130th Gun Pits
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: November 8, 1917
Soldiers of the 130th Field Artillery digging gun pits at Fort Sill. Captain Hughes may be the soldier at the far right. One soldier is holding a pick ax. Others are working with shovels. In 1917 James C. Hughes was Captain of Battery C, 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard. He was stationed at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, for field artillery training. Camp Doniphan is adjacent to Fort Sill which is just outside Lawton, Oklahoma. The 130th Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard, trained at both in 1917 and 1918 as part of the 35th Division. The 35th Division was constituted in 1917 as one of the 17 National Guard divisions authorized for service in World War I. The division was organized from the National Guard of Kansas and Missouri. The 35th included three machinegun battalions, three field artillery regiments, four infantry regiments, one engineer regiment and one signal battalion with a total strength of 26,373. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.

14th Annual Reunion of the 32nd U.S. Volunteer Infantry Association
Creator: Anderson
Date: August 30, 1947
A panoramic photo and a cropped version of the same photo of the 14th Annual Reunion of the 32nd U.S. Volunteer Infantry Association, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Benton Roy Hanan is in the first row (squatting) 12th from the right. His wife, N. Ethel Brown Hanan is standing behind him.

155 Howitzer
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: Undated
This closeup is of a 155 mm Howitzer which would have been used during World War I. Captain James Hughes took this picture but did not identify the location or date. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available on Kansapedia.

155 Howitzer
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: Undated
This is a side view of a 155 mm Howitzer. It is the type that would have been used during World War I. Captain James Hughes took this photo but did not identify the location or date. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available on Kansapedia.

155 Howitzer
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: Undated
This 155 mm Howitzer is of the type used during World War I. Captain James Hughes took this picture but did not identify the location or date. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available on Kansapedia.

155 Howitzer
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: Undated
This is a 155 Howitzer which would have been used during World War I. Captain James Hughes took this picture but did not identify the location or date. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available on Kansapedia.

1851 Colt Navy Revolver
Creator: Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company
Date: between 1851 and 1852
1851 Colt Navy Revolver with engraved cylinder. Six shot, .36 caliber single action steel revolver with walnut grips. William F. Arny reportedly gave this Colt Navy revolver to John Brown in 1856 in recognition of his efforts for the Free State cause. According to Arny, Brown returned the revolver to him when he learned that Arny did not support his methods. Arny came to Kansas in 1857 and was involved in the Free State movement, serving as a delegate to the Grasshopper Falls Convention and as a member of the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. He was also elected to the first State Legislature. Arny donated the revolver to the Kansas Historical Society in 1879. Alternatively, it is possible that the revolver was one of fifty purchased by John Brown supporters back East and sent to him in Kansas. Because he was keeping a low profile, Brown couldn't receive the shipment and the revolvers were distributed to Kansans who might be able to use them to support the cause. Brown later attempted to retrieve the weapons with little success. Arny may have received this revolver and kept it until the time of donation.

1853 - Sac and Fox Agency
Creator: Green, Charles R.
Date: September 1, 1853
This item lists tribes under the Superintendency of Indians Affairs in St. Louis headed by B.A. James and Colonel Alfred Cummings. In particular, the item lists the Ottawas, Chippewas of Swan Creek, and the Black River Sacs and Foxes.

1855 map of Richardson (Wabaunsee) County, Kansas
Date: 1855
This map shows the original Wabaunsee (Richardson) County boundaries which existed prior to a realignment of the borders with Morris County in 1870 and Riley County in 1871. Approximately 72 square miles were removed in the first action and 54 square miles in the latter. Notice the Potawatomi Reservation in the upper right section of the county and the Kaw Reserve in the lower left portion.

1855 rescue of free stater Jacob Branson
Creator: Abbott, James Burnett, 1818-1897
Date: Between 1855 and 1860
James Abbott, a free state activist who participated in several Kansas Territory conflicts (including the rescues of John Doy and Jacob Branson), wrote this account of the 1855 rescue of Jacob Branson. In his account, Sheriff Jones, supported by the proslavery "bogus" legislature, had arrested Jacob Branson, a free state man who witnessed the murder of Charles W. Dow by Franklin Coleman, a proslavery neighbor. Abbott and his cohorts successfully rescued Branson, although their actions were controversial even among fellow free state supporters. Certain aspects of Abbott's account of these events disagreed with an earlier account provided by Samuel Wood, and Abbott addressed those discrepancies in this document. [Abbott's account, obtained either by handwritten manuscript or personal interview, is presented here as an annotated typed transcript.]

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 African Americans in 1877 along the south fork of the Solomon 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.

18th FA, Miller and Self
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: June 1919
The photo shows Captain James Hughes on the right and a friend and fellow soldier, indentified only as Miller, on the left. They are with the 18th Field Artillery as part of the Army of Occupation and probably in western Germany at the time this photo was taken in June 1919. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.

1906 Kansas University basketball team
Creator: Squires, C. F.
Date: 1906
This is a photograph of the 1905-06 Kansas University basketball team. The player on the floor is Phog Allen and the player in the second row, second from left is Chester Alexander Smith. The photograph was taken in 1906.

1967 Kansas State Men's Fast Pitch Championship Softball Tournament program
Date: Between August 22, 1967 and August 27, 1967
This program for the 1967 Kansas State Men's Fast Pitch Championship Softball Tournament shows advertisements, lists past state champions, and has a bracket completed by hand on the inside. This photograph was digitized while on loan in 2026.

1968 Amateur Softball Tournament program
Date: Between August 21, 1968 and August 25, 1968
This item is a program for the 1968 Amateur Softball Tournament at Brit Spaugh Park in Great Bend, Kansas. The front shows the 1967 state Champions, the Metzger Salvage team. This photograph was digitized while on loan in 2026.

1968 Excavations at Fort Hays, 14EL301
Date: 1968
These photographs were taken by Kansas Historical Society archeological staff during excavation at historic Fort Hays in Ellis County in 1968. The excavations took place in the area of the officer's quarters (Officer's Row). Shown are two views of the House 4 cellar excavation, the archeological excavations of the foundations for Houses 2 through 6 in progress, and a toy dish discovered in the House 5 excavations. Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is a State Historic Site.

1968 National Softball Tournament program
Date: 1968
This item is a program for the September 6-13, 1968 program for the Men's Fast Pitch Softball Tournament at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, Florida. Ruben Lopez played in the tournament. Ruben was from the Oakland area of Topeka, Kansas. This photograph was digitized while on loan in 2026.

1990 Excavations at Cottonwood Ranch, 14SD327
Date: 1990
These images were taken at the Cottonwood Ranch site in Sheridan County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 1990. The ranch was established by Abraham Pratt from Yorkshire, England, in 1878 to raise sheep. The 1990 excavations were exploring an outbuilding that was constructed around 1890 and removed after storm damage in 1911. Shown are a general progress show looking north, two volunteers processing soil flotation, progress shot looking to the southeast, a Daisy Fly Killer along side of one in its original packaging, exposed foundation of the ranch house, and an aerial view of the site.

1995 Excavations at the Havana Stage Station, 14OS1301
Date: 1995
Shown are eleven images taken during the excavation at the Havana Stage Station in Osage County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 1995. The Havana Stage Station was built along the Santa Fe trail in 1858 and by the early 1870s had ceased to function as station and became part of the outbuildings of a farm. Shown is a view of the former station taken in the 1950s, a sketch of the site in 1995, a sketch of the station ruins in 1995, five views of the station's foundations and walls, two views of mapping and recordkeeping, and the nearby stone corral.

19th Annual Convention of the National Association of Colored Women
Date: July 21-26, 1935
This panorama shows attendees of the convention of the National Association of Colored Women held July 21 to July 26, 1935. The signs on the building read "Mount Zion Temple" and "Mt. Zion Settlement School of Music, Kathleen Forbes." This appears to be Mt. Zion Congregational Church on E. 55th Street and Central Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, where the organization held its 19th annual convention in 1935. Two women to the left side of the photo wear nursing uniforms. Three other women hold signs reading "Con" (presumably Connecticut), "Illinois," and "Ohio."

1st Infantry Division - Memorial in Vicksburg Park
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: 1915
This file includes general correspondence relating to the Memorial in Vicksburg Park honoring the 1st Infantry Division. Topics included but not limited in the correspondence includes: inscription proposals and cost of the Memorial, blueprints, and printed material relating to the siege and defense of Vicksburg. This is part of a bigger collection of Governor Arthur Capper correspondence.

1st Kansas Colored Infantry flag
Date: between 1862 and 1864
Blue silk regimental flag of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, the first African American regiment from a northern state in the Civil War. Recruitment began August 1862, although they weren't mustered into Federal service until January 13, 1863. They saw their first action at Island Mound, Missouri on October 29, 1862. The flag bears the names of eight battle honors. In 1864 the regiment was redesignated the 79th United States Colored Regiment.

2002 Excavations at Cottonwood Ranch, 14SD327
Date: 2002
These images were taken at the Cottonwood Ranch site in Sheridan County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 2002. The ranch was established by Abraham Pratt from Yorkshire, England, in 1878 to raise sheep. The 2002 excavations were exploring the possible location of the icehouse. Shown are volunteers excavating a unit, soil screen in windy conditions, a progress shot of the excavation, three shots highlighting soil stratification in the excavation units, and an overview of the site.