Local and Regional History Research Guide - Longview

Our Mission is to enhance awareness of Clay County's past through preservation and presentation of our community's history.

The Truman Library Institute is the not-for-profit partner of the Truman Library. For more than forty years, the Truman Library and the Truman Library Institute have worked together to fulfill the Truman Library's commitment to research and education.

The Historical Society of Lee's Summit (HSLS) maintains a museum in the 1939 Post Office in downtown Lee's Summit at 220 Southwest Main Street. The museum houses a number of historic artifacts, maps, and photos of early Lee's Summit.

The Jackson County Historical Society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the written, oral, and physical legacy of this county. We do this by maintaining physical collections and promoting the study, appreciation, and interpretation of local and regional history.

Explore historical photographs and documents about the people, places and organizations of Johnson County, Kansas, from the 19th century to the present.

A department of Johnson County government, the Johnson County Museum began as an all-volunteer organization in 1967. The original museum was housed in the former 1927 Greenwood School located in Shawnee, Kansas. The museum’s collections and facility grew over time and now include over 1 million photographs, 15,000 3-D artifacts, and 3,000 cu. ft. of archival material. Significant holdings include the Sun Newspapers photographic morgue from the mid-1980s - 1990s, a bound set of Tom Leather's Squire publications from the early 1960s - 2000s, and material from the Sunflower Ammunition Plant near De Soto. The museum has also built a significant collection documenting the suburban experience in Johnson County.

The Kansas City Museum is Kansas City’s first, and most important, museum of local and regional history. The museum is housed at the former urban estate of lumber baron and civic leader Robert A. Long and his family. The 3 acre plot is located atop a bluff overlooking the Missouri River Valley, adjacent to historic Kessler Park and Cliff Drive, a state Scenic By-way.

The Kansas City Research Center, located on the campus of the University of Missouri–Kansas City, collects, preserves, and makes available for study many unique materials related to the history and culture of the Kansas City metropolitan area, western Missouri, and the Midwest.

LaBudde Special Collections is home to millions of primary and secondary source material, including manuscripts and personal papers; sheet music; photographs, postcards and other images; books, including rare and limited edition; historical periodicals; city directories; maps and atlases; historical documents and research files. Subject strengths include the Trans-Mississippi West experience, local and regional history, Indigenous American history, LGBTQIA+ history, music history (especially Jazz Age Kansas City), cultural and social history, local political and civic leaders. Special Collections maintains print material for a number of archival collections shared with the Marr Sound Archives.

A brief look into the history of Lee's Summit found of the City of Lee's Summit website.

The Longview Alliance is a grassroots coalition of individuals that are dedicated to preserving the Longview Farm historical structures and maintaining the integrity of residential and commercial development in New Longview. Our goal is to work with developers and the City of Lee’s Summit, understand their development plans, raise awareness, and provide a unified voice for the community.

The Missouri Valley Special Collections (MVSC), which came into existence in 1960, consist of the non-circulating local history and genealogy resources of the Kansas City Public Library as well as the Library’s archives. Over 11,000 images of archival material such as letters, photographs, postcards, and maps were migrated in 2006-2007 from a former SQL-designed online database to the new CONTENTdm Missouri Valley Special Collections Digital Gallery.

The Native Sons and Daughters of Greater Kansas City, Inc. is dedicated to the historic preservation of the unique and rich heritage of the greater Kansas City metropolitan area, both in Missouri and Kansas, through advocacy, education and restoration. It also seeks to preserve and maintain archives of historical interest relating to the development of the Kansas City region and to recognize individuals who have resided therein and contributed to such development.

Northeast Kansas City Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation in Missouri. NEKCHS is operated by an all-volunteer staff for the purpose of collecting and preserving historical material, offering research opportunities and assisting the community with preservation research.

R.A. Long’s City And Country Homes photo album is housed in the LaBudde Special Collections Department of the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Historical society for Robert Alexander and his legacy.

In the 19th century Americans wanted more land, settlement moved west. For countless American Indians, the American thirst for land meant a challenge to a traditional way of life. Shawnee Mission, like many others, was established as a manual training school attended by boys and girls from Shawnee, Delaware, and other Indian nations from 1839 to 1862. Visit this 12-acre National Historic Landmark and learn the stories of those who lived there.

The Historical Society of New Santa Fe is a 501 C3 not-for-profit and volunteer organization and was incorporated in 1977 to preserve and memorialize pioneer history in southwest Kansas City.

The Westport Historical Society (WHS) was established in 1950 to promote and foster public interest in and preserve the significant history of Westport, Missouri and Town of Kansas, Missouri and their founders. The Westport Historical Society was incorporated in 1964 as a tax exempt, non-profit organization.