A history of Independence,
since 1869
Postcards, papers and photographs of Independence from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The Osage Indians had settled much of southeast Kansas over the course of the 1830s and 40s and sold land claims over the course of the 1860s to incoming American homesteaders and moved into Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) where they became settled farmers, selling their whole remaining claim to the United States government in 1870 for $1.25 an acre.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Independence’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewIndependence, Kansas, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Independence, decade by decade
1990s
14 historic places in Independence
Independence has 14 listings on the National Register, and they protect 109 historic buildings, because Independence Downtown Historic District alone counts 96.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Independence, Kansas (1880) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (2) and the National Register (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.