March 26: Kiiloona Munsiiw/We Are Munsee: The Munsee Tribe in Kansas

Background image: A large gathering of men, women, and children. Inset: a bearded man wearing a "Munsee Tribe of Kansas" t-shirt. Humanities Kansas logo.

Kiiloona Munsiiw/We Are Munsee: The Munsee Tribe in Kansas presented by Mike Ford Sunday, March 26, 2023, 2 p.m. In Person: FCHS Archives & Research Center, 2011 East Logan Street, Ottawa, Kansas Online: Facebook Live or Zoom Local Munsee historian Mike Ford will discuss the history of The Munsee Tribe in Kansas from their tribe’s survival following the Gnadenhutten Massacre of March 8th, 1782 as their journey takes them through Moravian missions in Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario, Upper Canada; from the New Fairfield Moravian mission on the Thames River through…

Read More

March 5: Retelling Sod and Stubble

Text: Retelling Sod and Stubble. Presented by Ken Spurgeon. 03/05/2023 2 p.m. In person or Online via Zoom or Facebook Live. Image shows men, women, and children standing in front of a house.

Retelling Sod and Stubble Presented by Ken Spurgeon Sunday, March 5, 2023, 2 p.m. In person: FCHS Archives & Research Center, 2011 East Logan Street, Ottawa, Kansas Online via Zoom & Facebook Live Many Kansans have read SOD AND STUBBLE, John Ise’s incredible “non-fiction novel” about German immigrant Henry Ise and his devoted wife, Rosie Haas Ise, who with tenacity and devotion fight to craft a home for their family on the plains of Kansas. The book, which includes additional material by Von Rothenberger, is known for its realism. This…

Read More

January 29: John Brown and Lane, Kansas, subject of 86th Annual FCHS Meeting presentation

Foreground: Portrait of John Brown showing a man was graying hair, sharp facial features, a white shirt with collar, and dark jacket. Background: historic map showing Franklin County in the center.

John Brown and Lane, Kansas presented by Grady Atwater 86th Annual Meeting of the Members of the Franklin County Historical Society  Sunday, January 29, 2023, 2 p.m. In person: FCHS Archives & Research Center, 2011 E Logan St, Ottawa, KS Online: Zoom and Facebook Live   Handouts for this program: Annual Meeting program Wishlist Kansas-Missouri Border Map John Brown in Kansas Territory Map   The Pottawatomie Massacre was over in a matter of hours, but it effects rippled throughout the world. Grady Atwater, site administrator for the John Brown Museum…

Read More

April 1: Run For History 5K Run/Walk

Text reads: 5K Run for History. Image: Silhouettes of runners.

Run for History 5K Fun Run/Walk Saturday, April 1, 2023, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Old Depot Museum, 135 West Tecumseh Street, Ottawa, Kansas Feel the spirit of the trains as you trace the paths of the former AT&SF and Missouri Pacific railroad lines during our April 1, 2023 5K Run/Walk, which kicks off at the 1888 Old Depot Museum! Whether you set your best time or enjoy a stroll with your friends, your $25 registration fee will help support the Franklin County Historical Society. Register early and receive a…

Read More

November 1: W.H. “Dad” Martin, Photographer, Ottawa, Kansas (online program)

Man and woman sit in an early 1900s automobile. Gigantic eggs fill the back seat and a large potato is strapped to the back. Two children hang from the side.

W.H. “Dad” Martin, Photographer, Ottawa, Kansas presented by Morgan Williams Tuesday, November 1, 2022, 7 p.m. Online via Zoom of Facebook Live The life and times of W. H. “Dad” Martin as a photographer, world’s champion creator and publisher of exaggeration photo postcards, highway sign manufacturer, and philanthropist in Ottawa, Kansas. Martin from 1908-1910 created over 60 exaggerated photographic images showing farming, fishing and hunting in Franklin County, Kansas. He produced, through his Martin Post Card Company, more that 8 million real photo postcards in Ottawa, Kansas. The program will…

Read More

October 21: Chamber Coffee @ FCHS Archives & Research Center

Bookcases filled with books. Tables and chairs. File cabinets. Large prints of historic photos in the background.

Chamber Coffee Friday, October 21, 2022, 8 a.m. FCHS Archives & Research Center 2011 East Logan Street, Ottawa, Kansas 66067   We’re excited to share our new location with you! Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Franklin County Historical Society’s Archives & Research Center and learn more about how we hope to use our new space. For more information, call (785) 242-1232 or e-mail Diana Staresinic-Deane.

Read More

NEW DATE – October 23: Dress for Success: Nelly Don and American Fashion (in-person program)

Image shows fashion sketch of women's clothing

Dress for Success: Nelly Don and American Fashion Presented by Marla Day Sunday, October 9, 2022, October 23, 2022, 2 p.m. Greenwood Community Center 2705 Florida Rd, Pomona, Kansas 66076 NEW DATE: Due to an unforeseen illness, this program has been postponed and will be held on Sunday, October 23. You can’t mention 20th-century women’s wear without thinking of Nelly Don. The Parsons native built a fashion empire on the vision that women deserved affordable, stylish clothing regardless of means or status. From humble beginnings, Don built a company that…

Read More

Summer 2022: 1859 Dietrich Cabin Tours

Image shows a stone fireplace. A large gold-framed wedding photo of a couple rests on a mantel. The fireplace is surrounded by household items common in the 1800s.

1859 Dietrich Cabin Tours First Saturday in June, July, & August, 10 a.m. to Noon Dietrich Cabin is reopening for tours! Originally located southwest of present-day Princeton, Dietrich Cabin was built in 1859 by German immigrants Jacob and Catherine Dietrich, who came to Franklin County in 1857. A century later, descendants of the family donated the cabin to the Franklin County Historical Society, and the cabin was moved to City Park. The cabin represents the story of the Dietrich family and hundreds of other early settlers who came to Franklin…

Read More

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

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…

Read More

July 17, 2022 Program: Architecture of the People’s Houses

Sepia-toned photo of the Franklin County Courthouse, a three-story brick and stone victorian building. Inset: graphic of a man with dark hair and a beard. Humanities Kansas logo.

Architecture of the People’s Houses presented by Murl Riedel Sunday, July 17, 2022, 2 p.m. Ottawa Memorial Auditorium, 301 South Hickory, Ottawa, Kansas Kansas has 105 county courthouses and hundreds of city halls, plus a few more state capitals than you might expect. The manifestation of the greatest ideals occurs in these buildings, where the work of the people’s democracy is in action. The designs of these buildings tell us about the evolution of local government in the state. Larger societal issues, such as the Free State and the Civil…

Read More