The Greenwood County Historical Society

120 West 4th Street
Eureka, KS 67045-1445
(620) 583-6682
Museum Hours
9am - 4pm, Mon-Fri
gwhistory@sbcglobal.net

About The Society

What started as a friendly effort to help people find their Greenwood County family origins, has developed into an impressive service to Historical Society members and friends and to correspondents living half a continent away. The museum has gradually acquired a number of research tools -- census records, an obituary file, cemetery records and family information files. Some records have been furnished by the Genealogical Society, old newspapers have been donated by the Herald office and by individuals. Much family information has been contributed by correspondents seeking family records. Collections of this correspondence have been added to by still other members of the same families. Until now several cabinets were needed to store this information about many Greenwood County families.

Hardly a day goes by without at least one guest in our research department and at least one letter of genealogical inquiry arriving by mail. There is no set fee for the research the museum workers do, but donations from satisfied patrons benefit both the museum and the donors. All gifts are tax deductible. Names of the correspondents have been added to our list of newsletter recipients and as a result the museum has sold many memberships and copies of Greenwood County histories to purchasers throughout the nation.

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Files, Records and More Files!

  1. Family Files
    Information on over 1,000 Greenwood County families. The number continues to grow.
  2. Obituary Files
    Over 10,000 obituaries, taken from Greenwood County newspapers.
  3. Cemetery Files
    38 of 45 known cemeteries have been researched and filed. Others will be added as the work is completed.
  4. Marriage Records
    All Greenwood County marriages between 1856 and mid 1980's have been researched and compiled in one volume by members of the Historical Society.
  5. School Files
    Includes hundreds of pictures and assorted materials. (The courthouse retains most official records.)
  6. Mixed Files
    Includes county towns, churches, historic buildings and many other topics of note.
  7. Newspaper Files
    In addition to our microfilmed files, we have a complete set of the Herald, incomplete set of the Democratic Messenger, the Severyite, and an assortment of other short-lived county papers.
  8. Family Histories
    Over 100 families have donated histories written by members of the family.
  9. Newspaper Indexes
    Compiled by Historical Society member Bob Hodge, these indexes currently cover the following Greenwood County newspapers.

    The Eureka Herald
    		1868-1908
    The Madison News
    		1879-1892
    The Gould Pioneer (Severy),
    The Southern Kansas Journal
    The Severy Record
    		1883-1887
    The Severyite
    		1889-1903
    Fall River Echo
    		1884-1886
    Kansas Advocate
    		1894-1895
    Kansas Advocate
    Fall River Advocate
    Greenwood County Sunflower
    Fall River Citizen
    Fall River News
    		1895-1900
    Virgil Leader
    		1894-1897

  10. Map Files
    Aerial Photos, early county maps, plat books from 1903-1922 and 1887 maps of Kansas are available for use.
  11. Birth Records
    Some county births have been researched and compiled for years 1885-1889 by members of the Genealogical Society; also many births taken from Greenwood County newspapers are on file.
  12. Phone and City Directories
    Dating from 1905, these directories are an excellent research source.

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Cemetery Records

An effort has been made to compile records on all known cemeteries and single graves which are known to exist in Greenwood County. At this time the records are compiled on over 80% of the known burial sites. (We also have records on Line in Lyon County, Carlisle, Bluff (Toronto Lake) and Toronto in Woodson County and Cresco in Elk County.

Revised list of cemeteries.

Andrew-Madison #3
Apostolic Christian--German
Blakely--Madison #1
Brown Chapel
Charleston
Greenwood--Eureka
Flint Ridge--Grasselli
Janesville--Hamilton #1
Highland--Nixon--South Salem
Kelly
Ladd--Barrier
Lamont--Koenig--Pioneer
Lena Valley
Lowery
Neal
Norwegian--Upper Fall River
Number 8--Park
Ott--Hamilton #2
Piedmont
Pleasant Valley
Pleasant View--Ludvickson
Quincy
Ravenscroft
Reece
Rocky Ford--Means--Fame--Sears
Star
South Lawn--Severy #1
Twin Groves--Severy #2
Worley--Homer Creek--Utopia
Woods--Madison #2
*Whitehall--The following cemeteries have been relocated in Whitehall Cemetery

Note: We also have records on very small burial sites.

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Microfilm Library

Census Records
Federal Census of Greenwood Co.
1860, 1870, 1880, 1900- 20
Kansas Census of Greenwood Co.
1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925
Federal Census of Madison Co.
1860

Newspapers of Greenwood County
Eureka Herald
1868-1981
Eureka Censorial
1875-1879
Eureka Graphic
1879-1882
Madison News (1st and 2nd)
1879-1892, 1900-1901
Madison News/ Star
1900-1901
Madisonian Index / News
1901-1906
Severy Leader
1880
Gould City News (Severy)
1880
Pioneer
1881-1882
Severy Pioneer (Gould)
1882-1883
Southern Kansas Journal
1883-1887
Severy Liberal
1884-1886
Severy Record
1887-1891
Severyite
1889-1910
Severy Telegram
1891-1892
Greenwood County Sunflower (Severy)
1896-1897
Fall River Echo
1884-1886
Home Seeker's Guide
1894-1895
Kansas Advocate
1895
Fall River Advocate
1895-1896
Fall River Citizen
1897
Fall River News
1898-1902
Fall River Times
1912-1913
Hamilton Broadax
1889-1890
Hamilton Enterprise
1897-1898
Hamilton Grit
1913-1919
Hamilton Herald
1920-1923
Climax Chronicle
1918-1920
Quincy Gazette
1904
Quincy Enterprise
1905
Reece Gazette
1883
Reece Sunflower
1885-1886
Neal News
1920-1921
Piedmont World
1902-1903
Virgil Visitor
1920
Virgil Leader
1894-1897

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Publications Available for Purchase at the Greenwood County Historical Museum

Please write for prices   gwhistory@correct-connect.com

Featuring
The History of Greenwood County Kansas Vol I
The History of Greenwood County Kansas Vol II

Historical Society Publications
The History of Climax 1858-1880 by Helen Bradford
The History of Climax 1881-1900 by Helen Bradford
The History of Climax 1901-1920 by Helen Bradford
The History of Climax 1921-1945 by Helen Bradford
Entire Set - History of Climax by Helen Bradford
Greenwood County's Earliest Years by Helen Bradford
Tonovay School....Memorabilia by Tonovay School Alumni
Souvenir Cookbook
    compiled by the Women of the Eureka Methodist Episcopal Church in 1896
The Fastest Runner in the World: The Legend of Bud Gillette by Zenith Lindamood
My Life as a Soldier by Eddie Bobbitt

Of Particular Interest to Genealogists
Index to the 1870 Federal Census--Greenwood County by Gary Burris
Index to the Eureka Herald by Bob Hodge
Orphan Train Riders by Bob Hodge

Souvenirs
Project 125 Commemorative Books
Project 125 Cookbooks
Project 125 Souvenir Pewter Plates
"Kansas" Noisemakers
Covered Wagons
Historical Museum Mugs
Historical Society Ashtrays

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The information on this page is available by the generous cooperation of the Greenwood County Historical Society

Copyright ©1996, 1997, 1998, 1999  Debbie Wafford  drwaff@aros.net

The KSGenWeb logo is copyrighted for the exclusive use of the KSGenWeb Project for display on official KSGenWeb Pages only. Unauthorized use of the contents of this page for profit/commercial ventures is expressly prohibited.

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