MULTICULTURAL KANSAS Exhibit Homepage
This study is about the small Alta Mills community in Alta Township, Harvey County, Kansas, and the history of how it came to be. The long journey and migration of Mennonites to Kansas and the cooperative rural spirit they brought made Alta Mills…
Jamie Schendt writes a history of Bean School (District #3 one room school) in Wabaunsee County. Serving an integrated landscape of both white and African American farmers, Bean School was attended by Washington Owen, first black graduate of KSU.…
Against all hopes, Bellegard, the Swedish farming oasis, never truly became a town. But in symbiosis with Mariadahl, both “towns” persisted for approximately 30 years before Bellegard dissolved. Their union was the only thing that kept either town…
Author uses historic documents, genealogical inquiry, and filed work to document the community of Bourassa's Mill. This was not a traditional town but was an important stopping place for travelers on the Oregon Trail. It also supplies the…
Bradford, located in Section 23 of Wilmington Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas, was a small community that tells a unique story of racial coexistence and rural population decline. Black and white residents both called the area home and coexisted…
German families formed the community of Clearfield in Douglas County, Kansas, in the 1850s, united by language and religion. This study overviews a collection of photographs, maps, and documents detailing the history of the Clearfield Community in…
This study of Delia, Kansas in Jackson County uses photographs, personal interviews, and field research.
This paper shares the history and stories of those in the town of Elsmore, in Elsinore Township, Allen County, Kansas. The town was founded in 1866, and is still occupied today. In this paper, I used newspapers, field work, census data and Kansas…
Theodore Brown traces the origins of the little-studied Hodgeman County Exoduster settlement. Using archival material from Jetmore Museum and his own family history, he documents the stone masonry skills brought to western Kansas by former slaves in…
James C. Rivers traces the life of an early African American female homesteader, Dicy Nichols. Buying a modest farm in 1867, Dicy Nichols lived there and raised a family until selling her land in 1883 to the Hart-Enlow Ranch. She stayed on the land…
This is a brief history over the German Catholic community of Ost in Sumner Township, Reno County, Kansas. Ost was a settlement built on the faith and persistence of the settlers that founded the town. This study uses plat maps, photographs of past…
Silkville Ranch was an experimental socialist community founded by Ernest de Boissiere in Franklin County, Williamsburg Township. Although the experiment failed due to financial challenges, Silkville persists as a ranch. This study includes…
The 1850's frontier amalgamation of different cultures and people helped create one of the most unheralded yet demographically and geographically diverse regions in American history, with traces of its existence still evident today.
The author describes the life of an early Irish Catholic settlement in eastern Kansas. Originally a Quaker community, Irish immigration "exploded" there just after the Civil War, eventually stamping the town with a particular religious…
William A. Pitt and fellow settlers from Trier, Germany, first settled near Carr Creek, but flooding encouraged them to relocate to the top of a nearby hill. They called their settlement Pittsburg and, later, Tipton.
Waconda Springs no longer exists, its memory still lives on. Stories are told by those who remember the sacred site and those who had lived it. Nowadays with all the historical landmark laws, Waconda Springs would have never been bulldozed down.…
This paper explores the agricultural history of Clay County, Kansas, and the African American workers who persevered during the time. Sources used were newspaper articles, the class reader, websites, and a book about Broughton, Kansas.
The author uses historic newspaper reports, census records, city directories, and historic advertising to recreate the Chinese community found in Wichita, Kansas around the turn of the century.
This paper seeks to explore the socioeconomic conditions among Mexican immigrants and emphasize the factors that have bred the rise of immigrant entrepreneurship--despite the political and economic system being against their favor. It will do so via…
The author compares three types of Welsh communities found in Kansas to determine when the Welsh language ceased common usage. A variety of historic documents were used to make this determination.
This document includes the following: a brief history of the Wichita Kansas segregated school system, including avoiding integration in the 1950’s. The study also addresses the legal process of integrating the Wichita schools in the late 1960’s. It…
