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The Kansas Government Information (KGI) Online Library
Kansas government publications, resources and information available from the State Library of Kansas

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Nov 07

A Look at Five Kansas Communities During the Great Depression

Posted on November 7, 2018 at 7:16 PM by Bill Sowers


From the mid 1930s to the early 1940s the Kansas State Planning Board strove to improve the conditions of Kansans, preserve and promote the natural resources of our state, and provide guides to local and state government agencies as well as private companies and organizations on how to operate more effectively.

Among the many reports issued by the Board were studies on the current structure and possible future plans for particular Kansas communities. The State Library of Kansas recently added five of these reports to the KGI Online Library. Each document gives a detailed look at five different cities/counties in our state... sort of a "still life" look at local society during the Great Depression.

Below are the report titles with links to the reports within KGI:

A twenty-five year plan for Shawnee County and the city of Topeka : a report to the Kansas State Planning Board [1935]

A twenty-five year plan for Douglas County and the city of Lawrence : a report to the Kansas State Planning Board. [1935]

Progress report, Nemaha County Planning Board [1938]

Industrial survey of Clay Center, Kansas

Industrial survey of Paola, Kansas [1940]