Topeka - Free-State Capitol - Situated along the Kansas River in northeast Kansas, Topeka is the capitol city of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. The city got its start when several Free-State settlers were searching for new town sites for the fast coming Eastern emigrants.

Pro-Slavery Movement in Kansas - Only days after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in 1854, pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters rushed in to settle the state, both sides hoping to affect the outcome of the first election.

Leavenworth Border Troubles - Like many other Kansas cities, Leavenworth found itself embroiled in numerous conflicts between pro-slavery advocates and Free-State supporters, resulting in a number of killings.

The Issue of Slavery - Human slavery is as old as human history, of which its story forms one of the most somber chapters. The Issue of Slavery was at once a tense battle in Kansas from the moment it was opened for settlement. The fight against abolitionists and pro-slavery factions in the new territory led to the to the Kansas-Missouri Border War and ultimately to the Civil War.

Sterling - Once the largest town in Rice County, Sterling is located in the southern portion of the county on the Arkansas River eight miles south of Lyons, the county seat. The settlement was first established in 1871and called Peace.

Oskaloosa - The county seat of Jefferson County, Oskaloosa is one of the oldest towns in the county, having been settled by Dr. James Noble in February, 1855. Situated on gently sloping hills extending back from the left bank of Big Slough Creek, a more settlers came from Iowa that same year, finding the location ideal for a number of business purposes.

Old Jefferson Town - Old Jefferson Town tells the story of Jefferson County, Kansas in a collection of eight restored and furnished vintage buildings moved from various locations in Jefferson County to Oskaloosa. The historic village includes a blacksmith shop, jail, general store, church, school house, a Victorian home, and the John Steuart Curry boyhood home & museum. The site also includes an art gallery and genealogical research center.

Shawnee Methodist Mission on the Santa Fe Trail - Through a treaty initiated in 1825, the Shawnee Indians were moved from their homes in Ohio and Missouri to a reserve established for them in Kansas. Five years later, the Shawnee Methodist Mission was established for them in 1830.

Atchison County Extinct Towns - One of the oldest counties in Kansas, Atchison County has a long list of extinct towns such as Kennekuk, one of the oldest places in the state,

Mount Pleasant, Mormon Grove, Pardee, Sumner and more than a dozen more.

Grant County, Kansas - Situated on the High Plains in the far southwestern part of Kansas, Grant County was created in 1887 and named in honor of General Ulysses S. Grant. Situated near the Cimarron Branch of the old Santa Fe Trail, the county had a vicious county seat war between Ulysses and and Tilden (later called Appomattox.)

Atchison County Towns & Places - Although mostly rural today, Atchison County still has a number of old towns including Arrington, Atchison, Cummings, Effingham, Huron, Lancaster, Muscotah, and Potter.

Atchison County, Kansas - Situated on the Missouri River in northeastern Kansas, Atchison County was created by the first territorial legislature in 1855 and named in honor of David R. Atchison, a United States Senator from Missouri.

Towns & Places of Grant County, Kansas - Visit the county seat of Ulysses, the tiny burgs of Hickok and Ryus, learn about the Extinct Towns of Grant County, the Santa Fe Trail Thru Kansas, and take a tour of the National Historic Landmark -- Wagon Bed Springs.

Extinct Towns of Grant County, Kansas - In Grant County's early years, the county sported more than a dozen towns, with names such as Appomattox, Golden, and Lawson. Today, there are but three towns left in the county -- Ulysses, Hickok and Ryus, though the latter two are incorporated and very small.

Wagon Bed Spring on the Santa Fe Trail - Wagon Bed Spring, also called Lower Spring or Lower Cimarron Spring, is located in Grant County, Kansas. Situated on the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail, the spring was well known to travelers because it was the first reliable water supply they encountered after leaving the Arkansas River in present-day Gray County.

Neosho Falls - Falling on Hard Times - Situated along the Neosho River in northeast Woodson County, Neosho Falls is the oldest town in the county. A semi-ghost town today, this small town of less than 200 people, was once the county seat of Woodson County and described as the most important city in the area.

Cannonball Stage Route - Operated by a flamboyant and colorful man named Donald R. "Cannonball" Green, the Cannonball Stage Line connected the railroad to towns across southwestern Kansas and into the untamed red lands of Oklahoma.

Osawatomie - John Brown Country - Osawatomie was established by agents of the Emigrant Aid Society in February, 1855, when Kansas was trying to become a state.

Kansas Ghost Towns - While Kansas is not the first place that most visitors think about ghost towns, the changing economy and declining dependence upon agriculture has created numerous ghost towns across the state.

Cherokee Neutral Land - This land -- originally the Osage Neutral Land-- was situated in the southeast corner of Kansas, some 50 miles long and 25 miles wide, formed the eastern boundary line separating Kansas from Missouri. It was first described in the treaty with the Osage Indians in 1825, when it was intended to serve as a barrier between the Osage tribe and the white settlers, neither of which were to settle thereon, from which fact it took the name of neutral land.

Brookville, Kansas - Another Crazy Cowtown - For a time, Brookville was the last station west of Salina on the Kansas Pacific Railway, making it an important cattle shipping point as cattle were driven northward from Indian Territory and Texas along the Chisholm Trail to be loaded on freight cars headed east.

Coffeyville - Where the Daltons Rode - The first town site of Coffeyville was established just about one and half miles from the north line of the Indian Territory. Situated so close to the border of Indian Territory and on the cattle trail, much disorder prevailed in the small settlement, so much so that the main thoroughfare took the name "Red Hot Street," and crime and murder were a common occurrence.

Extinct Towns of Ellis County, Kansas - Includes Chetolah, Rome, Smoky Hill City, Vincent, Yocemento, and more.

More Ellis County Towns - Includes more Volga German communities of Antonino, Munjor, and Schoenchen

Walker - Immigrants to Airbase - Getting its start like many other Ellis County villages, Walker was settled primarily by Volga German immigrants. It life changed; however, when an airbase was built during World War II.

Ellis County - Located in north central Kansas, Ellis County was created by a Kansas legislative act on February 26, 1867. Like much of western Kansas,  the area is a broad stretch of prairie with little natural timber growth. Across the northern portion of the county the Saline River flows, and the southern part of the county is watered by the Smoky Hill River and its tributaries, the largest of which is Big Creek.

Hays - Lawless in the Old Days - Hays, like Junction City and Great Bend, was never a major cattle market, but during the time it was the western terminus of the railroad, it had its days of notoriety.

Fort Hays State University - Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is the  fourth largest of the six state universities located in Hays, Kansas. After Fort Hays closed in 1889, the Kansas legislature asked that the the Fort Hays reservation be donated to the state as a location for a branch of the state agricultural college.

Catharine, Kansas - Located nine miles northeast of Hays on the banks of Victoria Creek, the settlement was named in honor of the Great Empress of Russia, Catherine the Second. It was founded by German-Russians in April, 1876.

Great Bend, Kansas - Situated in central Kansas, Great Bend is the county seat of Barton County. The area had long been called home to the plains Indians before explorers began to come to the region, beginning with Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1541.

River Commerce in Kansas - When the first actual white settlers came to Kansas, there were no railroads west of the Mississippi River, and the various water courses were depended upon to furnish the means of transportation.