograph showing Joe Watson driving a Sellers automobile in the Santa Fe Trail run from Hutchinson, Kansas, to Pueblo, Colorado. Watson drove the car from Kinsley to Dodge City at an average speed of 31 miles per hour. A mile out of Kinsley the lights failed and he drove in the dark. Six automobiles made the 24 hour run on the new Santa Fe Trail. Passengers were officers of the Santa Fe Trail Association and newspapermen. Automobiles which made the trip were a Chalmers-Detroit, Sellers roadster, Kissel Kar, Packard, Auburn, and Franklin. The trip advertised the Arkansas valley and promoted good roads. Bill Watson is standing toward the front of the automobile and Ed Bick is in the back with his dog.

Commemorative medal
Creator: Weinman
Date: 1972
Metal bar pin with blue grosgrain ribbon and hinged pin and clasp on back. Rectangular box with lid hinged at one end, covered in dark blue simulated leather paper. Lid is padded and lined with dark blue silk. Bottom has insert with slots fitted to medal and pin. Lucille Widsteen received this medal from the U.S. Congress for seizing the wheel of a bus after the driver suffered a heart attack on the Kansas Turnpike east of Topeka on Feb. 29, 1972. She was credited with preventing injury and death to the passengers on the bus by bringing it back on the roadway and to a safe stop.

Kansas full of interesting places
Creator: Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance Company
Date: Between 1950 and 1965
This brochure promotes Kansas attractions that are easily reached by automobile. It gives the location and brief description of each attraction.

Grading a street using horses
Date: Between 1930 and 1939
A photograph showing Cook & Stucker Paving Company's workers using horse drawn equipment to grade and level a road in an unidentified town. Cook & Stucker Paving Company had their office in Ottawa, Kasnas.

Early Garden City, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: 1895
The photographs show different views of Garden City, Finney County, Kansas, as it appeared in about 1895.

Flood Waters in Topeka, Kansas
Date: 1951
This black and white photograph shows an unidentified bridge partially submerged under flood waters. The extremely heavy rains during June and July of 1951 caused some of the greatest flooding ever seen in Kansas history. These high waters affected all the area river basins of the Kansas, Neosho, Marais des Cygnes and Verdigris.

High water at Washburn bridge in Stockton, Kansas
Creator: C. E. Wheelock & Co.
Date: June 12, 1908
Two postcards showing high water at Washburn bridge in Stockton, Kansas.

River scene and bridge in Ellis County, Kansas
Date: Between 1905 and 1925
Postcard image of a river and bridge in Ellis.

Scenes of prosperous times, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
Scenes of prosperous times in Garden City, Finney County, Kansas. The photograph includes the Arkansas River, harvest scenes, irrigation and a round up. Picture taken during the early nineties. Donated by Woman's Kansas Day Club, from the Raymond E. Stotts collection.

Views of Cherokee County, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1930
Postcard views of a concrete bridge, dam and water plant in Cherokee County, Kansas.

Charles Keeler to Governor Thomas Carney
Creator: Keeler, Charles G.
Date: May 08, 1863
A letter written to Governor Thomas Carney from Captain Charles G. Keeler. Keeler advises Carney about the location of a Kansas bridge that is about to be built. He believes the location should be at the Chouteau ferry site in Johnson County, thereby securing trade from the southern portion of the state as well the Santa Fe trail trade. A searchable, full-text version of this letter is available by clicking "Text Version" below.

Marais des Cygnes River
Date: 1936
A view of a bridge over the Marais des Cygnes River in Ottawa.

Franklin County bridges
Date: Between 1950 and 1960
This photograph shows twin span bridges over railroad tracks and the Marais des Cygnes river near Ottawa on Interstate 35.

Good Roads Day, Beloit, Kansas
Date: 1914
A photograph showing men building roads on a Good Roads Day in Beloit, Kansas.

Cowboys and chuck wagon crew, Finney County, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1890
The photograph shows cowboys and a chuck wagon south of the river bridge in Finney County, Kansas.