Leavenworth County
Historical Society and Museum
Keeping History Alive in Leavenworth County
An Invitation: Connect to Leavenworth History!
Leavenworth County boasts countless historical events, visitors, and residents here since its founding in 1854. Known as the “Pioneer City” of Kansas, it became a launch pad for western expansion in the United States. In this role, Leavenworth welcomed visitors and residents alike, especially in the early days of Bleeding Kansas, the Civil War, and its emergence as a promising manufacturing center. Nationally recognized figures Horace Greeley, Abraham Lincoln, Fred Harvey, Mother Xavier Ross and the Sisters of Charity, Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok, Charles Henry Langston, and Capt. W.D. Mathews were followed by George Custer, Ulysses S. Grant, Carry A. Nation, and Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Tribe. U.S. Presidents, Ulysses S. Grant, and William F. Taft made appearances in Leavenworth and nationally recognized suffrage advocates, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Army Generals were stationed at Fort Leavenworth: (Eisenhower, Marshall, Bradley, Patton, MacArthur,Sherman, Colin Powell) and gangsters, such as “Bugs” Moran, Tom Pendergast, and “Machine Gun” Kelly paid their debts to society within the U.S. Penitentiary walls. Here in Leavenworth, there is considerable history to be preserved in chronicling individuals and events. The rapid growth of the town from the early settlement days in the steamboat era through the building of railroads, bridges, and manufacturing plants compliment fragments of noteworthy events in history.
These and additional themes can be explored throughout the County of Leavenworth and in extensive holdings at the Leavenworth County Historical Society.
Spirit Of The Buffalo
Click Here for more information regarding the Spirit Of The Buffalo outdoor exhibit for Leavenworth County.
First Families of Leavenworth County
Membership Invitation to Descendants of Early Settlers
The Leavenworth County Historical Society, located in the Pioneer City of Kansas, is pleased to announce the First Families of Leavenworth County Kansas program to recognize and honor the residence of early families in Leavenworth County, Kansas.
The program is an ongoing effort to preserve the county’s rich heritage of history surrounding Fort Leavenworth and Leavenworth, the Pioneer City of Kansas, for future generations.
The Leavenworth County Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization,with revenue derived from memberships, donations, research, tour fees of our home, the Carroll Mansion Museum, and numerous fundraising activities.
Types of Certificates
Territorial Certificate Ancestors proven
to have resided in Leavenworth County, Kansas on or
before statehood, 29 January 1861
Pioneer Certificate Ancestor proven to
have resided in Leavenworth County, Kansas between 29
January 1861 and 31 December 1880
Early Settler Certificate Ancestor
proven to have resided in Leavenworth County, Kansas
between 1 January 1881 and 31 December 1900
Application and Fees
• Applicant must be able to prove descent for EACH
GENERATION CONNECTING TO THE NEXT with an official
record of some type or other acceptable source of proof
(i.e.: census records; obituaries; county histories;
birth, death or marriage records; school or church
records; newspaper clippings and any other records
showing proof.)
• Applicant must show a relationship to his or her
pioneer relative and must prove relationship with an
official record of some type (i.e. census records,
obituaries. county histories, birth record, etc).
• Applicant does not have to live in Kansas or ever have
lived in Kansas.
To apply for a certificate, each applicant will need to
complete an application form. This form includes the
certificate application, permission to publish, a line
of descendant chart, and a pedigree chart. In addition,
each application will need to submit documentation to
substantiate the information included in the line of
descent chart, along with the application fee of $40, as
determined by the Historical Society. Once approved by
the LCHS Research Dept, applicant will be issued the
appropriate certificate.
••A brief summary of the family history in Leavenworth
is also recommended to be included with the application.
••
Printable
PDF application form.
Photographic Treasures of Historic Leavenworth, Kansas
Following the premier of our
traveling exhibit in the summer of 2022, at the Box
Gallery in Commerce Bank, Kansas City, Missouri, it went
on display at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at
the University of Kansas, Lawrence in Spring 2023.Here is an on-line version of the exhibit:
Photographic Treasures in cooperation with Spencer Research Library.
and
2023 Exhibit at Kenneth Spencer Research Library
Click Here to read our information about the traveling exhibit, and how to become a hosting venue.
Traveling Art Exhibition
2025 Exhibit Schedule
Established
in 2021, the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation
Commission brings together interested groups and
individuals with a goal to preserve one of the oldest
pioneer cemeteries in Leavenworth. Through the
Society’s efforts, the cemetery was named to the
Kansas and National Registers of Historic Places in
2022. In December 2022, under the direction of the
local Jesse Leavenworth Chapter of the Daughters of
the American Revolution, the first Wreaths Across
America ceremony was held at the cemetery, with the
placement of wreaths on 15 known veteran headstones.
The cemetery is owned by the City of Leavenworth.
https://www.visitleavenworthks.com/visitors