fort wallace museum

We have driven by the Ft. Wallace Museum before but never bothered to stop. That was a mistake on our part. The Museum is fairly small but is loaded with information and relics from the frontier days. Especially as it relates to Ft. Wallace which was located in the area. None of the old Fort remains. But the Museum has plenty of information of the Fort which was the furthest Western Fort in its day. Includes three outbuildings. No fee but donations are appreciated.

I'm glad we made the little trip out to this museum. They have a lot of cool things and are working to make even more improvements. There were two women working when we visited, and each one took time to show us things they thought would be interesting to us.

For such a small time this place was good. The artifacts were varied and interesting. If I was a preservationist, I might be frustrated with how open everything is. Didn't seem to bother anyone. Staff friendly and knowledgeable.

This museum was totally unexpected. It is on one of the Kansas by ways and has a lot of history in it. There was a gentleman there who was very versed in the geology and fossils of the area. He told great stories with lots of detail of the different geological eras that effected Kansas. The buffalo statue in front of the museum was created from bard wire.

We stopped here on our drive from eastern Kansas out to Colorado, and it was an unexpected find! The museum is full of pioneer artifacts, fossils, and items found in the area, and a large room has thousands of Civil War era items found by metal detector out by the fort, as well as paintings of events that occurred there. There is a display case about a pioneer family who was ambushed by native Americans, and it contains photographs of the family, and some items from their lives. It is a fascinating look at actual pieces of history. There was an elderly gentleman there who was very knowledgeable and friendly, who talked to us about the fossils in the area. He even sold our boys printouts about fossils for 10 cents each, and gave them mineral rock samples. There are other buildings you can explore, one is an old train depot full of neat maps. I wish we had taken the time to go out to the fort site. (The fort itself no longer stands, but there is a cemetery.) So glad we took this route instead of the usual I-70!

Don't miss the turn to get to the cemetery. It is a ways down a dirt road but the visit is remarkable. Get out of the car and read the headstones to get a record of the lives of the people who lived and died here. The silence and the desolation is as much of the experience as the honor and serenity one feels. The museum and rest area are the best - bar none! - in the area. The people are friendly and the information is extensive. Please stop in and sign their guest book. This is the an important part of the Western Vistas Byways.

This is often overlooked, and it's been many years since we visited, but I have recommended it to many travelers to stop and visit. No longer a Fort pe ser (like Hayes or Levenworth), but was one of four forts built in the 1860's to protect the white westward expansion. Be sure to swing by the cemetery which contains the remains of the massacred railroad workers and Army soldiers from 1860 to the present day residents. Very sobering.

This place is well put together and has alot of artifacts from western kansas. Great place to take the kids. Lots of different things to see from arrow heads to vehicles used throughout history