Osborne County Kansas Genealogical & Historical Society

Join us on 11-11-11
For the Veterans Open House
We will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The WWII military patches collected by the late Woody Hilsinger will be on display
Coffee, Cookies, and Door Prizes

In Celebration of the 140th Aniversary of Osborne County we have published a cookbook with history, photo's and recipes from all five communities in the County.

       Located at 307 West Main Street just west of the historic downtown district in Osborne, Kansas, the Carnegie Research Library offers a full range of services to those interested in gathering information concerning their ancestors who lived in Osborne County and adjacent areas. The Classic-style Osborne Carnegie Public Library was based on plans for the Carnegie Library in Stockton, Kansas, which in turn was built according to plans for the Carnegie Library in Riverside, Iowa.
     The stone and brick structure built in 1912 and was funded by both a local tax and a $5,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. From 1912 through 1995 it served the community as the Osborne Carnegie Library. In 1987 the building was placed on both the National & Kansas Registers of Historic Places.
     In the early 1990s the library was slated to be torn down, but in 1995 the Osborne County Genealogical & Historical Society accepted the challenge of raising the nearly $100,000 needed to save and renovatethe building. This difficult renovation project was completed largely with private donations and dedication ceremonies celebrating the library’s reopening were held in May 2001.
     Currently the building serves as the headquarters of the Osborne County Genealogical & Historical Society and serves as a regional genealogical/historical research center.
     The Osborne County Genealogical & Historical Society is the official custodian of all county records as decreed by the Osborne County Commissioners. To date a variety of county records dating from 1871 to 1925 have been transferred from various storerooms in the Osborne County Courthouse to the stacks in the lower level of the Carnegie Research Library. The monumental task of scanning all documents and photographs now housed in the Library is the Library’s primary ongoing project.
     The Carnegie also serves as a repository for printed, projected, and electronic documentation. Families and organizations with no other space to store their photographs, official records, and other material are encouraged to reposit their important material with the Carnegie for future safekeeping.
     The library staff is ready to help one and all conduct research, copy records, provide maps, give directions, and share tourist information on the area.

Carnegie Research Library

The Home of The Osborne County Genealogical & Historical Society