Chamber Coffee at the Old Depot Museum Friday, January 25, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. 130 years ago this month, Franklin Countians were catching the train at Ottawa’s brand-new train depot. Join us at the Old Depot Museum for a special commemoration of a grand building and a tour of our exhibit, Iron, Steel, & Stone: The Life of a Depot. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (785) 242-1250 or e-mail us.
Read MoreThe Franklin County Historical Society, Plaza Cinema, and Kansas Silent Film Festival are partnering to bring three fun and spooky films accompanied by live music to the Plaza Cinema, 209 S. Main, Ottawa, Kansas, on Saturday, October 20, at 7:30 p.m. Bill Shaffer, former producer/director at KTWU, will emcee the October 20 event, which starts at 7 p.m. The evening’s lineup includes the short films Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920) and Dr. Pycle & Mr. Pryde (1925) and the feature film Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (also 1920). What…
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Plaza Cinema, 209 S Main, Ottawa, KS Saturday, October 20, 2018, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $15 + tax The Plaza Cinema, Franklin County Historical Society, and Kansas Silent Film Festival are once again partnering to bring you a spectacular silent film event featuring a LIVE musical score performed by keyboardist Marvin Faulwell and percussionist Bob Keckeisen, with introductions by Bill Shaffer. This year’s films include shorts DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (1920), DR. PYCLE & MR. PRYDE (1925), and the feature length film DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (1920), starring John…
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Neosho County Community College, 900 E Logan, Ottawa, KS Sunday, November 4, 2018, 2 p.m. In 1918, an influenza epidemic killed millions of people around the world. One hundred years later, scientists and historians are still working to understand how it started. Historian Tyler Johnson will present the story of the 1918 Influenza outbreak’s start in Western Kansas, the national outbreak, Kansas’s battle against the flu, and how Ottawa fared during the outbreak. He will also discuss death tolls and theories of how the pandemic started. This program is free…
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Neosho County Community College, 900 E Logan, Ottawa, KS Sunday, October 21, 2018, 2 p.m. In 1854, after recently arriving from England, twenty-two-year-old Reuben Smith traveled west, eventually making his way to Kansas Territory. There he found himself in the midst of a bloody prelude to the Civil War, as Free Staters and defenders of slavery battled to stake their claim. For fifty years, Smith wrote fascinating narratives about all he observed and experienced during territorial days, the border war, civil war, and early Kansas politics (he served three terms…
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Rick Hamman of Coffelt Sign Company puts the final touches on the newly restored 1962 Ottawa sign in the Model Railroad Room at the Old Depot Museum in Ottwa, Kansas. The sign is one of a pair that once served as a beacon for trains arriving at Ottawa’s fifth and final Santa Fe depot, which opened in 1962. Passenger service ended in 1971. Restoration and installation was completed by Coffelt Sign Company of Emporia, Kansas, and funded in part by a grant from the Caroline E. Hewitt Trust.
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Step back in time at the 1859 Dietrich Cabin! Learn about life in 19th-Century Franklin County. Dietrich Cabin is located in City Park at 5th and Main streets in Ottawa, Kansas. Kids are always welcome! Admission is free, but donations to help FCHS maintain the cabin are always appreciated. Fall2018 Dietrich Cabin Hours Sunday, August 26, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, September 15, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, September 23, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, October 28, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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This August, four Franklin County museums are partnering to promote local history. Appanoose Museum, the Old Depot Museum, Richmond Community Museum, and the Wellsville Historical Society are launching a first-ever Museum Hopper Weekend on August 4 and 5 to encourage visitors to explore the rich history of Franklin County. “What’s amazing about our community museums is that each museum reflects the stories of the people in the community it serves,” said Diana Staresinic-Deane, Franklin County Historical Society executive director. “By visiting each of these museums, visitors can really appreciate how…
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Archaeology in Your Own Backyard Sunday, July 29, 2 p.m. Neosho County Community College, 900 E Logan, Ottawa, KS The land is much older than we are, and evidence of the people who came before us can be found in the soil. As pieces of farm tools, dishes, pottery, arrowheads, and nails come to the surface, they connect us to the past. What should we do if we find something? How do we identify it? Do we get to keep it? Kansas archaeologist Aaron Colgrove will present “Archaeology in Your…
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Ottawa, Kansas—After months of research and investigation, the Franklin County Historical Society Board of Trustees unanimously voted against pursuing the acquisition of the 1894 Hatfield-Wolf-Bowers barn, located near the corner of Seventh Street and Eisenhower Road in Ottawa, Kansas. In 2017, the Bowers family approached the Franklin County Historical Society about the possibility of donating the barn and some land to the historical society. “FCHS saw a potential opportunity to develop an agricultural museum and meeting space,” said Diana Staresinic-Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Historical Society. “We saw…
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