Free Programs – Franklin County Historical Society

NEW DATE! June 2: A New Deal for Public Art in the Free State (program)

May 17, 2024May 17, 2024 Diana Staresinic-Deane

Text reads New Date! June 2, 2024, at 2 p.m. background image painting of a river with trees along the banks and clouds in the sky

New Date! This program has been rescheduled for June 2, 2 p.m. A New Deal For Public Art In the Free State Sunday, May 5, 2024, 2 p.m. Sunday, June 2, 2024, 2 p.m. FCHS Archives & Research Center, 2011 E Logan Street, Ottawa, Kansas 66067 Register for online access via Zoom Between 1934 and 1943, the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned over 1,600 pieces of public art for newly constructed post office buildings across the United States. In the state of Kansas, twenty-nine of these murals and other artworks were…

March 3: Carnegie Libraries of Kansas (program)

February 15, 2024 Diana Staresinic-Deane

A Greek Revival brick and limestone building with basement windows and two stories visible. Two-story columns flank the entrance. The Words "Carnegie Free Library" are lettered on the building. Carnegie Free Library, Ottawa, Kansas, is written in the corner of the image.

Carnegie Libraries of Kansas presented by Christine Steinkuehler Sunday, March 3, 2024, 2 p.m. In person: FCHS Archives & Research Center, 2011 E Logan St, Ottawa, Kansas 66067 Online: Register for Zoom Once the richest man in the world, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) donated a substantial portion of his fortune to the construction of more than 2,500 libraries around the world. 65 of those libraries—including 59 public libraries and 7 academic/university libraries—were built in Kansas. In her presentation, Christine Steinkuehler will explore how these buildings democratized access to libraries and created…

February 4: Army of Amazons: Women’s Fight for Labor Rights in Kansas Coalfields (87th FCHS Annual Meeting)

January 3, 2024 Diana Staresinic-Deane

Army of Amazons: Women’s Fight for Labor Rights in Kansas Coalfields presented by Linda O’Nelio Knoll 87th Annual Meeting of the Members of the Franklin County Historical Society Sunday, February 4, 2024, 2 p.m. In Person: FCHS Archives & Research Center, 2011 E Logan St, Ottawa, KS 66067 Online: Zoom or Facebook Live In December 1921, thousands of women in southeast Kansas rose up to fight injustice in the area coalfields. These women were immigrants from Eastern European nations as well as Kansas born. After a months-long strike by the…

August 14, 2022: Tattooed: The Tale of Maud Wagner

May 25, 2022 Diana Staresinic-Deane

Text reads Tattooed The Tale of Maud Wagner. Image is of a woman in a sequined strapless dress and dark hair upswept with a flower. The woman's skin is covered in tattoos of plants and people.

Tattooed: The Tale of Maud Wagner presented by Lisa Soller August 14, 2022, 2 p.m. Ottawa Memorial Auditorium, 301 South Hickory Street, Ottawa, Kansas Born in Emporia, Kansas, in 1877, Maud Stevens left home at the age of 19 to join the circus. While working as an aerialist and contortionist at Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair), she met and married Gus “The Globe Trotter” Wagner, a “most artistically marked up man” who would collect more than 800 tattoos during his lifetime. Soon covered in…

POSTPONED: Foam on the Range, presented by Isaias McCaffery – December 16

November 17, 2020December 8, 2020 Diana Staresinic-Deane

Foam on the Range Wednesday, December 16, 7 p.m. Watch via Facebook Live Wherever You Are Watch at Not Lost Brewing and enjoy a round courtesy of The Gun Guys in Ottawa, KS This event has been postponed. A new date will be announced in the spring. Settle in with your favorite beverage for a story about prohibition, an attempt to thwart immigrant brewers, and immigrant perseverance in Kansas! Watch this program live online from wherever you are or watch it over dinner and beer at Not Lost Brewing! Details…

Presentation, exhibits explore Women’s Suffrage in Kansas and Franklin County

August 10, 2020 Diana Staresinic-Deane

The Franklin County Historical Society will host a presentation and outdoor and indoor exhibits to commemorate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. On August 18, 7 p.m., FCHS will host “The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage in Kansas,” a presentation and discussion by Diane Eickhoff. The free program will be offered via Facebook Live at facebook.com/olddepotmuseum. The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas. Kansas was historically a leader in women’s rights, yet the campaign for voting rights in Kansas…

January 26: Franklin County’s Civil Conservation Corps topic of this year’s historical society annual meeting

January 14, 2020 Diana Staresinic-Deane

From 1933 until 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps employed millions of young, unmarried men in jobs related to conservation and natural resource development as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Tod Bevitt will explore how the C.C.C. impacted Kansas and Franklin County during their presentation at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Members of the Franklin County Historical Society on Sunday, January 26, 2 p.m. at Neosho County Community College in Ottawa, Kansas. The Civilian Conservation Corps was arguably one of Roosevelt’s most successful New Deal programs. The…