Salina Media Connection Release
Salina Media Connection recently received grants from Humanities Kansas and both the Cloud and Republic Community Foundations 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 1920’s 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. Other sponsors for the project include Jenny Russell, Republic County Economic Development, the Republic and Cloud County Historical Society Museums, Kristin and John Gunn and other supporters.
Salina Media Connection’s vision 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. All three teamed up to present multiple talks about Minersville in 2017. Other members of the group include K-State-Salina’s Emerita Professor 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. A project Facebook page to follow updates is located at www.Faceook.com/MinersvilleKS.
