TOPEKA – Humanities Kansas recently awarded a SHARP Recovery Grant in the amount of $7,164 to the Franklin County Historical Society in Ottawa, Kansas. Diana Staresinic-Deane serves as project director. Founded in 1937, the Franklin County Historical Society strives to preserve, present, and promote the history of Franklin County, Kansas, through its archives, programs, and exhibits at the Old Depot Museum and Dietrich Cabin. The SHARP Recovery Grants support Kansas cultural organizations that provide humanities programming and are facing financial hardship due to the coronavirus. Grants are for general operating…
Read MorePast Temporary Exhibits
New exhibit explores transition from horse-drawn buggies to horseless carriages
Horse Power Now through August 2022 at the Old Depot Museum The Franklin County Historical Society’s newest exhibit, “Horse Power,” explores the transition from horse-drawn buggies to horseless carriages and how the automobile shaped our streets and our culture. The exhibit will be on display at the Old Depot Museum in Ottawa, Kansas, through August 2022. In 1899, the Ottawa Herald reported that “Franklin County has 6,622 horses. As yet, she has no automobiles.” “Horseless carriages” were still a rarity in Kansas; in 1900, Kansas ranked tenth in the…
Read MoreNew Exhibit Features Historic Maps of Ottawa
Our City in Sanborns: The City of Ottawa in Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1884-1924 Now through July 2022 at the Old Depot Museum The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps were first published in the 1860s to help fire insurance agents assess risk to commercial, industrial, and residential buildings and properties. Sanborn ultimately printed more than 50,000 editions of maps for 12,000 U.S. towns and cities through the 1950s. Because these maps were expensive—ranging in price from $12 to $200 depending on the year and the size of the city—communities often…
Read MoreJune 29: Dirt, Grit, & Jell-O Salad–How We Survived the Great Depression (Online Event)
Dirt, Grit, & Jell-O Salad–How We Survived the Great Depression presented by Beccy Tanner Tuesday, June 29, 7 p.m. Via Zoom & Facebook Live Click here to register for Zoom access Generations after the Great Depression, Kansans still define themselves and rural communities largely in the same terms their grandparents and great-grandparents once used–“hard-working, close-knit, loyal, and faithful.” But the dynamics have changed. Fewer Kansans are growing up on farms. More than 70 percent of people in Kansas now identify themselves as living in urban communities. Today, rural Kansans face…
Read MoreApril 13: Trails of Kansas: Past, Present, and Future (Online Event)
Trails of Kansas: Past, Present, and Future presented by Jonathan Conard and Kristin Conard April 13, 7 p.m. Click here for recording The history of trails runs deep across the Kansas plains. From the historic Oregon, Santa Fe, and Chisholm Trails to the steady growth in recreational trails throughout our state today, there are more opportunities than ever to explore Kansas on foot, bike, or horseback. Trails that connect the past to the present are found throughout the state and we highlight some of the most scenic and interesting trails…
Read MoreNew exhibit highlights teen’s photos of 1950s Franklin County
Through a Teen’s Lens: The Photography of Jack Bremer Now through March 2022 at the Old Depot Museum Before Jack Bremer found his calling as a United Methodist minister and social activist, he was a teenager with a camera. The Old Depot Museum’s newest exhibit, “Through a Teen’s Lens: The Photography of Jack Bremer,” showcases 50 photographs Bremer captured during the early 1950s. The exhibit will be on display through March 2022. Bremer’s photographs caught the attention of the Franklin County Historical Society in June of 2020, when his daughter,…
Read MoreMay 4: Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills (Online Event)
Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills presented by Rex Buchanan Tuesday, May 4, 7 p.m. Via Zoom and Facebook Live Click here to register for Zoom Access Too often Kansas history seems to start with the Coronado’s trip through the state in 1541. For centuries before European arrival, Native people lived on the plains, and some left behind rock carvings on soft sandstone in the middle of the state. Based on the book Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills (University Press of Kansas, 2019), this presentation focuses on these carvings,…
Read MoreJanuary 31:Historic maps the topic of this year’s virtual historical society annual meeting
“Mapping the Past,” presented by Kelly Johnston 84th Annual Meeting of the Members of the Franklin County Historical Society Sunday, January 31, 2021, 2 p.m. Click Here For Recording Before technology like drones, aerial photography, and GPS, 19th and early 20th century cartographers were creating incredibly accurate and detailed maps of small and large towns and their historic structures. Kelly Johnston will explore the history of some of these maps and how they can be used to research the history of buildings and towns during his presentation at…
Read MoreCongratulations to our newly reelected board members!
On February 9, 2021, 1 p.m., a panel of ballot judges– two staff members and a volunteer–opened, reviewed, and tabulated all received proxy ballots submitted in the election of our FCHS Board of Trustees. 163 ballots were mailed. 69 ballots were returned by noon on February 9, 2021, which is a return rate of 42 percent. 67 ballots were cast in favor of reelecting Sara Caylor, Robbin Kerth, and Juanita Peckham to the FCHS Board of Trustees for three-year terms. Two ballots were returned blank, and the ballots were disqualified. Because…
Read MoreInvitation to Bid on Roof Repairs and Painting/Plastering Projects at the Old Depot Museum
NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS INVITATION TO BID Roof Project & Painting/Plastering Project OLD DEPOT MUSEUM, also known as the Ottawa Santa Fe Depot OTTAWA, KANSAS Building Description Completed in 1888, the two-story limestone building with a prominent terne-metal roof served as a depot for the Southern Kansas and then AT&SF railroad lines until 1962, when the structure was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society. FCHS reopened the building as the Old Depot Museum in 1963. Project Descriptions Project #1: Repairing both the terne-metal roof and wooden platform roof to…
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