Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot, Oskaloosa, Kansas
Date: Between 1880s and 1890s
This photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company depot in Oskaloosa, Kansas. The two-story wooden structure with batten siding is no longer standing.

Change of date. The Jefferson county fair
Date: Between 1870 and 1910
This poster announces the Jefferson County fair to be held at Oskaloosa, Kansas. Highlights of the fair include the best exhibit of fine stock, a good track, reduced railroad fare, and base ball tournaments. The poster includes illustrations of livestock.

Colored directory: information, history, facts, also buyer's guide of the best business places appreciating your patronage
Date: April 1928
This directory primarily deals with African Americans living in Topeka, Kansas, but it also contains listing for Alma, Burlingame, Council Grove, Dunlap, Eskridge, Osage City, Oskaloosa, Paxico, Perry and rural Shawnee County. Listings of the residents of the smaller communities include name and occupation. The address is included only if it is rural with the RFD numbers. The listings for Topeka include name, occupation or place of employment, and home address. The Topeka portion includes a listing of churches with some sketches, colored schools, lodges, biographical sketches of some community members, article about the police and fire departments, the Kansas Vocational School in Topeka, and "Some Topeka Institutions" (African American organizations and businesses). The publication includes a listing of call letters for radio stations, driving distances in Kansas, and railroad rates from Topeka to various locations for the railroad lines through Topeka. The directory also includes a number of advertisements.

Descriptive atlas of Jefferson County, Kansas
Creator: Acme Publishing Company
Date: 1899
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.

Elm Cafe and Gardiner's Cafe, Oskaloosa, Kansas
Date: 1928
These series of four black and white photographs show the Elm Cafe and Gardiner's Cafe at Oskaloosa, Kansas.

Ephraim Nute to [Unidentified recipient]
Creator: Nute, Ephraim
Date: February 14, 1859
Ephraim Nute wrote from Lawrence on February 14, 1859, regarding "the disaster that befel the last expedition from this place with fugitives." The party, led by Dr. John Doy, was in route to Oskaloosa when captured and taken to Missouri, where "the colored people, both free and slaves, have been shipped for the New Orleans market." Doy and his son had been jailed at Platte City, Missouri, and were to be tried for "stealing a slave from Weston." Nute was quite sure this operation had been betrayed from within, as "Great rewards were offered, spies sent out & men hired in this place to watch & aid in recovering the run away property."

Independent
Creator: Roberts, John Wesley, 1824-1900
Date: July 11, 1860-December 30, 1865
View and search this newspaper by clicking on the Chronicling America link below. This newspaper comes from the collections of the Kansas Historical Society and was digitized with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program. The first issue of The Independent was published in Oskaloosa on July 11, 1860. Contrary to what the name suggests, The Independent clearly stated: "we are for the Union, for our county, for the glorious Republic we have loved." The Independent was founded by John Wesley Roberts (1824-1900), an abolitionist and prohibitionist, who wrote his editorials from his home in Waynesville, Ohio, until he moved to Oskaloosa in 1862. Today, the Oskaloosa Independent, which succeeded the The Independent after its last issue on May 2, 1874, remains in circulation.

Ira Chamberlin to Governor John St. John
Creator: Chamberlin, Ira D.
Date: October 26, 1879
Ira Chamberlin of Topeka, Kansas, and apparent worker for the temperance cause, requests an introduction letter for his trip to Oskaloosa.

Ira Chamberlin to Governor John St. John
Creator: Chamberlin, Ira D.
Date: November 04, 1879
Ira Chamberlin invites Kansas Governor St. John to visit the people of Oskaloosa, Kansas, who haven't seen a governor in three years.

Jefferson County courthouse in Oskaloosa, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
A photograph showing the Jefferson County courthouse and bandstand on the square in Oskaloosa, Kansas.

Jefferson County courthouse in Oskaloosa, Kansas
Creator: Harvey, John
Date: 1960
A photograph showing an unidentified man pointing to the Jefferson County courthouse in Oskaloosa, Kansas. It was damaged by a tornado on May 1, 1960.

Jefferson County twenty-second annual fair, Oskaloosa, Kansas
Creator: Jefferson County Agricultural and Mechanical Association
Date: October 5 - 7, 1886
Fair poster advertising livestock, horse racing and other entertainment events to be held in Oskaloosa, Kansas. Sponsored by the Jefferson County Agricultural and Mechanical Association.

John Wilkins Roberts
Date: 1952
This is a photograph of John Wilkins Roberts reading the Oskaloosa Independent newspaper. The newspaper was established July 11, 1860, by his grandfather, John Wesley Roberts. It was later run by his father Frank. John Wilkins is the third generation of the Roberts family to be editor and publisher of the paper.

J.W. Roberts to Governor John St. John
Creator: Roberts, J.W.
Date: July 15, 1879
Citizen J. W. Roberts of Oskaloosa, Kansas, requests assistance from Kansas Governor St. John in prohibiting the organization of a "club" in his area, which is being proposed for the "purpose of drinking and gambling".

Kansas and Nebraska Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Minutes of the Third Session
Creator: Methodist Episcopal Church. Kansas and Nebraska Conference
Date: April 15-19, 1858
The annual conference was held in Topeka, Kansas Territory from April 15 through 19, 1858. The minutes included the names of those attending as well as the business conducted. It listed the various ministerial appointments in Kansas and Nebraska as well as the membership of the committees. The minutes reported on educational efforts at Baker University and Blue Mount Central College. It contained information on the church's stand on slavery and temperance. The constitution of the Kansas and Nebraska Conference Missionary Society was included in the report as were statistics for the various churches.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subject churches
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. Churches are the subject included in this part of the collection.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subject convention centers - courthouses
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 subjects included in this part of the collection are convention centers (including livestock arenas), courthouses, and courtrooms.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subject old west towns - prairie
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. Subjects included in this part of the collection are old west towns, parks, people, and prairie.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subject residences
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 residences, arranged alphabetically by city.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subjects banks - bridges
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. Subjects included in this part of the collection are: banks, bed & breakfasts, and bridges.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, subject stadiums - trains
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. Subjects in this part of the collection include stadiums, stockyards, studios, theaters, and trains.

Kansas State Temperance Union expense journals
Creator: Kansas State Temperance Union
Date: 1898-1911
This collection consists of 7 volumes of records from the Kansas State Temperance Union. The first volume lists the members and the dues they paid by local organization. The index lists the communities that have members listed and these communities have been included in the categories. Note: other communities are listed elsewhere in the records, particularly the speaker expenses volume. The second volume is the cash book (expense journal) for the years 1901-1904. Volumes three through five are the cash books for 1907-1910, 1909-1910, and 1910-1911. Volume 6 contains speaker expenses and contribution from the communities where they spoke, listed by name of speaker. Several speakers are listed. Volume 7 is an expense journal for 1907-1911. There are also some loose papers inserted into the volumes, mostly correspondence and form letters.

Marvin Metzger video interview on experiences in World War II
Creator: Metzger, Marvin
Date: June 27, 2007
Marvin Metzger enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942 and served in Fox Company, Third Marine Division. Interviewed by Brian Grubbs on Jun 27, 2007, Metzger talked about military experiences in the Second World War. He did his Marine training at San Diego and Camp Pendleton in California. He was stationed several places in the Pacific including Bougainville and Guadacanal. He provides good descriptions of his experiences. He was born in Ozawkie in 1922 but attended school primarily in Oskaloosa.The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the community institutions receiving grants. The transcript of the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Watkins Community Museum of History (Lawrence) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Melvin Brose photograph album
Date: 1945-1952
This photograph album belonging to Melvin Brose visually documents his childhood through high school. The Brose family lived and farmed southwest of Valley Falls, Kansas. Included in the album are photographs of 4-H and Valley Falls High School activities, farming, and views of Valley Falls, including floods and snow.

Missouri Pacific Railroad depot, Oskaloosa, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1919
This photograph shows a group of people gathered around the Missouri Pacific Railroad depot in Oskaloosa, Kansas. The one-story wooden structure was formally the Kansas City Northwestern Railroad. The depot with batten siding is no longer standing.