Towanda Area Historical Museum - Towanda, Kansas The Towanda Area Historical Museum in Towanda, Kansas is in a building which was constructed in 1904 and originally housed the Towanda Masonic Lodge upstairs. After consolidating with another lodge, the Masons transferred ownership to the building to the city of Towanda in 1996 and the historic building now houses the history, artifacts and other memorabilia of the northwest corner of Butler County, Kansas. Today the attractive stone building has a open space on the main floor and three galleries in the space where the Masons used to meet upstairs. One end of the main gallery is still set up as it was when the Masons met there. The main floor displays the contents of the time capsule which was placed during the building's cornerstone laying ceremony on June 2, 1904, as well as a small barb wire collection and Towanda photos. The museum has many photos and a nice scale model of the large Whitewater Fall Stock Farm Barn which built north of Towanda in 1909. In 1911, the Robison farm was reputed to be the largest percheron farm in the country. On the way out of town, I drove by the barn to see it as it is today. Although the barn isn't open to the public, a public road passes just a few feet from the barn so it can be viewed and photographed as a drive by. The Towanda Area Historical Museum is normally only open Tuesdays and the first weekend of the month, but thank you to Tricia Lee for offering to meet me so I could tour and photograph the museum. The museum may open at other times by advance appointment.
copyright 2024 by Keith Stokes |
