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.

"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.

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.

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.