Historical Research & Preservation

Research is available by appointment only. Please complete the Research Request Form below to schedule your visit.

Research Request

The Leavenworth County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of Leavenworth County through careful research, archival preservation, and public access to historical materials. Much of this work takes place at the Lee & Shirley Steiger Research Center, where historians, volunteers, genealogists, and community members study and document the people, places, and events that shaped the region.

Our research collections include historical photographs, documents, newspapers, records, maps, and artifacts that help tell the story of Leavenworth from its earliest days as the First City of Kansas through the growth of the community over

One of the most significant resources housed by the Historical Society is the Everhard Glass Plate Negative Collection, a nationally important archive containing more than 30,000 historic glass plate negatives. These remarkable photographs capture everyday life in Leavenworth during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — from businesses and street scenes to military life, families, and important community events.

Researchers use these collections to explore local genealogy, study the development of neighborhoods and businesses, document military and civic history, and preserve stories that might otherwise be lost. Volunteers and staff also work to identify individuals and locations in historic photographs, digitize fragile materials, and make portions of the collection available to the public through exhibits and educational programs.

Through this ongoing research and preservation work, the Leavenworth County Historical Society helps ensure that the history of our community remains accessible to future generations.

What follows is a sampling of our holdings:

Categories for Leavenworth Research:

Banks & Banking, Barns, Breweries (Kunz, Grund, Kirmeyer), Bleeding Kansas, Bridges (Begley, Centennial, Ft. Leavenworth Bridge, Pontoon, Terminal), Businesses Cemeteries, Churches, Coal Mines (Rocha Research), County and township histories Farms and farming, ferries, floods, Fort Leavenworth, Fort de Cavagnial, Fur trade Genealogies Historic Districts & Properties, Historic Preservation, Hospitals (Cushing & St. John’s), Hotels Industries & manufacturers (Abernathy Furniture, Missouri Valley Shipyard, Ackenhausen Saddlery, Great Western Stove, Union Stove, Fisher Machine Works, Goodjohn Door & Sash, Helmers Furniture, Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, Kelly Broom Co., C. W. Parker), Immigration (African & Native Americans, German, Irish, Polish, Italian, French, Polish, Scandinavians) Jewish Synagogue Leavenworth photographers, mayors, sheriffs, businessmen and women News columns (Evelyn Delaney, Elizabeth Dysinger, George Remsburg, Harry Seckler, Annie & J. H. Johnston, “What’s in a Name” and museum columns) Parks, Railroads, Riverboats School Districts and one-room schools, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Sister cities: Omihachiman, Japan and Wagga Wagga, Australia Underground Railroad, University of St. Mary Vintage Homes World Wars and Leavenworth

Everhard-Phillips Glass Plate Negatives

Everhard-Phillips Collection of 30,000 Glass Plate Negatives taken in the first century of Leavenworth. Discover if your family is represented in this collection. Since most of the photos are identified by name, researchers may discover a portrait not previously known.
Visit the Historic Prints Glass Plate Collection page.

Leavenworth Notables:

Many early settlers came through Leavenworth on their way west and others visited or lived for a time in Leavenworth. Fort Leavenworth produced many of the nation’s generals.
James Abernathy, Susan B. Anthony & her brother Col D.R. Anthony, Sen. Lucien Baker, Gen. George B. Barth, Supreme Court Justice David Brewer, B.K. Bruce, Senator Alexander Caldwell, Gov. Thomas Carney, E.S. Catlin, Buffalo Bill Cody, Hilda Clark, Robert Crozier, Harriet Cushing, Mark Delahay, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Thomas Ewing, Jr. and III, E.E. Henry, Madame Carrie Hall, Fred Harvey Family, Wild Bill Hickok, Percival G. Lowe, Douglas MacArthur, H. Miles Moore, C.W. Parker, Russell, Majors & Waddell to mention only a few.

Other Significant Collections:

•Abraham Lincoln Visit to Kansas 1859
•Isaac Cody Family (Buffalo Bill Cody, Buffalo Bill Days Programs)
•Chambers Collection (LV Terminal Railway & Bridge Co., 1896-97; Home Riverside Coal Mine)
•LCHS Newsletters & Minutes from 1955
•Leavenworth High School June Bug yearbooks (1907-1978)
•Leavenworth County Genealogy Society’s “Rooting Around” publication (1981-2001)
•Scrapbooks (H.H. Seckler, Margaret Taryman, Renensland, J. Baum, Feller, Mitchell & Roach Family of Lowemont and Boling Community –70 volumes) •Burial Index & Permits, Divorce & marriage records
•County Cemeteries to include Greenwood Cemetery 1866 map
•Family Papers (Gov. George Anthony, Mary Everhard, Arthur Stanley, Fred Harvey, Edward Carroll, Chester & Annabelle Morris, Helen Yoakum, Bannon, Edward Chapman, Farrell & Yoakum)
• Feth & Feth Architect Buildings
•Genealogies: (Bromell-Richstatter; Edward Carroll & F.E. Hunt; Considine-Sachse; Gaiser-Brandt; David Brewer; Greenamyre; Ben Holladay; Hollowell-Cronkite; Arthur Jahn; King, Potter, Rosa, Cutler & Hare; Heinrich Klemp; W.M.D. Lee, G.W. Lang; Phillips; Reed; Rohrbach; Lucien Scott; Martin & Elizabeth Smith; Hon. Arthur J. Stanley Jr., David Sloan Stanley; Taylor, Stith, Learned, Wilmer & Rutherford; Tearney; Tullock; Wollman-Bloch)
•Historical Plaques of Leavenworth County
•Historic Preservation (Leavenworth Historic Resources Survey, National Register of Historic Places in Leavenworth County, Leavenworth Historic Districts, Leavenworth Survey & Nomination project, Leavenworth Riverfront Downtown Economic Strategy, Leavenworth Vision Building a Livable Future, Leavenworth Landing Project Area, Kansas Preservation Alliance Most Endangered Historic Places, Kansas Preservation, LV Co. Courthouse Historic Collection)
•Leavenworth Girl Scouts (1933-1940)
•Leavenworth Vintage Homes
•Maps 1903 Leavenworth County Townships, Bain City, Eastern Kansas 1856, Easton, Ks 1856, Fort Leavenworth, 1881, Pony Express, Plan of City of Leavenworth, 1876 by Ado Hunnius, Leavenworth City, K.T. 1858, Leavenworth, KS, 1869, VA Campus
•Selected issues Kansas Magazine
•Sexton Funeral Home Records
•Dwight D. Eisenhower Veteran’s Administration (Photos, Historic Preservation Plan, Proposed Redevelopment & Adaptive Reuse Program)

Helpful Links to Historical Research of Leavenworth: