Fictionized account of pioneer life in Troy, Kan.

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Excerpt from Impressions of Early Kansas As I sit by the western window and the brief winter afternoon draws toward its close, my mind turns back to dear old Waverley. Outside the wind is rising and the waning day shows gray and chill, but far away I see visions of a fair, deep blue sky, gemmed with fleecy floating clouds. Instead of deep snows and ice bound streams, are wide expanses of green fields, velvet carpeted, and sown thickly with johnny-jump-ups and dainty strawberry blossoms. Away over the far wooded hills, distance lends enchantment to the purplish haze that rests forever above the winding river; while around all is spread the fairest country that ever gladdened the eyes and hearts of men, - the beautiful prairies of Kansas. Among the many towns and embryo cities that sprang up as it were by magic on the opening of the territory in eighteen fifty-five, was my own dear town of Waverley. This ambitious little county seat was laid out in true generous Western fashion over a square mile or so of charming hill and dale, its modest frame houses, many of them built of the native black walnut, separated by wide stretches of greenest verdure. Here and there the streets led over picturesque wooden bridges, for from the hilly eastern border to the noble plateau that formed the western boundary, there was a succession of hills and hollows, varied by deep, winding ravines, each of which prisoned a brawling, pigmy torrent during the winter thaws and the spring rains. Crowning the brow of the eastern hill, was the Woodson Hotel, a many windowed frame building of two stories, looking south. In front was a wide veranda from whose pleasant shelter the wayfarer could overlook the little city and the broad wagon road with its traffic and bustle, varied now and then by slow moving ox teams, or long lines of canvas covered wagons of the countless home seekers. These wagons were filled with furniture and bedding, weary women and sunburnt children. Sometimes a stove pipe protruded through an opening in the canvas telling of an attempt at warmth and comfort when the prairie winds blew cold. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

To discover how women constructed their own mythology of the West, Kolodny examines the evidence of three generations of women's writing about the frontier. She finds that, although the American frontiersman imagined the wilderness as virgin land, an unsp

Think of Kansas City and you'll probably think of barbecue, jazz, or the Chiefs. But for James Shortridge, this heartland city is more than the sum of its cultural beacons. In Kansas City and How It Grew, 1822-2011, a prize-winning geographer traces the historical geography of a place that has developed over 200 years from a cowtown on the bend of the Missouri River into a metropolis straddling two states. He explores the changing character of the community and its component neighborhoods, showing how the city has come to look and function the way it does—and how it has come to be perceived the way it has. Proximity to Great Plains ranches and farms encouraged early and sustained success for Kansas City meatpackers and millers, and Shortridge shows how local responses to economic realities have molded the city's urban structure. He explores the parallel processes of suburbanization and the restructuring of older areas, and tells what happens when transportation shifts from rivers to railroads, then to superhighways and international airports. He also reveals what historians have missed by tending to focus attention only on one side or the other of the state boundary. The book is a virtual who's who of KC progress: without selective law enforcement under political boss Thomas Pendergast, Kansas City would not enjoy its legacy of jazz; without the gift of Thomas Swope's namesake park, upscale residential expansion likely would have gone east instead of south; and without J. C. Nichols, Johnson County suburbs would have developed in a less spectacular manner. Its insight into important molders of the city includes nearly forgotten names such as William Dalton, Charles Morse, and Willard Winner, plus important figures from more recent years including Kay Barnes, Charles Garney, and Bonnie Poteet. With more than 50 photos and dozens of maps specially created for this book, Kansas City and How It Grew is unique in treating the entire metropolitan area instead of just one portion. With coverage ranging from ethnic neighborhoods to development strategies, it's an indispensable touchstone for those who want to try to understand Kansas City as both a city and a place.

Includes articles and reviews covering all aspects of American history. Formerly the Mississippi Valley Historical Review,