The most practical reason to preserve local history is that it promotes community progress – it encourages tourism and commerce, enriches cultural identity, enhances aesthetic appeal and inspires community pride.
Museums bring visitors to town to conduct research and view exhibits. They come from elsewhere in Kansas, as well as other states and countries. But there are other significant reasons why museums matter to Stafford County, why preserving and studying local history is vital. Historians tend to focus on epic events, battlefields and politics. It's easy to forget that much history happened right here in rural mid-America, history that had a major influence on the development of the United States.
Local history puts national history into context. It tells the stories of ordinary folks, the intrinsic creators of history. Local history gets down to the nitty-gritty – how and why we got where we are. Philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle wrote in 1841, "The history of the world is but the biography of great men." But great men could not achieve their goals without their minions – the farmers, laborers, entrepreneurs. The workers and the everyday people are the ones who turn the dreams of great mean into reality.
We are curious about our ancestors. We want to know where they originated, what their lives were like. In "meeting" our ancestors, we find a more profound understanding of ourselves. Local and ancestral history tells us where we came from. It gives us a sense of place, a common focus, a reference point to the direction of our lives and communities.
“Preserving our past, while understanding our present and championing insights into the future. We aspire to tell the diverse stories of our hometown, county and state. We aim to touch our visitors through exhibits and educational events and leave them with a sense of pride.”
Beccy Tanner is recording video interviews with Stafford County families and those with Stafford County connections. Each family will tell their own stories. We are looking for family photos to scan and return to you so that we build our museum archive. Please contact us if you have any family photos you would like to share with the Homecoming Hall Museum.
The idea behind the videos is that 50-100 years from now, your descendants will be able to call these videos up and “meet” you, to view what you said, the stories you shared, how you looked, talked and gestured. And it will be a remarkable keepsake for you. Please tell us your stories. To make an appointment, email beccytanner504@gmail.com or call 316-644-4283.
We would like to thank Equity Bank for donating and serving hamburgers and hotdogs at our 2023 Homecoming Festival, Rankin Fisher for acting as Master of Ceremonies, Jim and Salli Ratts with Ernie Martinez for the wonderful concert, the generous patrons who donated funds, Cami Raines for organizing the event, and the many volunteers who worked hard work to make it such a success!
We are grateful to our volunteers who keep the museum running smoothly: David Curtis, Bobbett, Jack, Brian, and Kevin Davis, Rankin Fisher, Diane Getty, Michael and Auriel Hathaway, Pat Houston, Kim Hullman, Wendy Mawhirter, Anna and Mitch Minnis, Ixchel Gomez, Jesse Mosman, Cami & Aaron Raines, Janet Richardson, St. John junior and high school students, Steve Staton, and Beccy Tanner.
To protect our cherished heirlooms and artifacts from Kansas’ extreme weather, we must run climate control to keep the building between 65-75 degrees, year-round. This makes for some very high utility bills. We are asking for donations to help us offset this major expense. Thank you!
With its high school marching band. The band routinely brought home national marching championship trophies.
Her name was Jessie Schultz Woods and she was the most successful wingwalker of all time – meaning, she walked on the wings of flying planes, often doing stunts and hanging upside down before crowds -- without wearing parachutes or other safety devices.
The Church of Jesus Christ on the hill in St. John, founded by William Bickerton and the Bickertonites, was the first church in Stafford County. The building was the only church in the county for nine years and served all denominations as a place of worship.
The Kansas Legislature obliterated Stafford County from the map in 1875, partitioning sections of the county off to neighboring counties, Barton, Pratt, and Pawnee. In 1879, an act of the Kansas Supreme Court restored most of the county to its original boundaries.
In 1875, when the Kansas legislature obliterated Stafford County, they partitioned all but two townships to neighboring counties. They left Farmington and Clear Creek without a county. Ultimately, this is one of the things that inspired the Kansas Supreme Court to restore the county.
Lenore Cornwell studied voice in New York City in the 1920s. She starred on Broadway in Arthur Hammerstein's Rose-Marie. The book and lyrics were by Arthur's nephew, Oscar Hammerstein II (of Rodgers & Hammerstein fame) and Otto Harbach. It premiered Sept. 2, 1924, and was the longest-running Broadway musical of the 1920s.
These were days of prohibition and they were looking for bootleg whiskey.
There were two: African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the New Hope Baptist Church.