Old Depot Museum

The Old Depot Museum is a history museum located in Ottawa, Kansas. The focus of the museum is primarily on the regional history of Franklin County, and the importance of trains to the development of small towns.[1][2] It features history of local Native Americans, local industries, and has accurate recreations of historical rooms.[3] The Old Depot Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places.[4][5]

Old Depot Museum
Old Depot Museum Building
Location135 West Tecumseh, Ottawa, Kansas
OwnerFranklin County Historical Society
General managerDiana Staresinic-Deane
OpenedJuly 4, 1963
Operating seasonYear round
Websitewww.olddepotmuseum.org

History

The Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston (LL&G) railway was the first railroad in Kansas to be built south of the Union Pacific railroad in Lawrence, Kansas. This railway was 30 miles long and connected Lawrence to Ottawa. It was constructed primarily by Chinese railroad workers from 1867 to 1868.

In 1873, the LL&G railway failed and was sold to the Kansas City, Lawrence, and Southern Kansas Railroad, who constructed a train depot in northern Ottawa in 1888. The depot was designed by George Washburn, and made with limestone from Cowley County. In 1895, the depot was sold to Santa Fe railway, who kept it until railroads fell out of popular use.[6][3][7][8]

In 1962, the depot building was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society, who turned the building into a museum the following year.[3] The museum opened on the 4th of July, 1963.[1]

The museum received a grant from the ISTEA in 1996, and closed for three years to undergo major renovations.[9]

In 2001, a high water marker was placed on the outside of the Depot to commemorate the Great Flood of 1951. The marker stands 9.8 feet (2.99 meters) high, the highest that the water of Marais des Cygnes river reached during the flood.[10]

Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station
Princeton
toward Tulsa
 Tulsa – Kansas City Ottawa Junction
toward Kansas City, Missouri
Terminus Ottawa – Lawrence Ottawa Junction
toward Lawrence
Williamsburg
toward Gridley
 Gridley – Ottawa Terminus

Exhibits

Model train
Model train display at the Old Depot Museum in Ottawa, Kansas

One room of the museum is dedicated to an HO scale model train, with both steam and diesel trains.[11][12] The model train shows the railroad and Franklin County as it looked in the 1950s, and includes structures that exist around Franklin County.[9][13]

Historic room recreations

The Old Depot Museum has historic room recreations that show what building interiors may have looked like in the Victorian era. This includes a parlor, a general store, a soda fountain, a dentist's office, and a one room school house.[1][3][14]

Recreation of Bennett's Creamery at the Old Depot Museum

The soda fountain display room is based on the Bennett Creamery, which was once a commercial shop in downtown Ottawa, Kansas.[15][16]

This is the recreation of a one-room school house in the Old Depot Museum, decorated for Christmas.

The one room school house is available to be booked for field trips, and students can come visit and experience what a school day would have been like in one room.[3][14] Visiting children even wear pinafores and suspenders, clothing that children would have worn during the time of one room school houses.[3][17]

Bleeding Kansas
See also: Bleeding Kansas

One permanent exhibit is focused around abolitionist John Brown, and the Pottawatomie Massacre.[13][18] This exhibit was created by Traub Design associates in 2007, and its creation was made possible through a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council. The exhibit involves an "immersive" element, in that instead of a traditional visual museum exhibit, visitors go into a dark room and listen to accounts from family members of people murdered in the massacre and people who supported the attack, recorded by voice actors.[11][19]

Caboose

A caboose from the 1940s stands outside of the museum.[3] It was donated by Ron and Deanna Kimes. The caboose was dedicated on Sunday, April 28, of 2013 in conjunction with an event that focused specifically on the history of Kansas railroad workers.[20] The museum has considered adding a rail car to their outdoor exhibit as well, but are worried that it will be vandalized or damaged.[21]

Crossings

"Crossings: Getting Over, Around, and Through Water in Franklin County" is a temporary exhibit at the museum that opened on June 4, 2017 and will run through August 20, 2017.[22][23] The exhibit explores the relationship that Franklin County has with water, especially the Marais des Cygnes river.[24] A central feature of the exhibit is a 34-foot map of the Marais des Cygnes which encompasses the floor of the exhibit.[25][22] The exhibit is part of a larger initiative to focus on the relationship between people and water, and was supported by a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council to achieve that goal.[22]

Secret Societies

The Secret Societies exhibit at the Old Depot museum ran from August 14 to November 14 of 2016. The full title of the exhibit was “Secret Societies: The Search for Security, Knowledge and Fellowship in Ottawa and Franklin County.” The exhibit explored the purposes of various secret societies in Franklin County, although the overarching theme was about Franklin County residents searching for community.[26][27] Some of the secret societies featured were either secret abolitionist groups, like the Danites created by James Lane, or pro-slavery groups.[26][28][29]

A less seriously themed group was named the Esoteric and Terrible Order of Pie Eaters, which was a fraternity formed in 1868 in response to the Members of the Grange fraternity, which was more serious and exclusionary, and well known for eating cake. The Old Depot museum claimed that the views of the Pie Eaters fraternity were more far reaching than simply making fun of the Grangers, saying they also “had grand plans of doing away with currency and paying with pieces of glass, banishing all women to New Jersey, and achieving world domination while wearing pie plates around their necks and calling each other by titles like the ‘Grand Gyrasticutas’ and the ‘Grand Gabster.’" The museum hosted an event that included many of the Pie Eaters secret initiations, and served several types of pie.[30][31][32][33][34]

Small-Town Ball

"Small-Town Ball: Playing America's Game in Ottawa and Franklin County" was an exhibit about local baseball teams in Franklin County. The exhibit included information about school teams, company teams, and competitive traveling teams.[35] Along with the exhibit was a presentation by Phil S. Dixon about Negro Leagues Baseball and the Kansas City Monarchs.[36][37][38] The Monarchs played in barnstorm games in Ottawa at least five times.[37] The exhibit also featured a documentary screening of "Town Teams: Bigger than Baseball" at the local Plaza Cinema movie theatre, which focuses on the importance of small local baseball teams across Kansas.[39]

George P. Washburn

In 2007, the Old Depot Museum had a temporary exhibit featuring George Washburn, the architect who designed the depot. Washburn designed several buildings in Ottawa, Kansas, and the museum hosted a guided tour of his buildings as the exhibit was going on.[40]

Harvey Houses

In 2015, the Old Depot Museum had a special exhibit about Harvey Houses, restaurants that were created along railways by Fred Harvey. The depot in Ottawa never had a Harvey House of its own, but had a Harvey cart that served coffee and sandwiches.[41] This exhibit also paired with the local Plaza movie theatre to show "Harvey Girls," a movie starring Judy Garland, about Harvey Houses and the women who worked in them.[42][43]

Other temporary exhibits

Trails

The Old Depot Museum marks the beginning of the Prairie Spirit Trail.[4] This trail is 33 miles long and follows what used to be a railroad track, which originally began at the Santa Fe Depot. This trail was Kansas' first "rail-trail."[48][49]

The museum can also be a trailhead for the Flint Hills Nature Trail.[4][49]

References
  1. Stokes, Keith. "Old Depot Museum – Ottawa, Kanasas". www.kansastravel.org. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  2. "Old Depot Museum – Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri". www.girlscoutsksmo.org. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  3. "Old Depot Museum – Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area". Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  4. "Natural and Historic Features Along the Flint Hills Nature Trail – Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy". Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  5. "National and State Registers of Historic Places – Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  6. "Old Depot Museum – Ottawa – KS – US – Historical Marker Project". Historical Marker Project. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  7. "Old Depot Museum – Ottawa, KS - Kansas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  8. "Old Depot Museum – Ottawa, Kansas". www.lasr.net. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  9. "Old Depot Museum". Clio. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  10. Webmaster, Kansas. "USGS – High-Water Marker Installation". ks.water.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  11. "Hometown History and Hospitality in Franklin County". Freedom's Frontier Heritage Traveler. 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  12. "Old Depot Museum". www.travelks.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  13. "Old Depot Museum – Ottawa KS | AAA.com". www.aaa.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  14. "Old Depot Museum – Visit Ottawa KS". Visit Ottawa KS. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  15. Writer, AMELIA ARVESEN Herald Staff. "Youngest generation of Bennetts discovers family's sweet legacy". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  16. "Bennett Creamery | Franklin County Kansas History Portal". www.franklincokshistory.org. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  17. "Emporia State announces 2016 William Allen White Children's Book Awards winners". Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  18. "Visit Your Favorite Museum For Free on 9/24/16". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  19. "Traub Design Associates – "Pottawatomie Creek Massacre"". www.traubdesignassociates.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  20. "Old Depot Museum on track for railroad fun Sunday". KOFO Local News. 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  21. Writer, AMELIA ARVESEN Herald Staff. "Vandalized vintage rail cars worth more than money". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  22. "New exhibit explores Franklin County's relationship with the Marais des Cygnes River - Franklin County KS Historical Society". Franklin County KS Historical Society. 2017-06-01. Archived from the original on 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  23. ""Crossings:Getting Over, Around the Through Water in Franklin County" | Visit Ottawa KS". visitottawakansas.com. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  24. Staff, The Herald. "Old Depot exhibit chronicles life on the river". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  25. "Crossings: Getting Over, Around, and Through Water in Franklin County (Exhibit Grand Opening) - 6/4/2017 - Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area". Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  26. "Museum exhibit explores history of secret societies in Ottawa". Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  27. Writer, KATE SHELTON Herald Staff. "New museum exhibit to explore secret societies". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  28. "Author, historian to give talk on secret societies in territorial Kansas". Archived from the original on 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  29. Staff, The Herald. "Author to discuss secret societies in Kansas territory". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  30. "'Pie Eaters' event honors long-defunct Franklin County fraternal organization". Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  31. "Annual Pie Eaters event brings ragtime music, auction to Ottawa – Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area". Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  32. "2016 Conclave of the Esoteric & Terrible Order of Pie Eaters – 11/6/2016 – Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area". Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  33. "Esoteric & Terrible Order of Pie Eaters Elliott Hall, First Baptist Church, 410 S Hickory, Ottawa, KS Hickory, North Carolina". www.usampm.com. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  34. Staff, The Herald. "Historical society set for 'pie-eating' event". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  35. "keepersofthelegends". keepersofthelegends. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  36. Staff, The Herald. "Monarchs historian to speak at Old Depot". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  37. "Negro Leagues expert to give presentation on Kansas City Monarchs in Ottawa". Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  38. Writer, KATE SHELTON Herald Staff. "Famed baseball team dabbled in county history". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  39. "Old Depot Museum will screen documentary celebrating town team baseball in early Kansas – Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area". Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  40. "Kansas Preservation Newsletter" (PDF). kshs.org. Kansas State Historical Society.
  41. Latimer, Rosa Walston (2015-10-12). Harvey Houses of Kansas: Historic Hospitality from Topeka to Syracuse. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625853707.
  42. "Cattle drive coming to downtown Ottawa". Archived from the original on 2016-12-27. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  43. "Exhibit explores role of Harvey Houses on American travel". Archived from the original on 2016-12-27. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  44. Staff, The Herald. "New exhibit explores quilt patterns through county resident". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  45. Staff, The Herald. "Quilt shop owner to be featured at historical society event". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  46. Writer, KATE SHELTON Herald Staff. "Grant will help historians study 'unendingly interesting' World War II photos from the homefront". The Ottawa Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  47. "Kansas Humanities Council awards grant to Franklin County Historical Society". Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  48. logicmaze.com. "Park & Trails – Ottawa Recreation Commission". orcottawaks.org. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  49. "Ottawa Kansas & Franklin County – Area Attractions". www.ottawaksrealestate.com. Retrieved 2016-12-10.

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