Smith County Historical Society

08/10/2026

08/10/2026

Thank you to all who came out for our Back to School Bash tonight!

We especially thank our sponsors and volunteers: Smith Count Bank, a branch of the First National Bank & Trust, Guaranty State Bank & Trust Co, Jiffy Burger, Scouts BSA Troop 166, Kiwanis Club of Smith Center, SCHS Art Club, Dana Overmiller, and Bill & Denese Phillips.

08/10/2026

A bigger map of Kansas that shows the Pawnee Indian Trail. Zoom into Smith County and follow the trail south and west, down to the Arkansas River. I believe from that location it headed southwest, to the Spanish Southwest!

08/10/2026

The Indian tribes often stopped at Fort Hays, because the Pawnee Trail was just a few miles west of the fort. They might be able to pick up provisions for the Indians there.

08/10/2026

Different Indian groups traveled the Pawnee Trail. An ancient trail that is mentioned in old articles.

08/10/2026

When John Charles Fremont traveled across Smith County in 1843, a journey that included 1844 coming back to Kansas by way of the Smoky Hill River.

08/09/2026

08/09/2026

A presentation at the Higley Family Reunion a few years back! It was fun meeting the Higley Cousins from across the USA!

08/09/2026

I remember the sidewalks from Kensington grade school, west to downtown! As a kid I wondered what the “spitting on the sidewalk meant”!?!?

Stories from the new gallery: Dr. Samuel J. Crumbine, seen in this 1909 portrait, was internationally known for his public health reform. As the secretary for the Kansas State Board of Health, he mounted a vigorous campaign against the common drinking cup, spitting on the sidewalk and more. These campaigns sought to stop the spread of common diseases. Find out more about this health reformer in the Kansas Museum of History’s new gallery. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday -Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday (closed state holidays).
View this photo at www.kansasmemory.gov/item/212306

08/09/2026

Remember all the towns with car race tracks. Smith Center had a horse racing track first!

From 1943 to 1945, during World War II, more than 4,000 German prisoners of war were housed at Camp Concordia. After the POW camp closed, part of the site was transformed into Thunder Cloud Park, a racetrack that hosted primarily horse racing, along with occasional automobile races. This photograph captures members of the Dust Devils Auto Racing Club kicking up clouds of dust as they race around the track on November 11, 1953.