About Nicodemus, The Daily Journal
Creator: Lawrence Daily Journal
Date: April 30, 1879
This article from the Lawrence Daily Journal discusses a newspaper article from the Chicago Tribune written during the Exoduster Movement in 1879 providing a brief history of the black community of freed people at Nicodemus, Kansas settled in 1877. Nicodemus is now a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

A boy on horseback, Greeley County, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1930
A boy sits on a horse in front of a sod building, Greeley County, Kansas.

A family in front of their sod house, Thomas County, Kansas
Date: 1885
A Thomas County, Kansas family and their dog pose in front of their sod home and outbuilding. The family is unidentified.

A family poses in front of their sod house, Thomas County, Kansas
Date: 1895
A Thomas County, Kansas family poses with their cattle, dogs, and buckets outside their sod home. The family is not identified.

Anderson sod house, Logan County, Kansas
Date: Between 1885 and 1890
This photograph shows three men with musical instruments and one man with a rifle on the roof of the Anderson sod house in Logan County, Kansas. Isabel, Matilda and Pete are posed in front of the house.

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 Holfman's sod house, Greeley County, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1910
August Holfman stands in from of his sod home northeast of Tribune, Greeley County, Kansas.

Bedrang threshing crew, Logan County, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1915
This photograph represents the Bedrang threshing crew outside a sod house and portable cook shack in Logan County, Kansas.

Burrell soddy, Ness County, Kansas
Date: Between 1886 and 1887
This photograph shows Frank, Henry and Otis Burrell with their dogs in front of the Burrell homestead in Ness County, Kansas. The sod house was located in northern Ness County and was built by Warren Burrell across the corner of three quarters of land.

Charley Davis' family and home possibly in Haskell County, Kansas
Date: July 16, 1905
This is a photograph of Charley Davis with his family and their sod house possibly in Haskell County, Kansas. A windmill and out buildings are visible in the background.

Charley Davis home and farm in Haskell County, Kansas
Date: 1919
This postcard shows a house, out buildings, and cattle owned by Charley Davis in Haskell County, Kansas.

Construction of sod houses
Date: 1932
This collection consists of correspondence, plans, and specifications on the construction of sod houses. In 1932, the Kansas State Historical Society put out a call for information about and instructions on constructing a sod house, in order to create one in the museum when it was located at the Memorial Building in Topeka. The collection includes all correspondence received from this request, handwritten and typed reminiscences from around the country from men who built and lived in sod houses, as well as some of the standardized responses sent by the Society's secretary.

Cyrus Kurtz Holliday to Mary Dillon Holliday
Creator: Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900
Date: December 3, 1854
Cyrus K. Holliday, the founder of Topeka, Kansas Territory, wrote from Lawrence, Kansas Territory to his wife, Mary Holliday, in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He told her of his planned trip up the Kansas River, his pleasure in the people of Kansas Territory, and a Thanksgiving dinner he attended. Unwilling to return to Pennsylvania, Holliday expressed desire that Mary come to Kansas Territory and described the construction of a friend's sod-covered "mansion," one such as Clarina I. H. Nichols, a lecturer and writer, inhabited.

C.Z. Miller homestead, Ransom, Kansas
Date: Bulk 1893-October 1908
This set of photographs show the C.Z. Miller homestead in Ransom, Kansas. The first image is a view of the family's sod house. The second photograph shows the house built on the original homestead.

Dalby home, Sheridan County, Kansas
Creator: Pratt, John Fenton, 1856-1937
Date: 1890
This photo shows people posed at the Dalby home located northeast of Studley, Sheridan County, Kansas. They are identified as: back row (left to right) Harry Jeffery; Mr. Dalby; Adam Scott; Mrs. Adam Scott; and front row Mrs. Dalby and her two children; Mrs. Jeffery and granddaughter; Jennie (Place) Pratt; and Hilda Pratt.

Dorsey Fulton family, Ogallah, Kansas
Creator: Chester, Susannna Rice Kistler, 1863-
Date: Between 1886 and 1888
This sepia colored photograph shows the Dorsey Fulton family outside their sod house near Ogallah, Kansas.

Drilling a water well
Date: 1910
In this photograph two men are drilling a water well on the Henry homestead in Hamilton County, Kansas. A team of horses, a sod house, and man standing outside a wood-frame house are also visible.

Dugout, Norton County, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1890
This photograph shows a family posed in front of their dugout in Norton County, Kansas. The dugout appears to have some sod walls. Patron provided information notes J.S. Humphrey (John S.) and son, Seldon Humphrey, pictured.

Elam Bartholomew residence, Rooks County
Date: Between 1899 and 1905
This is an exterior view of the Elam Bartholomew sod house. There is also a buggy and horses in the photograph. Elam Bartholomew settled in Rooks County, Kansas, in 1874. He was born in Pennsylvania and his family moved to Ohio and then Illinois. In 1873 he became engaged to Rachel Montgomery and returned to Illinois to marry her in June 1877. They returned to Kansas in September of 1877. The Bartholomews lived on their farm on Bow Creek until 1929 when they moved to Hays. Elam Bartholomew was a well know botanist specializing in rust flora and he served as curator of the mycological museum at Fort Hays Kansas State College. He died in 1934. A diary for the years 1877 and 1878 is contained in Kansas Memory.

Elam Bartholomew residence, Rooks County, Kansas
Date: Between 1899 and 1905
This is an interior view of the Bartholomew's sod house. Elam and his wife Rachel are in the photograph. Elam Bartholomew settled in Rooks County, Kansas, in 1874. He was born in Pennsylvania and his family moved to Ohio and then Illinois. In 1873 he became engaged to Rachel Montgomery and in June 1877 traveled to Illinois for the wedding. They returned to Kansas in September of 1877. The Bartholomews lived on their farm on Bow Creek until 1929 when they moved to Hays. Elam Bartholomew was a well known botanist specializing in rust flora and he served as curator of the mycological museum at Fort Hays Kansas State College. He died in 1934. A diary for the years 1877 and 1878 is contained in Kansas Memory.

Family and sod home, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
The photograph shows an unidentified family standing in front of a sod house or dugout in Finney County, Kansas.

Family and sod home, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
The photograph shows an unidentified family standing in front of a sod house in Finney County, Kansas. The photograph also shows a horse, and a table with plants on it.

Family with their sod house, Decatur County, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1889
This is a photograph of an unidentified family standing in front of their sod house near Norcatur, Decatur County, Kansas. Visible in the photograph is a windmill.

First house in Dighton, Lane County, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1910
Five men and a child pose outside a sod house, reported to be the first house built in Dighton, Lane County, Kansas. The sod house was built in 1879 by William A. Watson. The men in the image are, from left to right: William A. Watson, John H. Sc___, J.L. Wolf, Eugene Walker, Charles Lee, and C.F. Wolf.

First residence of the Peter Robidoux family, Wallace County, Kansas
Date: 1905
The first residence of the Peter Robidoux family, located about 10 miles north of Wallace, Wallace County, Kansas. This image shows the frame house, the sod house, and a frame barn. Family members pose in the front yard.