history

Crews of volunteers are digging into the ruins of a 168-year-old mansion in Lecompton, Kansas, that belonged to a territorial governor. The work is done through the Kansas Historical Society's annual archaeological field school. Plus: Children’s author Derrick Barnes from Kansas City is known for books that are all about making Black kids feel seen.

"Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder' by Rachel McCarthy James traces the foundational and violent role of the axe from prehistoric times to the present. And — yes — the infamous Lizzie Borden case does get a chapter, as do a pair of relatively recent Kansas City murders.

The Kansas Historical Society’s archaeological field school this year gave volunteers a chance to dig into the state's territorial history at the site of an 1850s-era mansion near Lecompton.

Gay rights activism at the University of Kansas was led in the 1970s by the Lawrence Gay Liberation Front, but it took 10 years and a lawsuit for the student group to gain official recognition. Now, Katherine Rose-Mockry, retired director of KU’s Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity, has pieced that history together.

Museum curators are working to determine compliance with a federal law that requires tribes' consent to house artifacts.

On Wednesday, April 30, the Count Basie Orchestra will celebrate 90 years swinging at the Kansas City Music Hall. "Everybody in the orchestra will be featured. And we'll just be doing what Mr. Basie began in 1935," director Scotty Barnhart told Up To Date.

A new art project commemorating the Conley sisters will be unveiled in Kansas City, Kansas, this summer. The exhibit will help tell how the siblings and Wyandot Nation activists banded together to protect a burial ground in the early 1900s.

The documentary "Sounds of the City," created by Kansas City filmmaker Dustin Phillips, explores the history of Kansas City's jazz, rock, folk and hip-hop scenes. The film will have its world premiere Friday, April 11 at the Uptown Theatre, and will be available to stream the next day.

The Kansas City Fire Department has responded to all kinds of emergencies since 1868, but some firefighters who died doing this dangerous work have been forgotten. Ray Elder is making certain all of them are remembered, and their names added to the Firefighters Fountain and Memorial.

Sometimes the little places you pass every day hold much more significance than you realize. That's the case for a Stafford County, Kansas cemetery that holds the graves of some of Kansas' early Black residents.

Mark Adams is the new director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. After major renovations to the museum in recent years, his primary goal now is to get more visitors to experience their exhibits.

After early success as a stagecoach shop, Olathe is now classic suburbia dotted with shopping plazas and well-kept parks. Dive into the restaurant scene, history and natural splendor of this Johnson County suburb.