Information needed about 1920s-40s Liberal KS, for a novel (mortgage, lawyer)

[joelrw]

I will be coming to Liberal later this year to do some research related to my novel, but would love to receive information now concerning the following:

(1) The courthouse in or around Liberal that would have been used for criminal trials in 1942. Where was it, what did it look like, what was its name, how many courtrooms did it have, and what government offices were housed in the courthouse?

(2) High school life in Liberal, circa 1940-42. I'm interested in numbers of students, description of the school building and facilities, curricula, the social milieu, graduation rates, etc. I also need to know where the high school was in relation to the center of town, how far it was from the old courthouse, and how students got to school. Did they have school busses back then?

(3) The general economic conditions back then. I assume that the '30s were a time of great privation, but did things improve in the early '40s? And was wheat a main crop in the area back then? What other economic activity was there? Was there a divide between rich and poor, and if so, did it cause conflict? Did most people have cars or farm trucks back then?

(4) In my novel, the protagonist returns to Liberal in 2008 in order to find out where he lived before coming to Liberal as a child. He is disappointed to find that the prior address for the buyer (presumably his father) is not shown on the deed. Where would he be able to find the buyer's previous address? Tax assessment rolls, or the bank holding the mortgage? Firms of the lawyer or real estate agent handling the transaction?

(5) How much would a house and a small amount of farmland — enough to live on, but not much more — cost back then? And would a small two-storey house be a rarity (as opposed to the very small one-storey houses I've seen in some photos)? Also, has some of the farmland been converted to housing developments in the last 30 or 40 years? I assume that this has been the case, but I'd like to know for sure.

Please feel free to reply privately, or to this forum if you think that the information I am requesting is of interest to anyone besides me!

Thanks very much.