The Douglas County Historical Society was organized in 1933 by a group headed by Professor F. N. Raymond of the University of Kansas. This collection consists of manuscript and printed materials from a variety of individuals, businesses, and organizations associated with the history of Douglas County, Kansas, from its territorial settlment period of the 1850s through much of the 20th century, deposited by the Douglas County Historical Society with the Spencer Research Library.

Architectural drawings for various buildings that have existed on the Lawrence, Edwards, and other campuses of the University of Kansas.

Sara Robinson's letters to Phebe Stone, her sister-in-law, were written while her husband Charles Robinson was in California. Her letters to Frank Blackmar mention a history written about the University of Kansas, events at the University, books about Kansas, property holdings and taxes, and farm management and expenses.

The collection of correspondence, documents, and addresses of Charles Robinson, housed in the Kansas Collection, is mainly from the period 1854 to 1861. Robinson was a resident agent for the New England Emigrant Aid Company and an advocate for the Free State, anti-slavery cause. There are items on the founding of the University of Kansas. There are also letters from Mrs. Robinson to F. W. Blackmar, the biographer of Governor Robinson.

Margaret Thompson Henderson was born in Parsons, Kansas and graduated from the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1905. Her 91-page scrapbook of news clippings from the early 1900s chronicles notable people, places and events in the history of Kansas, the Lawrence community, and the University of Kansas. Included are published poems, biographies, and obituaries of famous Kansans.