1981 Excavation at the Kermit Hayes Site, 14RC306
Date: 1981
These images were taken at the Kermit Hayes site in Rice County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 1981. The site revealed two small Great Bend aspect, Little River focus grass-covered pit houses that included entryways, storage pits, post molds and hearths. Shown are the exposed floor of house 1 two volunteers excavating a trash-filled pit, volunteers exposing the floor of house 2, a detail shot of a storage pit in house 2, and the exposed floor of house 2.

1983 Excavations at the Crandall Site, 14RC420
Date: 1983
These images were shot at the Crandall site in Rice County during the 1983 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. Shown are images of a bone complex in a pit, a volunteer excavating another pit, bison skulls in a different pit, and two general progress shots. The Crandall site is a Little River focus Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) habitation site.

Abraders from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
Shown are four abraders recovered from the excavations during the 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. Archeologists call these abraders groundstone tools as they are shaped by grinding. The sandstone abraders could be used as pairs, one on each side, to smooth a wood shaft or individually to sharpen or smooth other items. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Abraders from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
Shown are a few of the many abraders and shaft smoothers recovered from the excavations during the 1977 and 1978 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools at the Tobias site in Rice County. Archeologists call these groundstone tools as they are shaped by grinding. The sandstone abraders could be used as pairs, one on each side, to smooth a wood shaft or individually to sharpen or smooth items. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

A. J. Beach to Samuel N. Wood
Creator: Beach, A. J.
Date: May 6, 1860
As in his earlier letter to Samuel Wood of April 22, A. J. Beach, of Beach Valley, Kansas Territory, describes his Cow Creek bridge dispute with William Edwards and O. G. Stanley. In this letter, Beach officially retains the services of Wood & Perkins to sue Edwards and Stanley for damages. "I can prove," wrote Beach, "that they have asked trains to cross their bridge, taken toll on it, and repaired it with the avowed intention of making it a free bridge and taking the travel away from mine." Beach claims to be losing $20 a day in tolls.

A. J. Beach to Samuel N. Wood
Creator: Beach, A. J.
Date: April 22, 1860
Writing from Beach Valley (Rice County) in Kansas Territory, A. J. Beach requests Samuel Wood's legal advice with regard to Beach's options in a bridge dispute. It seemed that Beach had received a charter to build a toll bridge [over Cow Creek], and another party (William Edwards, et al) put up a "temporary" one before his was finished. They were now diverting traffic away from Beach's completed bridge. "I wish to know if anything can be done with them at law . . ."

Alden school bus
Date: 1920
This is the first school bus purchased by Alden School (Rice County), Consolidated School District No. 9, in 1920.

Alibates Core from 14PT420
Date: 1300-1500 CE
Shown is a core, a stone from which flakes are removed to make chipped stone tools. The core was recovered in 1994 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists at a Middle Ceramic period Pratt complex village in Pratt County. The parent material for this core is Alibates agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. This suggests either trade with people further south or travel by Pratt complex people to the Texas panhandle.

Alibates Flint from 14RC410
Date: 1400-1499 CE
These fragments of flint were recovered in 1981 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists at an archeological site in Rice County. They are made of Alibates flint, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. This suggests either trade with people further south or travel by the ancestral Wichita people living at the site to the Texas panhandle. The site is what archeologists call part of the Little River focus of the Great Bend aspect, whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Alibates Scraper from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This scraper was collected from the Tobias site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2020. Scrapers such as this would have been hafted on a handle and used to scrape hides. The scraper was made of Alibates Agatized dolomite, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that has dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Alibates Scrapers from the Saxman Site, 14RC301
Date: 1500-1650 CE
Shown are five scrapers that were collected from the Saxman site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. Scrapers such as these would have been hafted on a handle and used to scrape hides. They would have required periodic resharpening. All five scrapers were made of Alibates flint, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. The Saxman site, a large Great Bend aspect village, was occupied by ancestral Wichita peoples.

Alibates Scrapers from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
These seven scrapers were excavated during the 1977 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. Scrapers such as these would have been hafted on a handle and used to scrape hides. They would have required periodic resharpening. All seven scrapers were made of Alibates agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Alternately Beveled Knife from 14RC418
Date: 1350-1650 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered by Kansas Historical Society archeologists during a pipeline survey. It was discovered on the surface of 14RC418, a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) site in Rice County. The two notches near the base indicate that the knife was most likely hafted.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered from excavations during the 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. The knife is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a good quality knapping material that is exposed in linear beds in northwestern Kansas and western Nebraska. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered from excavations during the 1977 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. The knife is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a good quality knapping material that is exposed in linear beds in northwestern Kansas and western Nebraska. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Alternately Beveled Knives from the Majors Site, 14RC2
Date: 1541-1720 CE
These alternately beveled knife fragments were recovered from the Majors site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1982. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. The Majors site was a Great Bend aspect, Little River focus (ancestral Wichita) village that was occupied during the late 17th century based on southwestern pottery styles found at the site.

Alternately Beveled Knives from the Saxman Site, 14RC301
Date: 1500-1650 CE
Shown are four alternately beveled knives that were collected from the Saxman site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. Three of the knives are made on Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas. The slight pinkish color of the fourth knife indicates that it had been heat treated, prior to knapping, to improve knapping quality of the chert. The Saxman site, a large Great Bend aspect village, was occupied by the ancestral Wichita peoples.

Antler Billet from the Saxman Site, 14RC301
Date: 1500-1650 CE
This flintknapping tool, an antler billet, was recovered from the Saxman site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2016. The billet was made from the base of an antler and was used to remove flakes from chert during flintknapping. The Saxman site, a large Great Bend aspect village, was occupied by the ancestral Wichita people.

Ardin Hinshaw McKee, World War I soldier
Date: 1918-1919
Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on Arden Hinshaw McKee, Company E, 137th Infantry, 35th Division. Arden was killed in action in the Argonne drive on September 27, 1918.

Arrow Point from the Kermit Hayes Site, 14RC306
Date: 1450-1700 CE
This arrow point was recovered from an archeological site in Rice County during the 1981 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. Archeologists often refer to side notched arrow points as Washita points. The notches aided in hafting the arrow point to the arrow shaft. The site was a small Great Bend aspect, Little River focus grass-covered pit house that included an entryway, storage pits, post molds and a hearth. The people that inhabited Great Bend aspect sites are ancestral to the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.

Arrow Point from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
These arrow points were recovered from excavations during the 1977 and 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools at the Tobias site in Rice County. One arrow point is side-notched and one is triangular. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect village that has dense artifact deposits, house remains and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The people that inhabited Great Bend aspect sites are ancestral to the Wichita and affiliated tribes. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Arrow Points from the Malone Site, 14RC5
Date: 1432-1651 CE
These arrow points were collected from the Malone village site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2001 and 2005. The two on the top row are triangular points made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. The three points on the bottom row are side-notched: the one on the left is made of Alibates flint, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle and the two on the right are made of local chert from the Flint Hills region. The Malone site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits.

Arrow Points from the Saxman Site, 14RC301
Date: 1500-1650 CE
These arrow points were collected from the Saxman site, a large Great Bend aspect village in Rice County, and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2016. Archeologists identify this projectile point style as Fresno arrow points: unnotched with a triangular shape. Though small and thin, they would have been extremely effective on the hunt. The people that inhabited Great Bend aspect sites are ancestral to the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.

Arrow Points from the Thompson Site, 14RC9
Date: 1500-1800 CE
These arrow points were among the many collected and excavated from the Thompson site in Rice County. The site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was a Great Bend aspect village occupied by ancestral Wichita people. The arrow point on the top right was excavated during the 1986 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. All others were donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1971. The arrow point on the left of the top row is side-notched. The others are triangular or Fresno arrow points. Archeologists identify Fresno arrow points as being unnotched with a triangular shape. Though small and thin, they would have been extremely effective on the hunt.

Arrow Points from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
These three Fresno arrow points were recovered from excavations at the 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. Archeologists identify Fresno arrow points as being unnotched with a triangular shape. Though small and thin, they would have been extremely effective on the hunt. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that has dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.