Old Cowtown Museum is an accredited history museum located in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, United States. It is located next to the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United ...

in central Wichita. The Museum was established in 1952, and is one of the oldest open-air history museums in central United States with 54 historic and re-created buildings, including a period farm and out-buildings, situated on 23 acres of land off the original

Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cher ...

. Cowtown is a combination of attraction, museum, living history site, and historic preservation project. It is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...

not-for-profit institution.

Overview

Private owners moved it twice then third move to Cowtown in 1952. The Museum focuses on life in Wichita during the last part of the 19th century. Cowtown's unique programming tells the story of Wichita's transformation from a frontier settlement to a cattle town to an agricultural and manufacturing area. Its artifact collection includes 12,000+ items dating from the period and ranging from farm wagons to tea spoons. The museum also contains a number of live animals, such as

Percheron The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and k ...

horses, a short-horned Durham milk cow, two sheep, a goat and chickens. The ''Old Cowtown'' experience includes costumed interpreters, hands-on activities, educational programming and a calendar of diverse events throughout the year. Cowtown is accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, the highest national recognition achievable by a museum. Only 3% of all museums in the United States are accredited.

Early Wichita history

The first permanent settlement in Wichita was a collection of grass houses inhabited by the Wichita tribe in 1864. Pioneer trader

Jesse Chisholm Jesse Chisholm (''circa ''1805 - March 4, 1868) (Cherokee) was a Cherokee fur trader and merchant in the American West. He is known for having scouted and developed what became known as the Chisholm Trail, later used to drive cattle from Texas to ...

established a trading post at the site in the 1860s (whom the

was named). Wichita was founded in 1868 by businessmen then incorporated as a city in 1870. The Chisholm Trail ran along the east side of Wichita from 1867 to 1871. In 1872 the Wichita and Southwestern Railroad completed a branch line from Wichita to the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

at Newton. As a result, Wichita became a railhead for cattle drives from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, from which it has derived its nickname "Cowtown." Wichita's neighboring town on the opposite (west) bank of the Arkansas River, Delano, a village of saloons and brothels, had a particular reputation for lawlessness, largely accommodating the rough, visiting cattlemen. The Wichita/Delano community gained a wild reputation, however, the east (Wichita) side of the river was kept more civil, thanks to numerous well-known lawmen who passed through, employed to help keep the rowdy cowboys in line. Among those was

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which la ...

. After railroads were extended west and south, Wichita lost the railhead for cattle drives along with the rowdy cowboys that came with it. In 1880, Delano was annexed by Wichita, then a land boom involving speculation occurred in the late 1880s, and by 1890 the population of Wichita had exploded to nearly 24,000.

Movie film set

Various movies have used the Old Cowtown Museum site as a film set: * Bender Claim, The - filmed in 2013 * Bloody Dawn - filmed in 2006 * Midnight Shanghai - filmed in 2016 * Only Good Indian, The - filmed in 2007 * Road to Valhalia - filmed in 2013 *

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

- filmed in 1992 * Touched by Fire - filmed in 2004 * Wichita - filmed in 2013

Hours and Admission

;HoursHours and Admission; Old Cowtown Museum website.
/ref> * Monday = Closed. * Tuesday to Saturday = 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. * Sunday = Noon to 5 p.m. Every Sunday (April to October) is free ;Admission * Senior (62+) = $6.50 * Adult (18-61) = $7.75 * Youth (12-17) = $6.00 * Children (4-11) = $5.50 * Children (under 4) = Free * Special prices for groups (15+ people and schools)

References

External links

*
Map of Old Cow Town grounds
* , from ''Hatteberg's People'' on

KAKE KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located in ...

TV news * , from ''Hatteberg's People'' on

TV news {{Authority control Living museums in Kansas Museums in Wichita, Kansas American West museums