About the Kansas Historical Society
The Kansas Historical Society was founded in 1875 by the Kansas Editors' and Publishers' Association, which explains one of its defining strengths: newspapers. Publishers deposited their papers from the start, and the Society now holds the largest newspaper collection in Kansas. In 1879 the legislature named it "the trustee of the state" for Kansas history, and today it is a state agency with roughly 100 employees that runs the Kansas Museum of History, the State Archives, the Kansas State Capitol Visitor Center, and a system of 16 State Historic Sites. It also serves as the State Historic Preservation Office and the state's archeology program. A sister nonprofit, the Kansas Historical Foundation, handles membership, the museum stores, and private fundraising.
For its first four decades the Society worked out of the Statehouse, then moved in 1914 to the Memorial Building in downtown Topeka. In 1984 the Kansas Museum of History opened on an 80-acre campus in west Topeka near the site of the Potawatomi Mission, and in 1995 the library and archival collections followed into a new State Archives building there, reuniting the agency on one site. The museum has recently reopened after a renovation of its galleries with the exhibition "Celebrating Kansas!"
The historic sites stretch across the state and cover its most-studied episodes: Constitution Hall and the First Territorial Capitol from the Bleeding Kansas years, the John Brown Museum at Osawatomie, Mine Creek Civil War Battlefield, Fort Hays, Hollenberg Pony Express Station, the Shawnee Indian Mission, Kaw Mission, Pawnee Indian Museum, the Marais des Cygnes Massacre site, Cottonwood Ranch, Grinter Place, Goodnow House, Red Rocks, Pawnee Rock, and the Last Chance Store. The Society publishes the scholarly journal Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains, the bimonthly Zephyr, and the online encyclopedia Kansapedia.
Collections and Research Services
The State Archives research room in Topeka is where Kansas genealogists end up. On site are the statewide newspaper collection, state government records, manuscripts, county records on microfilm, vital-records resources, land records, military records, aerial photographs, and building-survey files, with free access to Ancestry.com at the research-room terminals. Much of the finding work can be done from home: Kansas Memory serves digitized photographs and documents, digital newspapers are online, and the genealogy indexes cover names, places, newspapers, county records, and the Kansas military index. Unpublished records are listed in the Archives Catalog and library holdings in the ATLAS catalog. Reference staff answer questions by email at kshs.reference@ks.gov or at (785) 272-8681, ext. 284, and the Society offers interlibrary loan of microfilm and an online form for ordering copies and photographs; the fee schedule is posted under "Copies and Photo Orders." First-time visitors read the researcher policy and show photo ID to register, research cards expire each June 30, and cameras and laptops are welcome in the room. The museum and archeology collections are not on open display but can be studied by prior appointment. Our guide to free family-history research covers what to gather before you arrive.
Planning Your Visit
The campus is at 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615. The State Archives research room is open Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon. The Kansas Museum of History is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m., closed Mondays; admission prices are posted on the museum's plan-your-visit page. Business offices run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and everything closes on state holidays and when Shawnee County declares inclement weather. The Capitol Visitor Center downtown is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with historic and dome tours. Each historic site keeps its own schedule; see kansashistory.gov. Across town, the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is a natural companion visit, and Fort Larned National Historic Site lies along the Santa Fe Trail to the west.
Explore Kansas's Historical Landscape
Use the When It Was app to discover historical businesses, landmarks, and buildings throughout Kansas. See how your community has transformed over the decades.
Explore When It Was →