Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections

Overview

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.

Overview

"Who Killed Our Son? An Account of the Circumstances and Subsequent Investigation of the Death of Harry Nicholas Rice" by Esther Christianson Rice is her account of the circumstances and subsequent investigation of the death of her son, University of Kansas student Harry Nicholas Rice, who was a victim of gunfire near the Lawrence campus on July 20, 1970.

Overview

This collection contains drawings and designs done by John Lee during his time as a practicing architect, materials that relate to his time teaching at the University of Kansas, and his involvement in building restoration around downtown Lawrence, Kansas, particularly his involvment in the restoration of the Union Pacific Depot. This collection also includes materials from his bicycling hobby and influence in a cycling club on KU's campus.

Overview John Thomas Johnson worked as a freelance reporter, primarily for the Topeka Capital-Journal, and as a stringer for Time magazine, the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, the Kansas City Star-Times, and United Press International. This collection includes notes compiled while he was reporting in Lawrence, Kansas, 1970, and outlines, notes, etc., for a proposed book to be jointly authored with James P. Girard. A later addition to the collection contains materials related to his work for Time-Life in El...

Overview

This movie, 8 minutes and 20 seconds long, includes shots of Lawrence, Kansas, including Massachusetts street, an elementary school, a church, multiple neighborhoods, and the University of Kansas campus (including dorms and Jayhawk Boulevard, the main thoroughfare through the main campus).

Overview

The Nixon and Williamson families as well as the Chapman and Cooper families had ties to Edwardsville, Wyandotte County, Kansas; to Wamego, Pottawatomie County, Kansas and to the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas. This collection of the families' papers date from 1849-1961 and consists of letters, certificates, journals and photographs.

Overview

This collection includes outgoing letters from Margaret Anderson to Gene and Marjorie Courtney. Topics typically discussed include mututal acquaintances and personal events. Letters addressed to Gene Courtney date from 1963-1970 and are organized chronologically by year. The 1966 folder includes newspaper clippings about Margaret Anderson's retirement from the University of Kansas. The folder with letters addressed to Marjorie S. Courtney contain two letters and one postcard.

Overview The locations and individuals in many of the black and white photographic prints in this collection have not been indentified. The unidentified photographs are grouped under the following headings: buildings and structures, landscapes, portraits, exteriors, and interiors. Most of the landscapes are of a mountainous area. The portraits include pictures of individuals and groups of all ages, taken both indoors and outdoors, in both posed and candid shots. Most of the buildings and structures...

Overview

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.

Scope and Contents

The scrapbooks treat the history of Lawrence and the University of Kansas in general. Some of the clippings are obituaries of local residents, or local current events, e.g, the demonstrations by the Lawrence chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1963.

Overview This collection contains photoprints and slides made to accompany articles published in various University of Kansas campus publications, including the University Daily Kansan, Oread, Jayhawker Yearbook, and the Alumni Magazine. This collection is also comprised of photographs of non-campus activities in the surrounding Douglas County and Lawrence areas, including current events, landscapes, festivals, geographic locations,...

Overview

This collection consists of correspondence between William C. Hoad and others. The first letter, dated 1942, is addressed to Mrs. W. C. Stevens, and explains in detail how Hoad made the "Map of the vicinity of Lawrence" published by the University of Kansas Country Club. The second letter, 1956, addressed to Fred Ellsworth, explains the red pencil markings and presents the item to Ellsworth. The final letter is Ellsworth's letter of acknowledgement, with commentary on KU salaries in 1912.