THE MUSEUM COLLECTION

We are hunters and gatherers – of the facts and stories that remain of our history, and of the artifacts that give us a tangible way to understand that history.  Our displays are designed to tell the story behind each subject, such as our WWII-era bomb artifact from the local bombing practice range, and the story of how the town of Reading was accidentally bombed one night.

A popular artifact is a slice of the Admire Meteorite shown here, famous among meteorite enthusiasts for its unusual content of olivine crystals.  The story of the 1948 Admire train wreck involves dozens of rail cars refrigerated with ice, loads of fresh produce and very hot weather.  The Santa Fe Trail and the trail known as the Burlingame Road passed through our area, and they brought with them trade, pioneers and colorful characters; displays share some of the stories and hardships of that period on the Kansas prairie.  Other current subjects include local sports, a tribute to veterans, a pioneer woman’s 1867 diary, schools and much more.

                                                    

      MO-Pac train depot, Bushong                                           Model farm equipment

 

                                                    

Plate given away by an                                1917 Construction of the
Allen hardware store                                limestone bridge near Admire
                                    Army surplus equipment for the Miller Fire Dept., 1964

 

 

 Interior of Reading’s Blue Front Store

                         

                                                               Americus, 1921

Our museum shares many stories, which give us glimpses into lifestyles and conditions of the past.  An example from the Northern Lyon County Journal, March 17, 1916, excerpted from the memoirs of T.O. Hill, who came to NE Lyon Co. as a young man with his pioneer parents:  “You have heard the expression, ‘as easy as falling off a log.’  In the fall of 1857, I started to cross a little stream of water.  An old cottonwood had fallen across it.  I mounted and started across.  All of a sudden the bark slipped and I went on all sides of the log.  I got up and was rubbing my bumps, which were too numerous to mention.  Looking around, I found something.  It was not Indians or border ruffians, but enough bed bugs to supply a county.  These insects are a double half-cousin to the chinch bug.  It was one of the standard jokes of the old times, that when a traveler put up at a hotel, when the book was handed to him to sign, that these bed-fellows would come onto the page to find out the number of his room.”

 

Come share the past and our rich history with a visit to the museum!

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