1880 census of Farmer Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 1, 1880 through June 2, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Farmer Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

1880 census of Nicodemus Township, Graham County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 8, 1880 through June 23, 1880
This census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of both white and black settlers in Nicodemus Township in Graham County, Kansas. This township had been settled by Exodusters in 1877 along the south fork of the Solomon River. Today, the town of Nicodemus is the only surviving Exoduster settlement west of the Mississippi River.

1880 census of Rock Creek Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 11, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Rock Creek Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

$190,235,814 For Dairy Products
Date: 1917
This promotional brochure was designed as a talk to encourage the construction of good roads in the state of Kansas. It described comparable rural roads in Wisconsin that promote crop and dairy production.

365-day roads an investment, not a tax
Date: 1910-1919
Brochure promoting good roads as a investment comparable to other enhancements financed by the farmer and found on his individual land holding.

A flock of chickens
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1891 and 1912
This photograph shows a flock of chickens, a man, chicken coops, farm buildings, and a windmill on an unidentified farm, presumed to be in Haskell County, Kansas. Poultry was a very important food source before refrigeration was commonplace in rural households on the prairie. Chickens and turkeys also provided a much-needed source of income through the sale of live birds and eggs.

A flock of turkeys
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1891 and 1912
This photograph shows a young girl standing near a flock of turkeys on an unidentified farm, presumed to be in Haskell County, Kansas. A farm building and cart are also visible in the photograph.

After the great war is over
Date: 1917
This promotional brochure argues that the construction of good roads in the United States will enhance agricultural productivity and economic development in the aftermath of World War I.

Agricultural equipment, Garden City, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
The photograph shows the first steam powered plow in Garden City, Finney County, Kansas. The photograph also shows a man, who looks to be steering the plow while another man is riding on it. In the background of the photo there are a few buildings.

A handbook of useful information for immigrants and settlers
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1880-1889
Published by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, this pamphlet encouraged agricultural settlement on railroad lands in Kansas by glorifying the state's natural resources including water, soil, mineral deposits and plant life. Printed by the Kansas Farmer in Topeka, Kansas.

Alexander Jackson Baker
Creator: Stovall
Date: Between 1920 and 1929
A photograph of Alexander Jackson Baker. He farmed near Richmond in Franklin County, Kansas. His account books and diaries are in the Kansas State Historical Society's manuscript collection.

Alfalfa field in Finney County, Kansas
Date: Between 1930 and 1935
This photograph shows a man standing in an alfalfa field in Finney County, Kansas. In the background of the photograph are hay stacks and buildings. The photograph was donated by the Garden City Chamber of Commerce.

Alfred Gray
Creator: Leonard & Martin
Date: Between 1872 and 1880
A photograph of Alfred Gray, who was born in Evans, New York. In March 1857 Gray made the decision to immigrate to Kansas, where, at the age of 26, he settled in Quindaro, opening a law and real estate office. Soon, however, Gray chose to return to the occupation of his father, and he ultimately built one of the best farms in Wyandotte County. Gray was chief clerk of the territorial legislature and was elected to the first state legislature; in April 1862 he entered the army and served as a regimental quartermaster with the Fifth Kansas Cavalry and the 10th Kansas Infantry regiments. Gray is best known for his post-Civil War activities. He served as director of the State Agricultural Society from 1866 to 1870 and was elected secretary of the State Board of Agriculture in 1872, serving in this capacity until his death in 1880.

Allen Williams
Date: Between 1865 and 1870
A tintype showing Allen Williams who lived and farmed near Auburn, Shawnee County, Kansas. He appears in the 1865 Kansas State census, age 20, born about 1841 (other censuses lists his birth year as 1838), and he was born in Tennessee. Between 1875 and 1880 Allen Williams married Armilda C. Benning. According to the national and state censuses, Allen and Armilda lived most of their lives in Auburn, Kansas.

A man feeding chickens
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1891 and 1912
This man is feeding chickens on an unidentified farm, presumed to be in Haskell County, Kansas. Also visible in the photograph are a farmhouse and several farm buildings.

Anna Margaret Watson Randolph, diary
Creator: Randolph, Anna Margaret Watson, 1838-1917
Date: August 17, 1858 - August 22, 1858
This brief diary, kept by Anna Margaret (Watson) Randolph, begins with her move to Kansas in an entry dated August 17, 1858. These six entries at the beginning of her diary provide details about her family's journey from Ohio to Kansas Territory, included a number of interesting accounts of their journey on a riverboat. Their boat ran aground several times and, interspersed among her descriptions of these difficulties, Anna wrote about her sister Mary Jane, the weather, and her personal observances of other passengers. She also filled her diary with her frustrations and concerns during their arduous journey west.

Anna Marie Germonprez DeDonder
Date: Between 1935 and 1939
This is a portrait of Anna Marie Germonprez DeDonder (1889-1982). Anna Marie Germonprez was born May 13, 1889, the daughter of Louis (June 20, 1852-Sept. 2, 1926) and Emma Sobrie Germonprez (Aug. 8, 1851-Mar. 12, 1933). The elder Germonprezes came to Shawnee County from Belgium about 1883 and settled on 80 acres in Rossville Township, section 24, just southeast of St. Mary's, Kansas in the area known as "Sandy Hook." On Jan. 10, 1912 Anna Germonprez married Francis Philippi DeDonder, whose family lived on a neighboring farm. Francis and Anna moved onto the DeDonder family farm at Sandy Hook, which they rented from Francis' father. After her husband's death in 1931, Anna DeDonder continued to farm the Sandy Hook land with the help of her son Philip Vital (July 25, 1917-Jan. 10, 1992). Anna died in St. Mary's on May 29, 1982, at the age of 93.

Arthur Alexander Randall and Elmer Nicholson with horses
Date: Between January 01, 1905 and December 31, 1910
This is a photograph of Arthur Alexander "Nace" Randall and Elmer Nicholson with horses on a farm in Decatur County, Kansas. There is a windmill in the background.

Arthur Alexander and Christena Randall
Date: Between 1940 and 1945
This is a photograph of Arthur Alexander "Nace" Randall and his wife Christena "Stean" Randall who lived and farmed in Decatur County, Kansas.

Arthur Capper and President Herbert Hoover with Kansas farmers
Creator: International News Photos, Inc
Date: December 12, 1929
This is a photograph of Senator Arthur Capper, shown standing with President Herbert Hoover in the center of the photograph, and a group of Kansas farmers in Washington, D.C. Arthur Capper, 1865-1951, a native of Garnett, Kansas, served as Kansas Governor from 1915 to 1919, and U. S. Senator from 1919 to 1949.

A sod house in eastern Beaver County, Oklahoma Territory
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: 1897
This is a view of a sod house in the eastern portion of Beaver County, Oklahoma Territory. In the foreground, a woman is pouring water into a livestock trough and there is a boy on a horse.

August Schulz diary
Date: 1872-1878
This diary was written by August(us) Schulz, who resided in McPherson County, Kansas. The diary describes the work and events that took place on the family farm in Canton Township, McPherson County. Schulz and his wife Luisa were born in Germany, according to the 1880 U. S. census. Augustus's age was listed as 54 and Luisa was 58. The first two pages of content labeled 1872 and 1873 are in German. They have four children, The two girls were Agnes, 24 years old, and Ottilie, age 16. The two boys were Alexander (23) and Hugo (20). In 1880 they were all living at home. Schulz provides details about the crops he is planting and several entries describe planting several hundred trees. The diary also mentions establishing land claims for the older children.

Between Millstones
Creator: Kelly, H. B.
Date: 1896
This short pamphlet discusses the problems that high tariffs and the gold standard create for workers and farmers. It clearly presents Populist ideas about the dire situation of Kansas farmers by giving several examples of how businessmen and merchants benefit from the oppression of common laborers. The pamphlet was written by H. B. Kelly and printed by the Jeffersonian Publishing Company in Lawrence, Kansas; each pamphlet cost five cents.

Big bluestem at Rogler ranch
Date: 1938
This black and white photograph shows an unidentified gentleman during the harvesting of big bluestem on the Henry Rogler ranch. The homestead, known as "Pioneer Bluffs", is located on 160 acres of land along the South Fork of the Cottonwood River basin, in Bazaar Township of Chase County, Kansas. The Rogler family owned and operated the ranch from 1859 to 2006. In October of 2006 the historic property, which included the home and 4,081 acres of land, was auction off at 6.9 million dollars Today, "Pioneer Bluffs" is a non-profit educational center that is dedicated to teaching the history of ranching and the diversity of the tall grass prairie.

Breaking sod, western Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1925
This black and white photograph shows a steam tractor breaking sod in western Kansas as a group of men and two children look on. The men standing on the plow are raising and lowering the implement as it turns the soil.