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Humanities Kansas recently awarded $10,146 to Salina Media Connection in Salina to support “Minersville: The Town, the Mines, the People, the Legacy,” a documentary film that explores the history of Minersville, a town once occupied by nearly 500 residents and miners spread over 320 acres north of Concordia, Kansas. Greg Stephens serves as project director.
Minersville’s lignite coal was widely utilized by early homesteaders and businesses in a nearly 75-mile radius from 1869 through the 1920s and the last mine closed in 1940. Twenty-eight mines once operated in the area during this time. When railroads arrived and brought in better bituminous and anthracite coal from eastern areas, the mining market tapered off and eventually closed.
The Minersville mining area is privately owned by Tana Trost and sons Conrad and Justin, who have preserved the area and whose ancestors originally homesteaded in the area. Other landowners are Wyatt Trost, Larry and Dennis Jackson and Leland Bray.
Sponsors for the project include the Cloud County Community Foundation and Republic County Community Foundation, Kristin and John Gunn, and other private supporters including Jenny Russell, Republic County Economic Development.
Salina Media Connection’s vison is “To create a difference through media.” They have formed Burning Prairie Production group to produce the documentary in association with Method Productions, Wichita. The group includes Greg Stephens, avocation archaeologist Debi Aaron, author and former Bethany College instructor Tom Fleming who teamed up to present multiple talks about Minersville in 2017.
Other members of the group include K-State-Salina’s Professor Emerita Pat Ackerman and Dr. Bill Genereux, former Republic County Historical Museum curator Dr. Ed Glenn, Salina Media Connection’s Paul Kirkwood and Ted Pugh. The film will feature local interviews, photos, artifacts, and a walking tour of Minersville with researcher Debi Aaron.
When completed, the documentary will hold film premiers in the spring of 2025 in Concordia, Belleville and Salina. Dates to be announced.
“This project gives us a unique opportunity to bring the human experience of the past into the present day,” said Julie Mulvihill, Humanities Kansas Executive Director. “Learning more about the people who lived in Minersville will allow the heritage of the area to be documented for many to learn from and enjoy.”
A project Facebook page to follow updates is located at www.Faceook.com/MinersvilleKS