Main Gallery Exhibits
at the Kansas Museum of History
Kansas Families
There's lots to see on Kansas families at the Kansas
Museum of History in Topeka.
You'll see:
Families have been important to Kansas since its earliest days of
human occupation.
Native Americans hunted and farmed the Great Plains for thousands of years before European settlers
arrived. Learn how a sacred bundle was passed down in one Pawnee family.
In the 1850s, missionaries established schools to convert Native Americans
to Christianity. Like most Americans of the time, they believed Indians
should live like whites in order to succeed. Near Topeka, one missionary
family helped set up the Potawatomi
Baptist Mission. The museum displays a number of family
items from Robert and Fanny Simmerwell
and their daughter Sara, including clothing and blacksmithing tools
used at the mission.
Immigrant families poured into Kansas after the Civil War, many settling
into temporary dwellings such as log and sod houses. One such immigrant,
Solomon Humbarger, built a log
house on the banks of the Saline River in 1866 and lived
there until 1890 with his wife Nancy and their two sons.
During the cattle drive era, one important Kansas family supplied an
essential component of a cowboy's outfit. The Hyers began making
boots around 1880, and continued to operate for nearly a century
in Olathe.
Another important 20th century Kansas family group were the Whites
of Emporia. William Allen
White and wife Sallie published the Pulitzer Prize-winning
Emporia Gazette newspaper for many years. Their son, Bill,
won a Pulitzer for editing his father's unfinished autobiography. The
newspaper is still being printed by members of the White family. Today
their home, Red Rocks,
is a state historic site.
Hours and Fees
Museum hours are 9:00 a.m.
- 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday.
Closed Mondays and state holidays.
Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for members and seniors, $2 for students,
and $1 per student for school tours.
Information
For information on our facilities, see Visiting
the Kansas Museum of History. Contact us at KansasMuseum@kshs.org.
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