Abbie Bright
Date: 1870
Abbie Bright at age 22 photographed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Ada and Burt McColl gathering buffalo chips
Creator: McColl, Ada
Date: 1893
Ada and her brother Burt McColl (in a dress) are gathering buffalo chips to use for heating and cooking fuel. An abridged version of this photograph without Burt is very common. For more information on this photograph, see the link to Reflections (Summer 2008) below. A family member confirmed that Burt (or Bert) was a boy.

Adobe house on the Barkman farm, Marion County, Kansas
Date: 1899
Mary Barkman, Agnes Barkman, Edward Dewald, Mrs. Peter Barkman, William Dewald, Peter M. Barkman, and Dietrich Barkman are standing in front of their adobe house, Marion County, Kansas.

Benjamin "Pap" Singleton
Date: 1880
Benjamin "Pap" Singleton was born a slave in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1809. Singleton escaped to Canada to gain his freedom, returning to Tennessee after the end of the Civil War. Seeking a better life for himself and for his fellow emancipated African Americans, he began his efforts to buy land in Tennessee for blacks to farm. His plan failed due to unfair prices set by white landowners. Singleton then looked to Kansas as a potential site for black emigration, organizing the Tennessee Real Estate and Homestead Association with his business partner, Columbus Johnson. This company founded the Dunlap Colony in Morris County and a short-lived settlement in Cherokee County. Although his company did not create many successful colonies, through his advertisements he did help thousands of Exodusters relocate to Kansas, leading to his name as "Father of the Exodus." Singleton also organized a political group called the United Colored Links and later in life he promoted black colonization.

Christmas in Silkville
Date: 1889
This photograph was taken of Silkville, Kansas residents at Christmastime. From left to right are Mrs. Lockhart, Mrs. Bitts, and son, Frank Bitts, Mr. Ernest V. de Boissiere, C. Sears, Mrs. A.V. Cobb, Laura Bitts, and Mary Cobb.

Clark County map
Date: 1886
Clark County section township map from L.H. Everts "Official Topographical Map of Kansas."

Free sleeping cars for emigrants carried on express trains, and leaving Kansas City both morning and evening on the Santa Fe route
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company
Date: 1884
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company printed this promotional advertisement to encourage emigrant settlers to travel by their trains on the way to new land holdings.

George Grant
Date: 1871
This is a photograph of George Grant, founder of the Victoria Colony located in Ellis County, Kansas.

Group with tame elk at ranch on Clear Creek Kansas.
Creator: Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882
Date: 1867
This stereograph shows unidentified adults and children with a tame elk posed in front of a log building at Clear Creek, Kansas. It is from Alexander Gardner's series, Across the Continent on the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division.

Ho for Kansas!
Creator: Singleton, Benjamin, 1809-1900
Date: March 18, 1878
Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, a leader of the Exodus movement and president of the Tennessee Real Estate and Homestead Association, distributed this pamphlet in Nashville, Tennessee, to encourage emigration to Kansas. Singleton would organize transportation for any African Americans eager to escape the discriminatory black codes being instituted in various parts of the South. Singleton and other emigrants believed that former slaves would be able to lead happier lives in a northern state such as Kansas.

John Summer residence northeast of Dunlap, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1885
This black and white photograph shows John Summer and his family standing in front of their home located two miles northeast of Dunlap, Morris County, Kansas. The home was built in the 1880s.

Mead family dugout in Ford County, Kansas
Date: 1906
In this photograph, the L.A. Mead family stands outside their dugout located one mile north of Bloom, Kansas. In the photograph is Esther, the mother of L. A. Mead, Carl Mead, Mina Mead, Elsie Mead, Mrs. L. A. Mead, and L. A. Mead. Kneeling in front is Mrs. S. R. Mead, Sister-in-Law to L. A. Mead and Edna Mead. Dugouts such as this, as well as sod houses, were common dwelling places on the high plains of Kansas due to the lack of wood and other natural resources. This family was fortunate enough to have glass windows, wood siding, and a stovepipe; these amenities would have been considered luxuries by many pioneers out west. A photograph of the interior of this dwelling can be found at unit ID 205534.

Mead family dugout near Bloom in Ford County, Kansas
Date: 1906
This photograph shows the interior of the L. A. Mead family dugout near Bloom, Ford County Kansas, clearly illustrating the cramped living conditions that the family endured during their stay in this residence. An exterior view of the dwelling showing the Mead family can be found at unit ID 205533.

Milking cows on a farm in Riley County, Kansas
Date: 1903
A photograph showing Nellie Zimmerman White milking a cow while her daughter, Flora White, watches. The dairy farm was located east of the Kaw River bridge across from Manhattan.

Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: 1885
This photograph captures the bustling main street in Nicodemus, Graham County, a settlement founded by African Americans in 1877. It includes a number of townspeople and the Williams Mercantile store. The building on the far left is believed to be the First Baptist Church. The new First Baptist Church was built in 1907 around this church; once the new building was completed, Nicodemus residents demolished the original church. The new building is now part of the National Parks Service historic site.

Sod house
Date: 1879
This is a sod house built by William A. Watson in Dighton, Kansas, 1879. There are four men in front of the house.

Susan B. Anthony to Governor John P. St. John
Date: April 21, 1879
Susan B. Anthony has enclosed a $10.00 subscription for the Kansas Freedman's Relief Association in this letter to Governor John P. St. John. She also wrote that she wanted to meet with St. John to discuss the "speediest method" to bring about United States citizenship and equal rights for women.

Turner Society, Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Strawn Photographic Company
Date: 1908
View of the members of the Turner Society in Topeka, Kansas. Largely composed of German-Americans, the society practiced gymnastics and promoted physical education in the public schools. The Topeka chapter was part of a larger organization with national and international members.

West side of Kansas Avenue
Date: 1879
West side of Kansas Avenue looking south from 5th Street in Topeka, Kansas, 1879. Business buildings include Turn Halle, Jones Brothers Drug Store and a dry goods store. Leonard and Martin photographers.