A local documentary about a nearly forgotten ghost town has earned national recognition.

Minersville — a historical film about a vanished mining community along the Cloud and Republic County border — took top finalist honors in the Community Storytelling category at the Best of the Midwest Media Fest.

According to creators of the film, the town it profiles nearly disappeared from history. Back in the early 1870s, more than 500 homesteaders and miners worked 28 lignite coal mines in Minersville. The community had churches, schools, a baseball team, a boarding house, and even a Knights of Labor cooperative that was ahead of its time — operating before cooperatives were legally recognized. Today, only crumbling stone structures remain.

The project began in 2015, when amateur archaeologist Debi Aaron teamed up with Salina Media Connection’s filmmakers, Tom Fleming and Greg Stephens, to share the story through PowerPoint presentations across the region. The response convinced them the story deserved a wider audience.

Fleming and Stephens went on to produce the full documentary, with funding from Humanities Kansas, the Cloud and Republic Community Foundations, museums, and individual donors. Salina Media Connection collaborated with Method Productions — former Wichita PBS filmmakers — to bring the film to life.

Minersville airs on Smoky Hills Public TV in June. It will also screen at Abilene’s Dickinson County Heritage Center on July 11th. Other showings are planned.