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Richard B. Stevens collection
Collection Summary
Title
Richard B. Stevens collection
Date
1942-2007
Extent
1 archival box
Name and Location of Repository
Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence (Mo.)
Reference code: MGC 2006-RSC
Processed by: Nicole Schlagel, 2016; finding aid created by Nicole Schlagel, 2016
Name of Creator
Stevens, Richard B.
Biographical History
Richard B. Stevens was born in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas in 1899. His father, William Stevens,
was a professor at Kansas University, now the University of Kansas. Richard attended and graduated
from Kansas University. He became an attorney and served as county attorney and in the Kansas state
legislature. Richard married Sarah Jane Griffiths on July 13, 1929 and together they had 3 children. In
1942, Stevens started work at The Sunflower Ordnance Works. This plant was commissioned by the
United States War Department as a rocket propellant factory. The factory was built and managed by the
Hercules Powder Company. Stevens was hired by Hercules Powder Company and stayed with the
company into the 1980s. As a member of the legal department, Stevens worked with construction
contracts and labor regulations. Richard died in Lawrence on January 15, 1991.
Administrative History
Sunflower Ordnance Works was commissioned by the United States War Department in 1942 as a
rocket propellant factory. It was constructed in the northwest section of Johnson County close to the
town of De Soto. The factory was built and managed by the Hercules Powder Company. The factory
drew large numbers of people to the area and created population booms in De Soto and other
surrounding towns. During its operation during World War II, 12,000 employees worked 24 hours to
meet the military’s demand. After the war, Sunflower Ordnance Works was closed until the Korean War
caused it to reopen. It subsequently closed again after that conflict. During the Vietnam War, it
reopened again and was renamed Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in 1963. The plant continued to
make ammunition until production was stopped in 1992. The U.S. Army sold the land to private
developers in 2005.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of items relating to the Sunflower Ordnance Works and then later the Sunflower
Army Ammunition Plant. Collected by Richard B. Stevens, the contents include personal
correspondence and a scrapbook. Also included are the entire run of The Sunflower Sentinel, the weekly
employee newspaper for the Sunflower Ordnance Works and some editions for the Sunflower Planet,
newspaper for the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant. There is also one edition of the Lawrence [KS]
Journal –World.
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Richard B. Stevens collection
Collection Inventory
System of Arrangement
These records are arranged in 5 series.
Series 1, Correspondence
Series 2, Lawrence Daily Journal-World loose volume
Folder 1, May 3, 1945
Series 3, Scrapbook, 1950-2004
Contains: Obituaries from former Sunflower Ordnance Works employees, articles from
area newspapers regarding the sale and future use of the Sunflower Army Ammunition
Plant
Series 4, Sunflower Planet [loose]
Folder 1, Volume 24 Number 6, June 23, 1955
Folder 2, Volume 8 Number 31, May 11, 1967
Series 5, Sunflower Sentinel [bound volume]
Contains: Volume 1 Numbers 1-52, July 2, 1942-June 18, 1943
Volume 2 Numbers 1-52, June 25, 1943-March 16, 1945
Volume 3 Numbers 1-31, March 23, 1945-October 19, 1945
Rights and Access
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use by appointment.
Physical Access
Most records within this collection are housed within oversize file folders.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Midwest Genealogy Center.
Languages and Scripts of the Material
Materials in the collection are entirely in English.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated to the Midwest Genealogy Center.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected for this collection.
Existence and Location of Originals
Originals owned by the Midwest Genealogy Center.
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Richard B. Stevens collection
Notes
The following sources were consulted during the preparation of the biographical and administrative
history:
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Year: 1900; Census Place: Lawrence Ward 2, Douglas,
Kansas; Roll: 479; Page: 1A; Enumeration District:0060; FHL microfilm: 1240479
Ancestry.com. Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1925
Kansas Territory Census; Roll: KS1925_42; Line: 19
Eudora, KS History. “Sunflower Ordnance Works, Population Boom, and Housing Solutions:
1940-1949.” Accessed April 11, 2016. http://eudorakshistory.com/by-decade/1940/1940-to1949.htm.
FindAGrave.com. “Richard Barnett Stevens.” Accessed April 12, 2016.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=STEV&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=18&GScntry=4&GSsr=1401&GRi
d=21896304&.
FindAGrave.com. “Sarah Jane Griffiths Stevens.” Accessed April 12, 2016.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=STEV&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=18&GScntry=4&GSsr=1481&GRi
d=20576640&.
Johnson County Museum. “Finding Aid for the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant Records.”
Accessed April 11, 2016.
http://www.jocogov.org/sites/default/files/documents/MUS/Finding%20AidSunflower%202005.103.pdf
Johnson County Museum. “Johnson County History.” Accessed April 11, 2016.
http://www.jocogov.org/dept/museum/about-museum/county-history.
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