On-site research
The Kansas Heritage Center is located at 1000 North 2nd Avenue, Dodge CIty, Kansas. Our hours are 8 am–5 pm weekdays, and we are open year-round, but follow school vacation schedules from August–May. Researchers are welcome to make use of the services listed below.
Limited research is available for out-of-town patrons for a fee.
Specialized library
The Kansas Heritage Center features a specialized library of over 6,000 volumes available to
students, teachers, and anyone interested in research. Our collection covers U.S. exploration,
the westward movement, Civil War, Territorial
Kansas and statehood, development of the Old
West, and contemporary themes. The Santa
Fe Trail is one of the many primary topics of
interest. The personal Kansas history collection of
the late Dr. C. Robert Haywood, noted historian
and author, is available to patrons of the Center.
Photographs
The Center’s collection includes over 4,500
photographs of the Old West, early Dodge City,
along with individuals, businesses, organizations,
events, and activities from the community and
some surrounding towns. Photographs date from
1872 to the present.
We will make copies or
digital scans of most images for a fee.
Audio/visual materials
The Center has a video collection of 500 titles on topics covering the history of Kansas, the Great Plains, and the Old West. Acquisitions since 2007 are DVD; earlier programs are VHS. Several hundred LP recordings are available and include frontier ballads and folk songs, Indian dances and chants, old radio shows, and history.
Microfilm
Our extensive microfilm collection features most
of the newspapers published in Dodge City from
1876 to the present. Also available on microfilm
are newspapers from several other Kansas towns,
selected Kansas and U.S. census records, military
records from Fort Dodge, and historic Sanborn
Insurance maps from many Kansas communities.
The Center has two microfilm reader/printers,
one of which can produce copies up to 11 x 17
inches. Researchers and genealogists are welcome
to use the collection during business hours.
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Teaching kits
The Center has developed kits for teachers to use
in making history come alive for their students.
Topics cover cowboys/ranch life, the Dust Bowl
in Kansas, Plains Indians, and life in Kansas
during the ’Teens. New to our collection is a large
“tub” of books, realia, and other items related to
the Santa Fe Trail. It was prepared by the Santa
Fe Trail Association in cooperation with the
National Park Service.
Check-out available to Kansas schools and Institutions only.
Programs
As schedules permit, Kansas Heritage Center
staff present programs to regional school groups and
organizations on historical topics related to
Kansas, Dodge City, and the Santa Fe Trail.
Contact us for more information
by e-mail
library@ksheritage.org
by phone
620-227-1616
by fax
620-227-1701
by mail
Kansas Heritage Center
PO Box 1207
Dodge City KS 67801-1207
in person
1000 North 2nd Avenue
(School administration building, main floor)
Dodge City, Kansas |
