State Records, 1861-present

Below is a list of the Kansas State Archives major record series. The list is arranged alphabetically by the name of the creating agency. Links to collection guides and finding aids are included where available (What is a finding aid?). Dates are listed only for record series no longer being received by the state archives.

Complete list of On-line Guides to State Records (click Here)

A

Adjutant General

Rosters, descriptive rolls, muster rolls, quartermasters' records, morning reports, records of officers'commissions, and other documents about Kansas Civil War volunteer regiments and militia or national guard units prior to World War I; selective service records; enrollments of veterans living in Kansas in 1883, 1889, and 1930; national guard unit histories; correspondence of the adjutant general; and miscellaneous documents.

Administration. Division of the Budget

Biennial and annual budget requests of all state agencies, and correspondence of the budget director and state accountant.

Administration. Division of Personnel

Personnel transaction cards for state employees (access restricted); records of civil service board hearings; files of position descriptions and classifications questionnaires.

Administration, Board of

Minutes of meetings about mental hospitals, prisons, and other charitable institutions; lists of prisoners eligible for parole hearings.

Agriculture, Board of

Decennial state censuses, 1865-1925; annual statistical rolls and population schedules, including abstracts; biennial reports; state fair judging books and other records; correspondence, reports and financial records; and miscellaneous documents. Statistical rolls and population schedules are listed in the microfilm guide to archives records.

Alcoholism, Commission on, 1953-1957

Correspondence, financial records, meeting minutes, and material regarding the Wichita Recovery Center.

Attorney General

Correspondence; opinions; investigation records; material about the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case and the Kansas v. Colorado water controversy; and miscellaneous documents.

Auditor, 1861-1957

Correspondence; warrant registers; treasurers' receipts; minutes and various tax assessment records of the Board of Equalization and the Board of Railroad Assessors; state accountant and Department of Post-Audit reports; insurance company reports and correspondence; records of financial claims against the state; and material concerning the State Land Office, school lands, and the State Permanent School Fund.

B

Bank Commissioner

Correspondence, examiners' reports, and other documents concerning receiverships of state banks; records of the Bank Depositors' Guaranty Fund; miscellaneous banking records.

C

Centennial Commission, 1957-1962

Correspondence; fiscal records; minutes; pamphlets, posters, certificates, and other items related to the celebration of the centennial of Kansas statehood.

Court of Industrial Relations, 1920-1925

Case files containing complaints, briefs, opinions, reports of investigations, and other documents; appearance dockets; orders; and miscellaneous papers.

Court of Appeals

Case files; appearance, execution, motion, and assignment dockets; bond records; journals; cash and distribution records; general indexes; mandates; and attorney's records.

E

Education Department

Annual reports of county superintendents of public instruction; annual elementary, junior high, high school, and unified school district organization reports; minutes and other records of the State Board of Education; reports of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools; correspondence of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; records of teaching and normal institute certificates issued; records of the School Book Commission and the School Fund Commission; Kansas educational exhibit volumes for the 1893 Columbian Exposition.

G

Governor

Correspondence; reports; proclamations; investigations petitions; appointments and resignations of officeholders; records of pardons, paroles, commutations, requisitions, and extraditions; and miscellaneous records. The papers of all Kansas governors, with the exception of George Docking, Robert Docking and Robert Bennett, are in the state archives.

H

Health, State Board of

Correspondence; reports; records of proceedings; vital statistics compilations; and miscellaneous material.

Historical Society

Correspondence; personnel, membership, and financial records; audit reports; executive committee minutes and recordings; research materials for the Annals of Kansas and other publications; and visitors' registers.

I

Insurance Department

Annual statements and tax statements of insurance companies; appearance dockets; certificates of authority; claim registers; correspondence and records of court cases; correspondence records; fire marshal tax statements; Firemen's Relief Fund annual statements, declarations, cash book, financial statements, records of distributions, and tax returns; requisitions; fee ledgers; pamphlets; lists of insurance company officers; policy cancellations and revivals; policy registers; and miscellaneous material.

K

Kansas Emergency Relief Committee, 1932-1937

Records and reports. (Photos are in the photograph collection and films are in the audiovisual collection.)

Kansas Public Employers Retirement System

Retirement and withdrawal registers; files of deceased members; and other permanent records, including those of the Kansas School Retirement System. Use restricted.

L

Labor Department

Correspondence, cases, and reports; labor statistics; investigations; records concerning apprentice program; material related to Unemployment Compensation Division; and miscellaneous documents.

Legislative Research Department

Correspondence, reports, and miscellaneous research materials; and records of the 1960 comprehensive education survey for Kansas.

Legislature

Bills, resolutions, and petitions; enrolled bills and laws; house and senate dockets and journals; dockets of legislative agents and counsel; dockets and other records of committees; records of investigations and impeachment proceedings; financial records; registration of guests; and other legislative material.

Livestock Sanitary Commission, 1884-1939

Correspondence; minute books; inspection records; cash books; records of cattle shipments; and other papers.

M

Medical Registration and Examination, State Board of

Applications for licenses to practice medicine, from 1901.

P

Penitentiary (state only), 1864-1958

Prisoner files, ledgers, and indexes; parole and pardon records; maximum sentence expiration registers. The indexes to these records are available on microfilm in our reading room. Use of some records is restricted.

R

Railroad Commissioners, Board of

Correspondence; records of cases and decisions; tariff schedules, operating time tables, and annual reports of railroads; records concerning aid to western Kansas counties; and other documents.

Revenue and Taxation, Ad Volrem Division, 1935-1945

Applications for emergency warrants and levies.

Review, Board of, 1917-1965

Correspondence, financial records and a card file listing all motion pictures that came under the agency's purview.

S

Secretary of State

Corporation Filings and Annual Reports; official lists of county officers; commissions and bonds of notaries public; correspondence; abstracts of election returns; miscellaneous commissions; and records of election campaign expenses. Indexes to charters of corporation are available on microfilm through our interlibrary loan program.

Supreme Court

Case files containing briefs, petitions, transcripts of evidence, decisions, bonds, correspondence, and other documents; dockets; journals; mandates; final records; correspondence of justices; and records of the board of law examiners.

T

Tax Commission, 1906-1929

Assessments on the property of public utilities companies; reports of taxes levied by county clerks; correspondence; bank statements; and other records.

Topeka State Hospital Records

The Topeka State Hospital, a publicly funded institution for the care and treatment of the mentally ill, was in operation from 1872 to 1997. For some, the grounds of the hospital became their final resting place.

W

Workmen's Compensation Commissioner

Awards and orders in docket cases.