KSHS Historic Sites

Cottonwood Ranch - this relatively unchanged English-style home was once a successful sheep ranch, in Studley.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Hollenberg Pony Express Station - established in 1858 by Gerat H. and Sofia Hollenberg, Pony Express riders and hundreds of pioneers on the Oregon-California Trail stopped here, near Hanover.

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Native American Heritage Museum - Once a Presbyterian Mission built in 1845 to educate Iowa and Sac and Fox children, this museum showcases quillwork, baskets, and other artwork of present day descendants of emigrant tribes, in Highland.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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William Allen White House - Pulitzer-Prize winning author and nationally known newspaperman, William Allen White, built this home often called "Red Rocks," in Emporia.

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Kansas Museum of History our award-winning museum features two galleries. The Main Gallery tells the story of Kansas history from the earliest days, through the times of Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War, to the recent past. Our Special Exhibits Gallery features changing displays.

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State Archives & Library - Whether you're searching for family history or exploring Kansas history and the West you'll find nearly every Kansas newspaper ever published, 5 miles of printed materials, 7 miles of government archives and manuscript materials, 25,000 maps, and 500,000 photographs.

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Kansas State Capitol - this amazing space offers a glimpse of John Steuart Curry's famous murals, the spectacular chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and a trip up to the dramatic Capitol dome.

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Constitution Hall - where proslavery delegates to the Constitutional Convention hotly debated the issue of slavery in Kansas, while the nation watched, in Lecompton.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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