KU teams with Kansas historical society to create Territorial Kansas resource online

LAWRENCE -- In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Kansas Territory, the University of Kansas Libraries and the Kansas State Historical Society next week will launch a comprehensive online collection of territorial Kansas resources designed to enhance educational opportunities for students in middle school through college levels.

"Territorial Kansas Online 1854-1861" will be unveiled during a reception in the second-floor rotunda of the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14. At 4 p.m. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will make brief remarks, followed by KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Bill Tsutsui, historical society board president and KU associate professor of history. Mary Allman, executive director of the historical society, will act as host and emcee during the event.

The site was developed through a partnership between the historical society and the Kansas Collection at the KU Libraries. It is a "virtual repository" with more than 2,000 primary source documents that have been drawn from collections at KU and the historical society.

Project co-directors Patricia Michaelis, of the historical society, and Sheryl Williams, curator with KU's Kansas Collection, secured a $250,000 grant for the historical society from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to complete the project.

Other team members include Rebecca Schulte, KU archivist, and Matt Veatch, historical society.

The Web site, which can be previewed at http://www.territorialkansasonline.org, paints a picture of territorial Kansas through topics including politics and government, border warfare, immigration and early settlement, personalities and national debate about the state during that time period.

Additional resources include timelines, annals, lesson plans, a bibliography and related links.

On Kansas Day, Thursday, Jan. 29, the Web site will be celebrated at a reception in Washington, D.C.