Argonia baseball team, Argonia, Kansas
Date: Between 1890 and 1899
A photograph of the Argonia Baseball team, Argonia, Kansas. The members of the team are: (standing) Charles Harlan, John Pennybaker, Brent Harlan, Mark Pennybaker, Otto Riggs, (seated) John Dunham, Austin, Newbold, George Cease, Gene Springer, Marshall Henderson, and Roy Ford.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot, Argonia, Kansas
Date: Between 1950 and 1960
This photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot in Argonia, Kansas. The one-story wooden structure with batten siding is no longer standing.

He doesn't like female mayors
Date: January 28, 1888
In this newspaper article, the former city marshal of Argonia, Sumner County, Kansas, laments the election of Susanna Salter as mayor, saying that "female mayors are no good." In particular, he was frustrated that she asked him to close his poker room, and she also prevented the local druggist (pharmacist) from keeping alcoholic beverages in stock. He claims that "Mrs. Salter has just killed Argonia." Originally published in the Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Indiana, the article was republished in the Meade County Globe, Meade, Kansas, on January 28, 1888.

Historical atlas of Sumner County, Kansas
Creator: Edwards, John P.
Date: 1883
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a county history, patrons' list, advertising directory, and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

Interview on experiences in World War II
Creator: Probst, Alan
Date: 26 July 2006
Other Probst was drafted into the Army (Infantry) in 1942 and served until 1946 in the 26th Infantry, 1st Division. Interviewed by David Fasgold on Jul 26, 2006, Probst talked about military experiences in the Second World War. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the nine community institutions that received these grants. The transcript from the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Greater Barber County Historical Action Assn and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subject farmhouses
Creator: Kansas Film Commission
Date: 1980s-2000s
These are panoramic photographs of locations in Kansas created by the Kansas Film Commission to promote scenes to film companies. The panoramics were created by taking individual photos and taping them together. The photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject and then location. The subject of this part of the collection is farmhouses, arranged alphabetically by county.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union memory book
Creator: Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Date: Between 1941 and 1950
This memorial book contains photographs and biographical sketches of members of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Click "Text Version" below for a searchable index of the names contained in this volume.

Milo Hugh Main, 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 Milo Hugh Main, Battery F, 130th Field Artillery, 35th Division.

Missouri Pacific Railroad depot, Argonia, Kansas
Date: 1886
This photograph shows a group of men gathered in front of the Missouri Pacific Railroad depot in Argonia, Kansas. The crowd is waiting for the arrival of the first train. The one-story wooden structure with batten siding is still standing and is used for storage.

Sherman F. Chandler, World War I soldier
Date: 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 Sherman F. Chandler, 32nd Engineers. Chandler died from pneumonia in February 1919.

Standard atlas of Sumner County, Kansas
Creator: Geo. A. Ogle & Co.
Date: 1902
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a patrons' directory, portraits, and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

Standard atlas of Sumner County, Kansas
Creator: Geo. A. Ogle & Co.
Date: 1918
This atlas shows maps of each township with the names of landowners. It has a patrons' directory, and plats of towns as of the year of publication.

Susanna Madora Salter
Date: 1880
A formal portrait of Susanna Madora Salter, 1860-1961, and her husband, Lewis Salter in 1880, during the first year of their marriage. Born March 2, 1860, in Belmont County, Ohio, Susanna Madora Kinsey moved to a Kansas farm with her parents in 1872. Eight years later, while attending the Kansas State Agricultural College, she met and married Lewis Salter. The couple soon moved to Argonia where she cared for their young children and became an officer in the local Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Nominated on the Prohibition Party ticket by several Argonia men as a joke, Salter surprised the group and received two-thirds of the votes. She was elected in April 4, 1887, just weeks after Kansas women had gained the right to vote in city elections. The 27-year-old woman knew more about politics than her detractors realized. She was the daughter of the town's first mayor. Her father-in-law, Melville J. Salter, was a former Kansas lieutenant governor. Although she apparently performed her job well, Salter never sought another elected office. Within a few years, the Salters moved to Oklahoma where the nation's first woman mayor died in 1961 at the age of 101.

Susanna Madora Salter
Date: March 02, 1954
A photograph of Susanna Madora Salter, first woman mayor, taken at age 94. In 1887, Salter was elected mayor of Argonia, Kansas, and became the first Kansas woman to hold such an office.

Susanna Madora Salter, Mayor of Argonia
Date: 1887
Portrait of Susanna Madora Salter, Mayor of Argonia, and first woman mayor in the United States. Born March 2, 1860, in Belmont County, Ohio, Susanna Madora Kinsey moved to a Kansas farm with her parents in 1872. Eight years later, while attending the Kansas State Agricultural College, she met and married Lewis Salter. The couple soon moved to Argonia where she cared for their young children and became an officer in the local Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Nominated on the Prohibition Party ticket by several Argonia men as a joke, Salter surprised the group and received two-thirds of the votes. She was elected in April 4, 1887, just weeks after Kansas women had gained the right to vote in city elections. The 27-year-old woman knew more about politics than her detractors realized. She was the daughter of the town's first mayor. Her father-in-law, Melville J. Salter, was a former Kansas lieutenant governor. Although she apparently performed her job well, Salter never sought another elected office. Within a few years, the Salters moved to Oklahoma where the nation's first woman mayor died in 1961 at the age of 101.

William Watson to Dora (Susanna) Salter
Creator: Watson, William H.
Date: April 6, 1887
This brief note, written by William Watson, mayor of Argonia, Sumner County, informed Susanna Salter that she was elected to serve as mayor in the election held two days earlier. Salter was the first elected female mayor in the United States. This is a photographic copy of the original, which was loaned to the Historical Society by Monroe Billington, author of "Susanna Madora Salter, first woman mayor," Kansas Historical Quarterly, autumn 1954, pages 173-183.