The McPherson Room houses our collection of books, manuscripts, archival materials, and other local and county history resources in a secure, climate-controlled area. Those resources include:

Newspapers -- Our collection of newspapers on microfilm encompasses all existing copies of some 19 papers which were published in McPherson, from the settlement of the city in 1872 to the present.

McPherson History Archives -- This archive of newspaper clippings, monographs, manuscripts, photographs, and other documents, preserves the written and visual record of McPherson history.


Directories and Yearbooks -- Our collection of McPherson city directories, McPherson telephone directories, and McPherson High School yearbooks is the most complete one in existence and dates to the early 1900's.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps -- The Sanborn Company published detailed maps of cities and towns which included notations of businesses, public buildings, and many residences.  We have microfilm copies of all McPherson maps published by the company from 1887 to 1927.

McPherson County Atlases -- Watch the city take shape through these early plat records from 1884, 1887, 1921, and 1969.

Kansas Collection -- Our collection of books about Kansas and Kansas history includes many titles written about the City of McPherson or the county, as well as many more having direct importance to the city.

Census Records --We maintain a comprehensive collection of federal and state census records on microfilm for McPherson County.  Federal Census:  1870, 1880, 1900, 1920, and 1930.  State Census:  1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, and 1925. This information also is available online in the McPherson Room via Ancestry.com.