A staff correspondent of the Chicago Inter Ocean, visits Kansas
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: April 06, 1882
One of a weekly series of booklets titled "The Inter Ocean" published by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to promote the settling of Kansas. The topics in this eight page booklet include A Sweet Subject (sugar cane), The Land O'Mutton, Silk Culture in Kansas, Stockman's Paradise and About Ditch Farming. A farm of one thousand acres could be purchased from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad for $6,000 on eleven years time.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad poster for lands in southwest Kansas
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1870s
A circular of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad promotes land sales and settlement in southwest Kansas. The advertisement states the climate of southwest Kansas is ideal for farming and ranching. The illustration contrasts prairie versus woodland settlements, and cites the extraordinary growth of cottonwood trees on Polk Street in Topeka. The German language reference indicates the railroad's intent to appeal to European emigrants. The circular demonstrates the important role railroad companies performed as promoters of the settlement and agricultural development of the west. C. B. Schmidt is listed as the German General Agent at the bottom of the poster.

Black Friday meets its master
Creator: Garden City Daily Telegram
Date: April 10, 1935
Several articles about life in the Dust Bowl can be found on the front page of this newspaper from Garden City. Articles of particular interest include two articles on "raging dusters," one on the winter wheat crop, and a brief article discussing the postponement of community meetings to distribute aid under the soil erosion program. The newspaper also includes articles about other newsworthy events occurring in Garden City and around the state of Kansas.

Chapter IV: Destructive effects of undesirable tendencies, in The future of the Great Plains: Report of the Great Plains Committee
Creator: Great Plains Committee
Date: December, 1936
This report was created by the Great Plains Committee, which had been called by President Roosevelt to investigate the effects of drought and wind erosion in the southwestern United States. Chapter IV of the report, titled "Destructive Effects of Undesirable Tendencies," outlines some of the major problems in this region, composed of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. These problems included the decreasing amount of range land, soil erosion, and the depletion of ground water. A large part of the chapter deals with relief efforts and homestead rehabilitation. It also contains illustrations and tables that provide comparative data on the situation in each of these states.

Chapter V: Attitudes of mind, in The future of the Great Plains: Report of the Great Plains Committee
Creator: Great Plains Committee
Date: December 1936
This report was created by the Great Plains Committee, which had been called by the President to investigate the effects of drought and wind erosion in the southwestern United States. For the purposes of the committee, the Great Plains region was composed of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. In Chapter V, the committee argues that farmers' lack of understanding about effective agricultural techniques, combined with severe drought, had created the critical situation that existed during the Dust Bowl. Certain "attitudes of mind," such as the idea that natural resources are inexhaustible, were the root cause of farmers' problems. The chapter outlines some of these attitudes and assumptions that had proved to be unreliable.

Crop harvesting, Edwards County, Kansas
Date: 1919
This series of photographs represents men harvesting a field in Edwards County, Kansas. The three photographs represent different crews for harvesting: threshing crew and outfit, binder and header crew, and threshing crew in field.

Discing a field, Edwards County
Date: 1909
This photograph represents men, women and children operating a steam traction engine pulling a one-way plow while discing a field in Edwards County, Kansas. The other agricultural equipment shown in the photograph is a water wagon pulled by horses.

Dust Bowl farmers reseeding sod land
Creator: Topeka Capital
Date: February 27, 1944
This brief article discusses how farmers in southwestern Kansas were reseeding sod on land that had formerly been planted with wheat. This reseeding effort, which aimed to stabilize soil, was directed by the Soil Conservation Service.

Earl Thomas Reynolds to Governor Fred Hall
Creator: Reynolds, Earl Thomas
Date: February 11, 1955
This letter was written by Earl Thomas Reynolds, a lawyer in Coffeyville, Kansas, to Governor Fred Hall. Reynolds was concerned that black people in Kansas were not receiving adequate patronage and political party representation in or by the Republican Party, particularly in the third district. Mr Reynolds inquired why should blacks continue to support the Republican Party, at all levels of government, if their support is not rewarded by the party.

Eighth grade graduating class, Gray County Schools, Cimarron, Kansas
Date: July 21, 1899
This photograph is of the eighth grade graduating class of Gray County Schools in Cimarron, Kansas. The photograph is taken at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Cimarron on July 21, 1899. The students are listed from back to front, left to right as follows: Roscoe Good, Alvin Good, Forrest Luther, Lena Steinkuehler Mackey, Clarence Francisco, Claud Hammer, Crawford Whiteside, Ella Elem, Julia Slaughter, Mabel Shoup, Loy Harvey, Della Burns and Clyde Hammer.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, Justice of the Peace
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1931
This file includes subject correspondence relating to the appoint of Forrest B. Dykes as Justice of the Peace for Copeland Township in Gray County, Kansas. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Governor Fred Hall to Earl Reynolds
Creator: Hall, Frederick Lee, 1916-1970
Date: February 28, 1955
Governor Fred Hall responded to a letter he had received from Earl Reynolds regarding black representation in and by the Republican Party in Kansas. Reynolds felt black representation was lacking, especially in the third district. Governor Hall, surprised by Reynolds's comments, assured Reynolds that blacks had received an "unusual amount of consideration" during his term as Governor. Although Governor Hall did realize blacks were not represented adequately in the third district he felt that particular issue should be addressed at the local level, not the state level. Concerns with black equality and suffrage were not just southern issues. Nationwide attention at this time was beginning to focus on black equality, particularly on black voting rights, equal representation in political parties and elections.

Ho! for the new Kansas! The Upper Arkansas Valley. The best thing in the west
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
Date: September 1876
Promotional flier featuring a map of Kansas titled, "The Finest Climate and Most Prolific Soil in the West." Map depicts the land granted to the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Rail Road by the U.S. government to encourage the development of railroads in the West. Shaded areas on the map indicate lands for sale by the railroad along the Arkansas River valley. Promotional text on both front and back markets the land to farmers as "the best wheat land known." It also includes detailed information on towns, schools, lumber, fruit growing, and livestock raising in the region.

Kansas! Out of the woods into Kansas
Creator: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1880 and 1889
This circular from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company promotes land sales and settlement in the south central and southwest part of Kansas. This advertisement promotes the ease of farming on the prairie compared to farming the wooded land of the eastern states.

Kansas. A complete and comprehensive description of the agricultural, horticultural, stock raising and mineral resources of Kansas
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: 1903
This Union Pacific Railroad pamphlet promotes Kansas as an abundant and ideal place to settlement.

Kansas. Resources, population, industries, opportunities and climate
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: 1909
This Union Pacific Railroad pamphlet highlights the natural and human resources found in Kansas at the time of publication.

Map of Kansas. The direct route to all points in central, southern and southwestern Kansas is the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1884
This bouchure includes a map of Kansas showing the routes of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad within the State of Kansas. Shading on both sides of the main line of the railroad indicates the Land Grant. All unsold lands are within a colored portion of the map. The brouchure includes a smaller map showing all of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe routes and connecting lines in the United States and Mexico. The brouchure advertises "Land Explorers' Round-trip Tickets", good for forty days at cheap rates. Approximately 18 panels describe these features of Kansas agriculture to be in good condition: dairy, Kansas sugar, irrigation, railroad lands, vacant lands, manufacturing, fuel supply, and education in Kansas.

Map of Kansas published by the State Board of Agriculture
Creator: Kansas. State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1881
This map of the state of Kansas shows towns, cities and counties, principal roads and rivers. It also maps the center of population at different periods of white settlement, and divides the state into eight geographic regions including North Western, Western, Arkansas Valley, Republican, Salina, Wichita, Topeka, and Osage.

Map of Kansas published by the State Board of Agriculture
Creator: Kansas. State Board of Agriculture
Date: 1879
This map of the state of Kansas shows towns, cities and counties, principal roads and rivers. It also maps the center of population at different periods of white settlement.

Newman Brown and Art Kates, prisoners 7818 and 6544
Creator: Kansas State Penitentiary
Date: January 20, 1901
The photograph shows inmates Newman Brown, 7818, and Art Kates, 6544. Newman Brown was received at the Kansas State Penitentiary on June 12, 1896 from Ford County, Kansas for rape. Art Kates was arrested for murder and returned to the penitentiary on April 25, 1893 from Sedgwick County, Kansas for violating his parole.

Nicolas Schimpfesser and Wm. T. Edwards, prisoners 8816 and 8885
Creator: Kansas State Penitentiary
Date: February 1, 1901
This photograph shows inmates Nicolas Schimpfesser, 8816, and Wm. T. Edwards, 8885. Nicolas Schimpfesser was received at the Kansas State Penitentiary on January 31, 1899 from Doniphan County, Kansas for manslaughter. Wm. T. Edwards was received at the penitentiary on April 16, 1899 from Meade County, Kansas for assault with a deadly weapon.

One Kansas man making a living off dust havoc
Creator: Topeka Journal
Date: August 16, 1935
This very brief article describes how Fred Bailey, an enterprising citizen of Dodge City, Ford County, began a business for "dusting" attics. Thanks to the dust storms of the 1930s, many houses had layers of heavy dust in their attics that could potentially cause the ceiling to collapse. Bailey vacuumed the dust out of 227 homes over the course of the summer, removing from one to two tons of dust from each attic.

Orval Long and Geo. McBride, prisoners 9399 and 8812
Creator: Kansas State Penitentiary
Date: February 15, 1901
This photograph shows inmates Orval Long, 9399, and Geo. McBride, 8812. Orval Long was received at the Kansas State Penitentiary on June 6, 1900 from Grant County, Oklahoma. Geo. McBride was received at the penitentiary on January 22, 1899 from Ford County, Kansas. Both men were arrested for grand larceny.

Principal crop yields of Kansas by counties for 1911
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: August 10, 1912
This Union Pacific Railroad agricultural bulleitn shows aggregate statistical crop yields and population figures for each Kansas county in the entire state. Union Pacific Railroad Company Agriculture Bulletin (No. 103).

Raymond Swindler, prisoner 3053
Creator: Kansas State Penitentiary
Date: Between 1932 and 1934
This photograph shows inmate Raymond Swindler, prisoner number 3053. He was received at the Kansas State Penitentiary on August 26, 1932 from Stevens County, Kansas for bigamy.