The Kansas Editors' and Publishers' Association founded the Kansas Historical Society in 1875 to save present and past records. In 1879, the Kansas Legislature enacted legislation that recognized the Historical Society as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history. Since then, the Historical Society has continued to enjoy the support of the state's newspaper publishers and has built one of the nation's most comprehensive statewide newspaper collections.[3][4]
For nearly 40 years, the Historical Society occupied a succession of quarters in the statehouse as its holdings steadily grew. In 1914, the collections were moved to the grand and newly constructed Memorial Building in downtown Topeka. In 1984, the Kansas Museum of History moved to an 80-acre (320,000 m2) site in west Topeka near the Potawatomi Mission leaving the remaining agencies still housed in the Memorial Building. The historic Stach School later joined the complex. During July and August 1995, the vast collections of library, archival, manuscript, and archeological materials were moved to new facilities in the State Archives and Library on the west Topeka site. In this headquarters, the Historical Society was reunited at one location.[3][4]
The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency. Its sister organization, Kansas State Historical Society, Inc., operates as a non-profit membership organization. More than six million individuals benefit from the Historical Society's programs and services each year. All activities and programs are conducted by the private organization and the Historical Society's six divisions: Administration, Cultural Resources, Education and Outreach, Historic Sites, Museum, and State Archives & Library.[3][4]
The state agency operates with an annual appropriation of approximately six million dollars and approximately 100 employees. The executive director—who is nominated by the governor and approved by the state legislature—is responsible for the Historical Society's overall governance. The corporation offers membership to the public and institutions, manages grants for the state agency, operates the Museum Stores, and provides fiscal support for various programs, including the Historical Society's magazine, Reflections, and its scholarly journal, Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains.[3][4] The journal has won awards from the Western History Association and the American Association for State and Local History. Its editorial offices are now at Kansas State University, which has served as co-publisher since 2013.[5]
During the past century, the Historical Society's role expanded beyond its original emphasis on collecting and publishing research. The Historical Society continues these fundamental activities and has added a broad array of interpretive and educational programs that combine with historic sites, technical assistance, and field service programs. Through collections, exhibits, programs, and services, the Historical Society helps the public in understanding and valuing the heritage of Kansas.[3][4]
The Kansas Historical Society website was launched in 1993, through the efforts of Steven Chinn and Lynn H. Nelson. The site originally was hosted at the University of Kansas. Several websites were built as part of the Kansas Heritage Group and included the Kansas Historical Society, Kansas Pioneers List, One-Room School House project, Johnson County Genealogical Society, Sunflower Journeys, Early Kansas Imprint Scanners, Historical Directory of Kansas Towns, the Kansas Humanities Council, Abilene Community Network, and the Kansas Community Network.[3][4]
In 1998, the Historical Society began hosting its own site and the URL became www.kshs.org. The site has received numerous awards over the years.[3][4]
Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains is a quarterly peer-reviewedacademic journal that is published by the Department of History at Kansas State University with financial support from the society.[6][7] It is included with membership to the Kansas Historical Foundation.
The journal covers research on Kansas and western history. The editor-in-chief is Kristen Epps; former editors are James E. Sherow and Virgil W. Dean. The journal moved its offices to Kansas State University in 2013; prior to this date the editing and production process was headquartered at the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka.
In recent years, the journal has won academic awards. In 2019, an article by Jay Price titled "Assembling a Buckle of The Bible Belt: From Enclave to Powerhouse" won the Arrington-Prucha Prize from the Western History Association for the best article on religion in the American West.[8] In 2021, David Beyreis's article "'Meat as a Matter of Form': Food, Exchange, and Power on the Santa Fe Trail" won the "Coke" Wood Award for best historical monograph or article, given by Westerners International.[9]
Since its founding in 1875 the Kansas Historical Society has issued three major history journals: Kansas Historical Collections (1875–1928), The Kansas Historical Quarterly (1931–1977), and Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains (established in 1978).[10]
This journal continues the academic journal entitled Kansas Historical Quarterly (ISSN0022-8621, OCLC1695105). It was established in 1931 and continued publication until 1977. The Kansas Historical Quarterly in turn continued Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society, and the society's other transactions, published by the Kansas State Historical Society from 1875 to 1928 (ISSN0275-2700, OCLC1755021).[11][12][13]
State Historic Sites
The Historical Society operates 16 state-owned historic sites throughout the state. Those sites are:[14]
The Society also established a state heritage register in 1977 called the Register of Historic Kansas Places. All Kansas listings on the National Register of Historic Places are automatically included but many additional sites are just on the state registry.
Awards
The Kansas Historical Society has received several awards and honors from other organizations and associations related to the history profession:[15]
1998 - American Association for State and Local History
1999 - Santa Fe Trail Association
2001 - American Association for State and Local History
2001 - American Association for State and Local History
2002 - American Association for State and Local History
2002 - American Association for State and Local History
2003 - Travel Industry Association of Kansas
2004 - American Association for State and Local History
2006 - American Association for State and Local History
2006 - American Association for State and Local History
2007 - Family Tree Magazine Award
2008 - American Association for State and Local History
2008 - American Association for State and Local History
^ abcdefgLarry O. Jochims and Virgil W. Dean, "Pillars of Society: A Brief History of the Kansas Historical Society," Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains, 2 (Autumn 1995):142-163. Autumn 1995 Accessed 13 October 2013
