Kansas State Historical Society

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:reference@kshs.org reference@kshs.org]

Address:


 * 6425 SW 6th Avenue
 * Topeka KS 66615-1099

Telephone: 785-272-8681 ; Fax 785-272-8682 ; TTY 785-272-8681

Hours and holidays: Tuesday - Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.


 * Closed state holidays, please check our calendar. No entrance fee.

Directions, maps, and public transportation:


 * Take exit 356/Wanamaker Road on I-70 in western Topeka (map at right). Turn north, enter the roundabout, and follow the signs directing you west for about 1 mile. We are surrounded by prairie and woodlands on 80 acres.
 * Printable Map to the Kansas Historical Society.
 * Public transportation is available through Topeka Transit via the #5 West 6th or #7 Huntoon purple routes, Social Security stop. NOTE: Requires walking and service is limited.

Internet sites and databases:


 * Kansas Historical Society Internet site: State archives, research and genealogy, online collections, publications, Kansapedia, popular collections, State Historic Preservation Office, Grants, Register of Historic places.
 * KSHS online catalog allows Keyword, Title, Author, Subject, Journal Title, and ISBN/ISSN searches.
 * Databases and Indexes KSHS collections, catalogs, genealogy, and newspapers.
 * Kansas Memory primary sources organized by agriculture, built environment, business and industry, collections, community life, date, education, environment, government and politics, home and family, military, objects and artifacts, people, places, thematic time period, transportation, or type of material.
 * Territorial Kansas Online 1854-1861 about territorial politics and government, border warfare, immigration and early settlement, personalities, and the national debate about Kansas.
 * Western Trails digitized photographs, printed materials, and maps that document several facets of transportation across Kansas.

Collection Description
Photographs; letters, diaries, and other personal papers; Kansas newspapers; video, film, and sound recordings; books and periodicals; maps and architectural drawings; state government records such as governor's papers, federal, state, and Indian censuses; Kansas vital records; family history resources; and land survey records. Tract books, plats, and maps for the Dodge City land office, Santa Fe Railway, and Rock Island Railroad land sales in Kansas are at the KSHS. The KSHS also has a name index, military index, and place index, county records on microfilm inventory, and place information such as counties, post offices, ghost towns, city and farm directories.

Tips

 * Browse the Using the research room page before visiting.

Guides

 * Indexes and Guides with guides at bottom; guides to indexes, government records, retention schedules, and publications.
 * State Archives and Library: Guide to Using the Research Room when you arrive, using the collections, our catalogs, books and magazines, manuscripts, photos, maps, microfilm, census, Kansas newspapers, open reference, State Archives resources, and staff assistance.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives Central Plains Region (Kansas City), censuses, military, pensions, naturalizations, photos, for IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD; Internet access to Ancestry, Heritage Quest, and Footnote.
 * National Archives, Washington, DC has Kansas homestead applications.
 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, censuses, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, and Mormon records.
 * American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, NE, has geography, church records, civil records, maps, family histories, photos, and surname charts, newspapers, U.S. arrival lists.
 * National Orphan Train Complex (Concordia), history, registry, programs and events.

Similar Collections


 * Kansas Department of Health and Environment
 * Kansas Genealogical Society (Dodge City)

Neighboring Collections


 * Topeka Genealogical Society
 * Shawnee County Historical Society
 * Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library Ancestry.com, America's Obituaries, HeritageQuest Online, and the Topeka Room with local interest materials.
 * Wichita State University Library(Wichita)
 * University of Kansas Library(Lawrence)
 * Iola Public Library
 * Shawnee County Register of Deeds
 * District Court Clerk
 * Shawnee County Probate Court Clerk

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