The Founding

For this anniversary year for our nation, the Library has started a project to document the people and places of Jackson, Platte, and Clay counties in partnership with the Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography and local photographers. 

Have you ever seen photos from the first moon missions and gotten lost in the small details of everyday life they captured? Have you ever wondered what life was like right here, during the Civil Rights Movement or the fall of the Berlin Wall? Or have you wondered what your town looked like during something as simple as the release of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark? 

We have decided to work with the Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography and local photographers to capture life in this moment, at the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We are challenging ourselves and each other to look at us – the people and places of Jackson, Platte, and Clay counties – through the eyes of others. 

What will you discover right here, right now during the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence? 

Join us as we slow down, record, and reflect. We look forward to meeting you out in our communities and sharing with you The Founding, our collection reflecting on the start of our country, the beginnings of our communities, and the beginnings that happen all around us every day.

The goal of the project is to explore through photography, video, and oral histories the memories and celebrations of the founding of our nation, towns, communities, neighborhoods, and businesses. This project will document life throughout the MCPL three-county district, emphasizing:

• this moment in the development of local communities from a historical perspective
• celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
• the historical establishment and growth of local townships
• celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Jackson County 

The material collected will be shared this winter through a new online platform for digital collections and exhibits at Midwest Genealogy Center and other MCPL locations.