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.

Boston Corbett's dugout in Cloud County, Kansas
Date: Between 1878 and 1889
This black and white photograph shows a sketch of Boston Corbett's dugout in Cloud County, Kansas.

Dugout, Greeley County, Kansas
Date: Between 1890 and 1910
An unidentified dugout, Greeley County, Kansas.

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.

Dugout, Osborne County, Kansas
Date: Between 1870s and 1880s
This stereograph shows three men and a dog standing before a stoned front dugout in Osborne, Kansas.

Dugout, Riley County, Kansas
Date: Between 1870s and 1880s
This black and white photograph shows a family gathered in front of a dugout located somewhere between Manhattan, Kansas, and Wabaunsee, Kansas. Dugouts such as this one were common dwellings on the plains of Kansas due to the lack of wood and other natural resources.

Dugout, Sheridan County, Kansas
Date: 1889
A bachelor's dugout, located south of the Solomon River near Studley, Sheridan County, Kansas. This dugout was used by Abraham, John Fenton, and Tom Pratt; their half-brother James Kirk; and Charlie and Jim Foster when the men first arrived in Sheridan County from Yorkshire, England, prior to 1885.

Dugout belonging to Luther Kreigh, Stanton County, Kansas
Date: Between 1960 and 1965
This dugout was located on the homestead of Luther Kreigh, on the west side of present-day Highway 27, seven miles north of Johnson City, Stanton County, Kansas. Luther Kreigh ran the stage line and mail hack between Syracuse and Richfield and this dugout served as a stage stop on that line. The stage changed teams here and a post office located in the building was called on the maps "Liverpool."

Dugout home in Greeley County, Kansas
Date: 1909
This black and white photograph shows a homesteader in front of a dugout in Greeley County, Kansas. Visible in the background is a barn and a team of mules tied to a wagon.

Dugout home of Mrs. Norman Webster, Morton County, Kansas
Date: Between 1890 and 1895
This is a photograph of Mrs. Norman Webster's dugout home, Morton County, Kansas.

Dugout houses, Greeley County, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1910
These photographs show several dugouts with pitched roofs and chimneys in Greeley County, Kansas. Several residents, a dog, and a windmill are also visible.

Dugout in Hamilton County, Kansas
Date: 1908
This photograph shows a family with their dugout and windmill in Hamilton 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 or dugout in Finney County, Kansas.

Frank Clare's family, Finney County, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1910
This photograph shows Frank Clare's family outside of his residence. Maude Elliott wrote on the back of the photograph about Frank Clare: Frank Clare was the clerk of the school board, even though he could not write his own name. Elliott believed he had the nicest house in the district, half of it was a dugout and the other half was above ground, as seen in the photograph. Frank Clare was said to have been a criminal, he stole cattle, and ended up in a shoot out in a bar in Garden City.

Interior view of bachelor's dugout
Date: 1900
Interior view of the furnishings and decor of a bachelor's dugout in Hamilton County, Kansas.

Mead family dugout in Ford County, Kansas
Date: Between 1890 and 1910
In this undated photograph, the L.A. Mead family stands outside their dugout located near Bloom, Ford County. Dugouts such as this, as well as sod houses, were common dwelling places on the high plains of Kansas due to the lack of wood and other natural resources. This family was fortunate enough to have glass windows, wood siding, and a stovepipe; these amenities would have been considered luxuries by many pioneers out west.

Mead family dugout near Bloom in Ford County, Kansas
Date: Between 1870 and 1890
This photograph shows the interior of the L. A. Mead family dugout near Bloom, Ford County, clearly illustrating the cramped living conditions that the family endured during their stay in this residence.

Mrs. Lawrence Claar to Kansas State Historical Society
Creator: Claar, Mrs. Lawrence
Date: March 17, 1946
This is a letter from Mrs. Lawrence Claar, Oberlin, Kansas, to the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. In the letter, Mrs. Claar writes that she is sending a story that describes a Kansas settlement called "Old Hawkeye". Along with the letter is the actual "Old Hawkeye" story to which she refers. The story is told by Amy G.C. Rezner, aunt to Mrs. Claar's husband, Lawrence.

Philip Bright diary
Creator: Bright, Philip T., d. 1873
Date: August 1870 - October 1872
This diary comprises part of series three of the Abbie Bright Papers. Abbie's brother Philip wrote the diary during his stay in Kansas. Around 1870, Philip Bright moved to Kansas and took up a claim near present-day Clearwater in Sedgwick County. Abbie came to visit him soon after. The diary describes Philip's experience settling in Kansas in many very brief entries. It describes his travels, building a dugout, buffalo hunting, his health, raising stock, and helping his neighbors. The diary also includes accounts, a calendar of work, and information on his soldier's pension. Philip Bright did not settle permanently in Kansas. He accumulated a substantial amount of money and moved to Texas and then to Arizona by 1873 where he was murdered in his sleep and robbed.

Potters' dugout, Logan County, Kansas
Date: Between 1890 and 1899
In this photograph, the Potters are sitting in front of their dugout in Logan County, Kansas.

Rubber Buttons from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
These three hard rubber buttons were recovered from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout site in Graham County. Two were recovered during the 2006 excavations by Washburn University (WU) and were later donated to the Kansas Historical Society. The other was recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program (KATP). This domestic site was related to the settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas, an all black community in western Kansas. The button on the far left was recovered at the KATP and is identical in its molded lines and pin-head shank style to the one in the center recovered at WU's excavations. The button on the right has a herringbone pattern on the front and a back stamp stating "I. R. C. Co. Goodyear 1851," indicating it was manufactured by the India Rubber Comb Co. These types of buttons were most popular in the 1880s and 1890s.

Sad Iron from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
This sad iron, also called a flat iron or smoothing iron, was recovered during the excavations of the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program at the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site. This domestic site was related to the settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas, an all black community in western Kansas. Sad irons have been in use since the Middle Ages and would have been held with some type of padding around the handle when hot. They needed to be kept clean and rust-free, unlike this example.

Scenes of Sherman County, Kansas
Date: 1890-1940
Multiple scenes of Sherman County, Kansas. In the Pantzer homestead photograph, pictured left to right: Ed, George, Henry, Sadie, and the parents.

Sod dugout, Osborne County, Kansas
Creator: Kleckner, M. A.
Date: Between 1870 and 1890
This photograph shows a sod dugout on the homestead of Martin Mohler in Corinth Township of Osborne County, Kansas. Mohler stands at the left, and his son Jacob Christian Mohler sits at the far right. Both Martin and Jacob Mohler served terms as the Kansas Secretary of Agriculture.

Sod dugout in Mitchell County, Kansas
Date: 1871
This is a stereograph showing a sod dugout on a claim near Solomon Rapids in Mitchell County, Kansas. It was abandoned in 1880.