Historic Preservation Resources - Conservation Resources
Click on the links below for information on natural and cultural resources relating to Douglas County, Kansas.
Grant Opportunities
National Trust For Historic Preservation - Grant Programs: https://forum.savingplaces.org/build/funding
Kansas Barn Alliance: http://www.kansasbarnalliance.org/
Kansas Historical Society: http://www.kshs.org
Heritage Trust Fund: http://www.kshs.org/14617
Sacred Spaces Program for Churches: https://fundforsacredplaces.org/
Information on the National Register of Historic Places and Benefits of Listing
For information on listing a property on the National Register of Historic Places: http://www.kshs.org/14635
Federal and Kansas Register Tax Credit Programs: http://www.kshs.org/14673
Historic Building Database - Kansas Historic Resources Inventory: http://www.kshs.org/khri
Over 7,000 buildings in Douglas County, Kansas, are listed in this database.
State Preservation Law: http://www.kshs.org/14648
Section 106: http://www.kshs.org/15543
Secretary of the Interior National Park Service - Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservation/standards.htm
Preservation Briefs: Preservation Briefs - Technical Preservation Services, National Park Service (nps.gov)
Cemetery Resources
Douglas County Interactive Cemetery Map: https://gis.douglascountyks.org/cemeteries/
Tombstones on the Kansas Prairie: A Cemetery Conservation Workshop - Video Series: HCC Cemetery Preservation Workshop Videos
Friends of Oak Hill Cemetery: https://www.friendsofoakhillcemetery.org/resources
Conservation Resources for Natural Resources
Grasslands Heritage Foundation: http://www.grasslandheritage.org/
The Nature Conservancy Kansas: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/kansas/
Kansas University - Kansas Biological Survey: https://biosurvey.ku.edu/field-station
Friends of the Kaw: http://kansasriver.org/
Kansas Main Street Program
Visit Website
Scott Sewell, Director
785-296-7280
Douglas County's Historic Sites & Local History Museums
Baldwin City Area
Santa Fe Trail Association - Douglas County Chapter: https://www.santafetrail.org/chapters/douglasco/index.html
Black Jack Battlefield & Nature Park: https://www.visitbaldwincity.com/listings/blackjack-battlefield/
Black Jack Ruts (Santa Fe Trail): https://www.nps.gov/places/black-jack-ruts.htm
Black Jack Highway Park: https://www.travelks.com/listing/black-jack-cabin-%26-park/12115/
Eudora
Eudora Community Museum: https://www.cityofeudoraks.gov/100/Eudora-Community-Museum
Lecompton
Territorial Capital Museum and Lane University: https://www.lecomptonkansas.com/learn/lane-university-territorial-capital-museum/
Clinton Lake Area
Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum: https://www.wakarusamuseum.org/
Lawrence
Watkins Museum of History: https://www.watkinsmuseum.org/
St. Luke A.M.E. Church: Region's oldest AME Church Restoration Project 2020-2021
Preservation Related Videos
In the spring of 2020 members of the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council visited six barns.
The following is a video that has been funded by the Heritage Conservation Council and developed by Jancita Harrington at the Haskell Cultural Center. The film is entitled, "Keeping Legends Alive," tells the story of the legendary football team at Haskell Indian Nations University and the tribes that built Haskell Stadium and the WWI Memorial Arch, which serves as the entrance to the stadium and has become a local icon.
Region's oldest AME Church Undergoes a Restoration Project in 2020-2021. Pastor Verdell Taylor and Stan Hernly discuss the rehabilitation project which received funding from the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council in 2020 & 2021.
SEE ALL HERITAGE CONSERVATION COUNCIL VIDEOS
HISTORIC BUILDING SURVEY PROGRAM IN DOUGLAS COUNTY, KANSAS
Natural, Cultural and Historic Surveys – An overview
An important initiative of the Heritage Conservation Council is to facilitate a comprehensive county-wide historic survey. Survey is the process of identifying and evaluating a community's historic architectural resources and survey information is necessary to plan for preservation. The survey and inventory will aid the Lawrence/Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Department in the identification of natural, cultural, and historic resources as outlined in the Preservation Plan element of Horizon 2020. The council is implementing a systematic multi-year survey plan. Historic preservation is essentially a local activity. Because of the number of properties aimed to be surveyed, the involvement of area residents is crucial. The project team leaders work actively to involve residents and property owners in determining which properties and natural resources should be surveyed and to solicit information from local historians and property owners.
Completed Surveys
Report of reconnaissance survey for Marion Township Phase II (South Portion of Township)
Marion Springs Elementary School Building 316 E 900 Rd. Baldwin City vicinity (Douglas County, Kansas)
Listed in National Register 2018-09-14.
Report 2011 Historic Resources Survey of Eudora and Kanwaka Townships
For the first phase, the Council identified Eudora and Kanwaka Townships to be surveyed. The survey of Eudora and Kanwaka Townships is an opportunity to document the resources of two rural townships in Douglas County that are undergoing rapid development and change. The survey fieldwork was conducted during the spring and summer of 2012 by preservation historians, Dale Nimz and Susan Ford. Overall, the consultants surveyed approximately 168 properties in Eudora and Kanwaka Townships and inventoried more than 400 buildings, structures, and landscape features.
Report 2012 Historic Resources Survey of Kanwaka and Wakarusa Townships
For the second phase, the Council hired consultant Dale Nimz to complete the historic resources survey of Kanwaka Township and begin the survey of Wakarusa Township focusing on the eastern portion.Overall, approximately 118 properties in Kanwaka and Wakarusa Townships were surveyed and more than 389 buildings, structures, and landscape features were inventoried.