Our historic sites
The Kansas Historical Society administers 16 state-owned historic sites, in addition to the sites in Topeka.
Discover more about each of these sites and the stories they tell, when the Kansas Legislature brought them into the state, and their location and visiting information using the maps and sites links below, or visit our travel pages.
Online brochure (PDF)
Constitution Hall - where proslavery delegates to the Constitutional Convention hotly debated the issue of slavery in Kansas, while the nation watched, in Lecompton.
Cottonwood Ranch - this relatively unchanged English-style home was once a successful sheep ranch, in Studley.
First Territorial Capitol - proslavery forces tried to guide the fate of Kansas Territory when the first territorial legislature convened in July 1855, in Fort Riley.
Fort Hays - General George A. Custer, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody and James B. "Wild Bill" Hickok are just a few of the well-known people who made history at this frontier fort, in Hays.
Goodnow House - Isaac Goodnow was a leader in the free-state movement and founder of the college which became Kansas State University. Isaac and Ellen Goodnow's interest in education and nature is reflected in the collections, in Manhattan.
Grinter Place - Moses Grinter traded with the Delaware before building this brick farmhouse in 1862. Moses and Annie Grinter, a Delaware, farmed, raised poultry and livestock, in Kansas City.
Hollenberg Pony Express Station - established in 1858 by Gerat H. and Sophia Hollenberg, Pony Express riders and hundreds of pioneers on the Oregon-California Trail stopped here, near Hanover.
Iowa and Sac & Fox - Once a Presbyterian Mission built in 1845 to educate Iowa and Sac and Fox children, this drive-through site will be opening in summer 2009, in Highland.
John Brown Museum - Reverend Samuel and Florella Adair struggled to survive on the Kansas frontier while sharing Abolitionist principles with Florella's legendary half brother, John Brown, in Osawatomie.
Kaw Mission - this historic stone mission on the Santa Fe Trail was once home to 50 Kaw (or Kansa) boys from 1851 - 1854, in Council Grove.
Marais des Cygnes Massacre - The nation was shocked when proslavery men gunned down 11 free-state men in May 1858 at this now National Historic Landmark, near Pleasanton.
Mine Creek Battlefield - One of the largest cavalry engagements of the Civil War was fought on this battlefield, the only major Civil War battle fought in Kansas, near Pleasanton.
Pawnee Indian Museum - As many as two thousand Pawnee lived in this village of more than 40 lodges. The museum encloses the excavated floor of one of the largest lodges, near Republic.
Pawnee Rock - Stand atop this sandstone citadel and contemplate the rich history of the Santa Fe Trail and take in the commanding view of the Arkansas River Valley, in Pawnee Rock.
Shawnee Indian Mission - This 12-acre National Historic Landmark features three historic buildings, period rooms and exhibits. Shawnee, Delaware and other Indian nations attended this manual training school from 1839 - 1862, in Fairway, part of Kansas City Metro.
William Allen White House - Pulitzer-Prize winning author and nationally known newspaperman, William Allen White, built this home often called "Red Rocks," in Emporia.
