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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Grant County Public Library

Ulysses, Kansas

Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Ulysses.

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12Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1885 to 1944Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

47,884Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Ulysses, Kansas.

Discover another side of Ulysses, Kansas through newspapers preserved in the Grant County Public Library's digital archive. Its twelve titles include material from 1885 to 1944.

You can open the archive using the link below.
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  • Selected titles

    The titles shared by Grant County Public Library include “Golden Gazette” as well as “Ulysses Tribune And Grant County Register”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • A closer look

    A familiar name or event takes on another dimension in the newspaper coverage of its time, alongside the stories that mattered to the readers of that issue.

The reporting of earlier years offers a way to explore how events were understood as they happened and how local experiences became part of the historical record. A family story, a classroom project or curiosity about a familiar place can lead to a closer look at the community and the lives of earlier generations. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Browse twelve titles and 47,884 digitized pages, with material from 1885 to 1944. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Grant County Public Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

Every search for the past starts with a question. Explore the titles below, follow the sources that speak to it, and see what new detail appears.

Golden Gazette

1,124 pages from 1887 to 1889

Grant County Register

3,854 pages from 1885 to 1890

Grant County Republican

23,430 pages from 1895 to 1937

Grant County Weekly

1,472 pages from 1892 to 1895

Shockeyville Eagle Independent Plainsman Post And Sentinel

3,452 pages from 1886 to 1890

The Appomattox Commercial

96 pages in 1888

The Commercial

1,012 pages from 1887 to 1888

The Standard

702 pages from 1887 to 1888

The Ulysses News

7,456 pages from 1937 to 1944

Tribune Grant County Register Tribune Commercial And New Era

2,942 pages from 1887 to 1930

Ulysses Tribune

1,644 pages from 1891 to 1893

Ulysses Tribune And Grant County Register

700 pages from 1890 to 1891

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About the Library

About The Grant County Public Library

The Grant County Public Library serves the residents of Ulysses and the surrounding county as a central educational resource and community hub. The library provides access to books, digital collections, research databases, and public technology, along with programs that support literacy, lifelong learning, and community engagement. Through its services and partnerships, the library works to make information accessible and discoverable, including local history materials that connect users to the region’s collective past. Its commitment to preservation and outreach helps ensure that both current and historical resources remain available to the public.

Grant County Public Library photo 1

Library History

The History Of The Grant County Public Library

The Grant County Public Library developed alongside the growth of Ulysses and Grant County during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the region transitioned from early settlement along the Santa Fe Trail to an established agricultural community, libraries became important centers for education and access to information. Over time, the library expanded its collections and services to meet the needs of a growing population, eventually incorporating preservation initiatives such as newspaper archiving and digitization. These efforts reflect a shared responsibility to safeguard local history and ensure continued access to primary source materials for future generations.

About the Community

About Ulysses, Kansas

Ulysses, Kansas is the county seat and only city in Grant County, located in the southwestern part of the state on the High Plains. Founded in 1885, the town developed during a period of rapid settlement and was named after Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. The community experienced cycles of growth and hardship, including drought and economic challenges, but ultimately stabilized as agriculture and later natural gas production became key components of the local economy. Today, Ulysses serves as the cultural and economic center of Grant County, with institutions like the public library helping preserve and share its history.

Local History

Did You Know?

Did you know that early Ulysses was actually relocated to a new townsite in 1909? The original settlement, known as “Old Ulysses,” was moved to its present location to improve access and sustainability, preserving the community while adapting to changing conditions. This unique event is documented in local newspapers and remains an important chapter in Grant County’s history.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Keep publication context with a finding

The history of Ulysses includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Grant County Public Library, begin with a name, place or date connected with the story you want to explore. When using historical newspapers, try alternate spellings and nearby dates, then read the surrounding page to place a local story in its time. Compare later reporting or another available title to explore different perspectives rather than treating one account as the whole story. Note the newspaper title, issue date, and page for a useful report. Compare another account where available, and keep differences in timing or perspective visible rather than blending them into a single version.

Save the newspaper title, issue date, and page, then compare another dated account where available. Keep differences in timing and perspective visible so the source context is not lost. If the accounts disagree, record what each source supports and use the difference to shape a further search rather than smoothing them into one version.

A research trail is most useful when it leaves room for what is not yet known. Record the title, date, and page or item reference where available, along with what remains uncertain and which question you want to follow next. Those details help keep a possible connection from becoming an unsupported conclusion.

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Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Grant County Public Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.

Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.

Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.

Learn about partnerships
Read All About It

Stories, research tips, and archive news

Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.

Newest published articles

March 18, 2025

It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?

We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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