By Ron Wilson, Director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

How many presidential libraries are there in Kansas? Obviously, there is one, belonging to that Eisenhower fellow from Abilene. But now, Kansas can lay claim to a second presidential library, although it is with tongue-in-cheek. It's the world's smallest presidential library, in part because it is based on the world's shortest presidential term.

Chris Taylor is the executive director of the Atchison County Historical Society. Chris is working on the world's smallest unofficial presidential library, which features David Rice Atchison.

David Rice Atchison was born in Kentucky and moved to Missouri as a young man. He practiced law in Missouri and then was appointed to the United States Senate where he served for 12 years. He became a highly influential senator, who served as the Senate presiding officer, Senate President pro tem, for some 13 terms.

If Atchison is a controversial figure in history, it is probably because he was a pro-slavery Democrat. He worked with the southern states prior to secession. He even became general of the Missouri militia that attacked Lawrence, although accounts of his participation range from him trying to dissuade the troops from violence, to him firing the first shot – a fair amount of difference there.

Even as a pro-slavery leader, however, he wanted to keep the Union intact. He is credited by some sources as being the key player in getting the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed in Congress, so Kansans can give thanks for his role in giving birth to our state.

Some of his Missouri friends crossed over into Kansas and founded the town and county of Atchison, naming them in his honor. Atchison is a beautiful rural town, population 10,140 people. Now, that's rural.

But how did David Rice Atchison come to have a presidential library?

He was never sworn in as President. Chris Taylor explains that Atchison was president, in one sense at least, for only one day – and he slept through most of that.

This happened when Atchison was serving as the Senate President pro tem, which under the Constitution at that time was next in the line of succession to the presidency after the vice-president. In 1848, Zachary Taylor was elected President to succeed James K. Polk. Polk's term and that of his vice-president officially ended at midnight on March 3, 1849. But March 4 happened to fall on a Sunday, and Zachary Taylor, a highly religious man, refused to have his inauguration on the Sabbath. So the new president's swearing in took place on Monday.

But what about Sunday? Polk's term had ended and the new president had not yet become official. The highest ranking official still in office was David Rice Atchison – president for a day.  But Atchison was tending to his legislative duties and paying no attention to such silly stuff.  There had been several late night sessions as Congress dealt with President Polk's year-end business. So Atchison was very tired, and when Sunday came, he slept most of it away. As the saying goes, you snooze, you lose.

Chris Taylor recounts this history in the displays at the Atchison County Historical Museum. The display cases take up only about 6 x 14 feet in the back of the old railroad depot, so Chris calls it the world's smallest unofficial presidential library. Since Atchison's term was so small, it's fitting that his library is small as well. But included here are pictures and papers, plus a genuine Whitney Navy Revolver which was carried by David Rice Atchison.

February 20, 2006 – President's Day – is grand opening of this new presidential library.  For more information, go to www.atchisonhistory.org.

Chris Taylor says, "Our mission is to tell the rich history of Atchison County. This is a fun way of getting people's attention, and it can lead to more opportunities to share the history of Atchison."

Now you know. Not one, but two presidential libraries can be found in Kansas. We salute Chris Taylor and the Atchison County Historical Society for making a difference by finding creative ways to share this Kansas history. We'll learn more about some high-flying history of Atchison in future Kansas Profile columns.

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The mission of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is to enhance rural development by helping rural people help themselves. The Kansas Profile radio series and columns are produced with assistance from the K-State Research and Extension Department of Communications News Unit. Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/huckboyd/.