Small historic sites are endeavors by small communities to preserve elements of their past. The sites they choose reveal the cultural values they esteem today. The structures most frequently represented at seven museum-developed sites are schools and churches because they were agents of social order, centers of community life and ritual, and…

Describes the cooperative and egalitarian race relations in Nicodemus, Kansas--a town founded by former slaves in 1877--and the town's "boom" period in the 1880s. The white leaders who found common cause with their black counterparts were not abolitionists or social agitators, but common settlers who demonstrated that different choices…

Thirteen papers on Kansas and Johnson County, Kansas history are presented. The papers were written by students in a course at the Johnson County Center for Local History or for independent study in local history. The papers are: "Conditions and Construction of Gardner Lake"; "The History of St. Joseph's Church, Shawnee,…

As late as 1938 there were 200,000 one-room schools scattered throughout the United States. By 1978 there were little more than 1,000 in operation. Primary-source research on rural education has now been conducted by 23 researchers in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, sponsored by the Mountain…

The nature of music, education, and community, and the interactions among these three factors in nineteenth-century Kansas, were studied to determine the role and function of music education in a sociocultural context. (SR)

The name of the United States School Garden Army was adopted in March, 1918. The work of the organization is an expansion of work undertaken by the Bureau of Education in 1914. The scale upon which it was done was limited by the finances that could be secured for it. The acute demand for food production growing out of the war conditions made…

Oral histories provide background information for five essays which address the development of country schools in Western Kansas during the late 1800's. The first paper provides a historical review of the founding of country schools in Western Kansas, with specific country schools (many are now historical sites) described. The second paper…

A qualitative examination was made of the black newspaper, "The Blade" in Parsons, Kansas, during two six-week periods: September 24-October 29, 1892, the first available issues of the paper, appearing just prior to national elections; and October 23-November 27, 1897, which included two weeks before and four weeks after local elections.…

Written in 1953, this book presents the reminiscences of a renowned scientist about his early education in a one-room school at Prairie View, Kansas, during the 1870s and 1880s. The first chapter records early memories of the road to school, and describes the community of Anglo and German farmers served by Prairie View. Other chapters describe…

Music, education, and community and the interactions among these three factors in Kansas during the 19th century offer an opportunity to study the role and function of music education in a sociocultural context. From 1824-1899, 16 Catholic missions were opened in Kansas for American Indians. These schools used music as an adjunct to academic…

In recent years it has become clear that one of the most valuable and direct services which the Bureau of Education can render to the several States is to respond to invitations to conduct educational surveys. Through the medium of these surveys, the State authorities are able to secure unprejudiced and sympathetic study of educational conditions,…

Country schools in eastern and central Kansas are explored from six different aspects: country schools as historic sites; teachers (their roles, rules, and restrictions); reading, writing, arithmetic, and recitation (a day in a rural school); country schools and the Americanization of ethnic groups; country schools as community centers; and…

Written in 1917, this book relates the author's experience as a beginning teacher in rural Kansas. The purpose of the book was to provide preservice teachers an overview of educational practices in rural schools at that time. In addition, educational policies are proposed that specifically aim to improve rural schools. The author was barely 20…

This book depicts the lives of women who taught school in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on the prairies and plains of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. The book is based on the narratives, letters, and diaries of 96 schoolwomen and on interviews with living pioneers, memoirs, school reports, photographs, and other documents. Part 1 includes…