Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railraod depot, Plains, Kansas
Date: 1972
This photograph shows the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad depot in Plains, Kansas. The one-story wooden structure no longer stands.

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad depot, Meade, Kansas
Date: 1972
This photograph shows the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad depot in Meade, Kansas. The wooden structure is no longer standing.

Claude Grim, World War I soldier
Date: 1918
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 Claude Grim, Company F, 137th Infantry, 35th Division.

Courthouse in Meade County, Kansas
Date: 1910
This is a postcard showing the Meade County courthouse located in Meade, Kansas.

E.D. Smith to George W. Martin
Creator: Smith, E.D.
Date: June 09, 1906
This is a letter from E.D. Smith, Meade County, to George W. Martin, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. Smith writes to Martin telling how much he enjoyed reading volume eight of the Historical Society's report, but that he disagrees with W.E. Richey's paper on Coronado's trip to Kansas. Smith believes that Coronado's route wasn't exactly the way Richey recounts.

Excerpts from taped interviews with John Stadler
Creator: Stadler, John
Date: 1979
This oral history interview with John Stadler, Stevens County, describes his experiences during the dust bowl of the 1930s. He devotes much of the interview to reminiscing about how these dust storms interrupted the daily routines of those living in western Kansas. Stadler worked for the local gas company, and he also supervised the drilling of 443 wells near Hugoton. Copied from Dust Storms as Remembered by Hugoton Citizens.

Garden grown by the Wiebe family in Meade County, Kansas
Creator: Kansas Emergency Relief Committee
Date: 1935
This is a photograph of the Wiebe family and their garden in Meade, Kansas. Visible in the photograph are people with various garden tools and a child with a bicycle. The windmill in the background was built of old automobile frames costing less than $2.00 and made the irrigation of the garden possible. The photograph was removed from the Relief Garden Program of 1935 portion of the Kansas Emergency Relief Committee collection.

George Allen's children, Meade, Kansas
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: 1896
This is a view of George Allen's children seated on a horse that is drinking from a water trough. A dog and several other horses are also visible in the photograph.

High school in Meade, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1930
This is a postcard showing the high school in Meade, Kansas.

Interview on experiences in World War II
Creator: Hardesty, Jim
Date: 20 June 2006
Hardesty entered the Army (Infantry) in 1945 and served in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. Interviewed by Joyce Suellentrop on Jun 20, 2006, Hardesty 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 audio copy of the interview is available through the Gray County Veterans Memorial & Archives and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subject buildings
Creator: Kansas Film Commission
Date: 1980s and 1990s
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. This part of the collection contains photographs of buildings, including historic buildings, miscellaneous buildings, office buildings, unique buildings, and warehouses. Lecompton Constitution Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and as a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union memory book
Creator: Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Date: 1981-1993
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.

Main Street, Meade, Kansas
Date: Between 1903 and 1959
These photographs show views of drug stores and businesses on Main Street in Meade, Kansas. The first photograph shows a building with a sign reading, "Drugs" at the left end of a row of businesses. Several people are visible standing in front of the buildings, and several horse-drawn wagons are visible in the street. The second photograph shows businesses on Main Street in the 1950s. A sign for a drug store is partially visible near the middle of the buildings on the left side of the street. Another sign for Rexall Drugs is partially visible far in the background on the right side of the street, just before the trees begin on the right. Several other business buildings are visible along the street, and several automobiles are visible.

Meade County organization records
Creator: Kansas. Secretary of State
Date: 1885
In order for an unorganized county to be recognized by the state of Kansas, a certain number of householders/legal electors had to petition the governor. The governor would appoint a census taker. Initially, unorganized counties were required to document that they had at least 600 inhabitants in order to be recognized as a county by the state legislature. Over time the number of residents needed to organize a county changed to 1500 and later to 2500 residents. The census was submitted to the governor who then issued a proclamation indicating that the requirements had been met, appointing county commissioners and a county clerk, and naming a county seat. Not all of these documents are available for each county. Included in this file is the proclamation from the governor appointing county officers and designating Meade Center as the temporary county seat.

Meade Historical Park
Creator: United States. Work Projects Administration
Date: July - November 1940
Blueprints and drawings of the Meade Historical Park, more commonly known as the Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum, at 502 South Pearlette Street in Meade, Kansas. The site was developed around the former residence of Eva (Dalton) Whipple, a sister of the famed outlaw Dalton brothers known for their robbery of trains and banks. Though stories of the Dalton Gang visiting Meade surfaced in the early 20th century, evidence to support these claims has remained elusive. The Meade Chamber of Commerce, which purchased the former Whipple property in 1940, led the effort to develop the site into a tourist attraction with the financial assistance of the New Deal-era Work Projects Administration (WPA). John Sullivan served as supervisor of the park project. WPA officials reportedly turned down the community's first proposal, according to the March 5, 1942 edition of the Meade Globe-News, because it romanticized a gang of outlaws. The plans were resubmitted under the name Meade Historical Park and greater emphasis was given to developing a local history museum at the site. The blueprints include plans for a complete reconstruction of the Whipple barn, the construction of a rock-lined underground tunnel connecting the new barn and 1887 house, and landscape elements such as rock walls, outdoor stoves, picnic tables, a wishing well, and plantings. WPA and National Youth Administration laborers completed the site work and construction. A museum operated by Ruth and Walter Dingess opened in the Whipple residence in May 1941 and later moved to the upper floor of the barn. The community officially opened the park in June 1941 during the local Cavalcade of the Plains festival, which was part of a statewide commemoration of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's travels through the region some 400 years earlier. The Meade County Historical Society has the original blueprints.

Plat book of Meade County, Kansas
Creator: R. P. Ice and Company
Date: 1909
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.

R. K. Perry ranch on the Cimarron River, Kansas
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1891 and 1903
This herd of cattle is grazing on the R. K. Perry ranch on the Cimarron River, south of Meade, Kansas. The Cimarron River is visible in the background. The partially legible phrase "last herd of cattle leaving R. K. Perry..." is written on the photograph.