Wabaunsee County enjoys a rich ranching heritage which is reflected in the many expansive barns which adorned the landscape. All of late 19th century and early 20th century barns had large hay […]
The Barns of Wabaunsee County
Under Construction
Few things have changed more in our lives than construction techniques for buildings and bridges. These photographs capture the construction of Wabaunsee County’s infrastructure, including the building of commercial buildings, churches, schools […]
Construction of the Wabaunsee County Courthouse, 1931
In 1931 Wabaunsee County constructed a new courthouse on the block bordered by 2nd Street, and 3rd Street, Iowa Street to Kansas Avenue in Alma, Kansas. The county had levied a one-mill […]
Volland, Then and Now
Photographer and graphic artist, Tom Parish has created a collection of Volland, Kansas “re-photographs” which merge the images from historic photos with those taken today. Parish uses early Otto Kratzer photos from […]
Freedom’s Frontier: Stories from the Western Border
Freedom’s Frontier: Stories from the Western Border is a new exhibition of photographs, maps and images introducing the public to the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area and how the Wabaunsee County region’s […]
Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park
– by Michael Stubbs – The Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Preserve is a 50-acre hilltop prairie dedicated to Captain William Mitchell and the Connecticut Kansas Colony. Located three miles south of Wamego […]
Alma’s Oldest Building, Palenske Hall
The oldest surviving building in Alma, Kansas is today known as Palenske Hall, named after Fred Palenske, the benefactor of the Wabaunsee County Historical Society. The building was built in 1873 for […]
Delivering Ice, Alma, Kansas
Herman Tenbrink, right, unloads blocks of ice for Alice Johnson’s drug store located at 227 Missouri Street in Alma, Kansas. Charles Johnson, center, is standing on the back of his horse, circa […]
WCHS Completes Kansas State Historical Records Advisory Board Grant
Greg Hoots, of the Wabaunsee County Historical Society has completed work on his grant project, Preserving Memories: Digitizing History, which digitizes over 400 photographs and manuscripts belonging to Alma photographer and businessman, […]
The Cold War in the Flint Hills
– By Greg Hoots – For four years in the early 1960s the Flint Hills of Wabaunsee County was home to one of America’s weapons of global destruction, an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile […]
