Fossil Station Museum - Russell, Kansas The Fossil Station Museum in Russell, Kansas is in a neat stone building which was built in 1907 to be the county jail, sheriff's office and living quarters. In addition to a museum, it housed the Historical Society's offices until a couple of years ago. It has recently been recently renovated. I like the things about this museum which are unique to Russell, particularly the large exhibit devoted to the late Senator Rob Dole. It even includes his mother, Bina Dole's recipe for Senator Dole's favorite cookies. There is a small exhibit about Mother Mary A. Bickerdyke, a Civil War nurse who established more than three hundred Union field hospitals to assist sick and wounded soldiers. In 1867 Mary Bickerdyke moved to Salina, Kansas where she built a boarding house and helped settle over 300 families in central Kansas. She lived with her son James a few miles away in Bunker Hill from 1877 to 1888 and again in 1896 until her death in 1904. From 1888 to 1894 James was the Superintendent of Schools in Russell and Mary made daily rounds nursing and advocating for sick veterans. Bickerdyke Elementary School in Russell was named in her son's honor in 1962. There are also interesting castings of Native American
petroglyphs which were made at Circle Rock on Lake Wilson.
copyright 2023-2024 by Keith Stokes |
