Other
Women in History: Mary Fields
This site contains facts about the life of Stagecoach Mary Fields (1832-1913).
Oklahoma State University
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: All Black Towns
Read about the all-black towns that were settled in Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory in the mid-19th century.
Other
Western History Genealogy: Digital Images: Native American Women
A picture gallery with information about the roles that Native American women played in everyday life in the late 19th century in the West.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: The Homestead Act Went Into Effect
This 4-page article discusses the Homestead Act of 1862 and its effects.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Uncle Sam Is Rich Enough to Give Us All a Farm
In this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House, you can see how the Homestead Act opened up the frontier to ordinary citizens, eager for a chance to own their own property.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Mosaic: Western Migration and Homesteading
Contains text and photos on the African-American exodus to the West. Includes primary source documents and maps from the era.
Legends of America
Legends of Kansas: Exodusters of Kansas
A look at the exodusters and the reasons the blacks left the South and migrated to Kansas after the Civil War.
Other
Postbellum African American Society and Culture: Black Migration
From the Encyclopedia of American Social History. Read about the black migration to the West, primarily Kansas and Oklahoma after the end of Reconstruction and the institution of black codes in the South.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Stories of the Westward Expansion: Exodus to Freedom
Contains an article written on the African American exodus to Kansas to farm in the late 19th century.
Other
Selected Essays on Barbed Wire: Brief History of Barbed Wire
Provides information on the development and use of barbed wire. Includes biographies on Joseph F. Glidden, Jacob Haish, and Isaac L. Ellwood, who were instrumental in its invention and marketing. For more information on barbed wire,...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Frontier Education and the One Room Schoolhouse
See how much public education has changed from the one-room schoolhouse days of the frontier. From a companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Food on the Frontier
Would you clean your plate if you had to eat what frontier families served in eastern Montana? Find out what's on the menu from this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Creating a Home on the Frontier
Making a house a home was a struggle on the plains. This companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House, describes the problems with getting water, outhouses, and furnishing the sod house.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: "The Little Old Shanty on the Claim"
An essay provided as part of the PBS series, Frontier House, describes the housing options of pioneers on the prairies in eastern Montana.
Other
Conner Prairie Interactive History Park: Agriculture Implements
Photos and brief descriptions of farm tools used in farming the plains in the 19th century.
Other
Mnhs: Bonanza Farms
A brief description of the development of bonanza farms, which grew wheat in the Red River Valley. Hyperlinks to photographs of people working on these farms.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire
This article from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), describes how barbed wire was important for ranchers in the West in the 1800s and how Joseph Glidden improved the original patent for barbed wire.
Other
Pioneer Yosemite History Center Online Tour: Wagons and Stagecoaches
Travel back in time to see what the pioneers used for transportation and to do their daily work. Great pictures of wagons of the west including the chuck wagon, spring wagon, farm wagon, and freight wagon. There is a link at the bottom...
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: May 20: The Homestead Act
Gives facts about the Homestead Act and quotes from some homesteaders. Includes many links to additional resources within the Library of Congress site.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: Quiz 1
A five-question quiz mainly over westward expansion in the late 1800s.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: Recreation and Leisure Time on the Frontier
Read about how the homesteaders on the American frontier added a little levity to their otherwise harsh frontier life, and in particular how women, how spent much time at home, worked to add variety to their lives. From a companion essay...
Other
History of Oklahoma: Brief History of the Formation of Oklahoma Territory
Contains an article, "A Brief History of the Formation of Oklahoma Territory," as printed in "The Indian Advocate," a newspaper published between 1889 and 1910.
Other
Shadows of the Past: Chronology of Jesse James
A synopsis of the life of Jesse James in timeline form. Has links to his family tree, members of the James Gang, and photos.
Other
Kansas Collection Articles: Orphan Trains of Kansas
This site, presented by The Kansas Collection, provides insight into the westward expansion of orphan children from New York City. The page houses links to stories, newspaper articles, history, and graphics associated with the Orphan...