Bartlett's vineyard, Garden City, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
This photograph shows two men standing in Bartlett's vineyard in Garden City, Finney County, Kansas.

Drought report to Governor Landon
Creator: Kansas. State Board of Agriculture. Division of Water Resources
Date: August 28, 1936
This report by Ogden Jones, a geologist for the State Board of Agriculture, includes detailed information about the effects of the drought that struck Kansas during the 1930s and spawned the Dust Bowl. Jones cites precise figures about water levels in major rivers and wells, in addition to information about crops such as winter wheat, sorghum, oats, hay, rye, and fruits (apples, grapes, etc…). The report also contains maps.

Drouthy Kansas
Creator: Worrall, Henry
Date: 1878
This painting by Henry Worrall, completed in 1878, challenges the assumption that Kansas was part of the "Great American Desert." Although there had, indeed, been a severe drought during 1860, Worrall believed that Kansas did not deserve this harsh reputation. In the foreground, his painting depicts the bountiful harvests of grain, watermelon, and potatoes, while the background includes rain showers and a rainbow stretching across the horizon. Although Worrall was a very productive artist, "Drouthy Kansas" quickly became his most famous work.

Emigrants' guide to the Kansas Pacific Railway lands
Creator: Kansas Pacific Railway Company
Date: April 1871
A railroad company advertisement to emigrants promising cheap, abundant and good land for agricultural purposes.

George Walter, History of Kanzas
Creator: Walter, George
Date: 1855
This history was written by George Walter, agent for the New York Kanzas League. The purpose of the League was to assist individuals and families to emigrate to Kansas and help provides reduced prices and other assistance. The office of the New York Kanzas League was located on the 3rd floor of No. 110 Broadway, New York City. Walter provided the information he thought emigrants to Kansas would need including descriptions of the situation in the territory, its climate, soil, rivers, and native products. He also gave information about industry in Kansas Territory, particularly the milling industry. He provided information on routes and supplies needed as well as a copy of the reemption law. The text of the Bill to organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska was included on pages 24 through 48 of the pamphlet.

James Griffing to J. Augusta Goodrich Griffing
Creator: Griffing, James S. (James Sayre), 1822-1882
Date: August 7, 1859
James Griffing wrote from Topeka, Kansas Territory, to his wife J. Augusta (Goodrich) Griffing. Mrs. Griffing was visiting her family in New York for the first time since her arrival in the Kansas Territory in 1855. Griffing described his daily activities, including his efforts to protect his chickens from "polecats," to gather wild grapes, and to prepare his own meals.

John Goodwine Grape Vineyard in Ford County, Kansas
Date: 1890
View of a man, women, and children standing in the John Goodwine Vineyard located southwest of Dodge City in Ford County, Kansas.

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.

Kansas state fair, Wichita, Kansas
Creator: Kansas State Fair Association
Date: October 1-5, 1895
A poster promoting the Kansas State Fair to be held at Wichita, Kansas. The poster includes a color illustration of fruits and vegetables.

Lands in Kansas
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: 1893
This Union Pacific Railway Company pamphlet advertises cheap and affordable land in Kansas for purchase.

Mr. Logan's vineyard, five years old, in Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1900 and 1910
A photograph showing a boy standing in Mr. Logan's vineyard in Finney County, Kansas.

Southern Kansas. Letter in the march number of "camp's emigrants' guide to Kansas," from a New York farmer
Creator: Worden, Allen M.
Date: March 8, 1880
This railroad advertisement features a published letter from a New York farm emigrant, lauding the agricultural bountifulness of Kansas to prospective settlers. It was written in Iola, Allen County.

The Menninger Psychiatric Hospital and Sanitarium, Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Wolfe Commercial Photo Service
Date: 1925
The Menninger Clinic was established in 1925 as a sanitariumwith the purchase of a farm house and admittance of 12 patients. Their philosophy was that mental illness could be treated with an integrated medical, psychodynamic, and developmental approach for the total health of patients. The farmhouse had belonged to Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Christenson. Note the vineyard in the left of the photo. There was an open porch on the north east corner of the home.

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.