Morton County Historical Society Museum - Elkhart, Kansas The Morton County Historical Society Museum in Elkhart, Kansas is one of the larger and more interesting local historical museums in Kansas. It has a lot to offer even to those who don't have a connection to the community. A few of those things are mentioned below. The museum says that Morton County, Kansas is the smallest county in the world to have not only one, but two Olympic Medal Winners. Glenn Cunningham ran on the 1932 and 1936 U.S. Olympic teams, winning a silver medal in 1936 in the 1,500-meter race. In 1938 he set the indoor mile world record with a time of 4.04.4 minutes. Thane Baker captained the silver medal in the 200 meters during the 1952 Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. In Melbourne, Australia, in 1956 he won the gold medal as captain and member of the 400 meter relay team, a silver medal in the 100 meters, and the bronze medal in the 200 meters. In addition to exhibits about their exploits, when we last visited the museum in 2025, Thane and his daughter, Catherine Baker Nicholson were selling and signing copies of "Running in Borrowed Shoes." Catherine's book is devoted to Thane, the oldest living American Track & Field Olympic gold medial winner. The museum is filled with murals and other art by local artists. I particularly like the paintings of local scenes and history that are around the top of the walls in the first room of the museum. A story I would like to know more about is that of O. K. Webster of Salina, Kansas, who built a circus band wagon and horse drawn hearse to be used for his 10 mile funeral procession in 2001. It was his wish that the wagons be donated to the Morton County Historical Museum, Another interesting story that includes much more information, is that of Larry B. Tudor, who set several world records for hang gliding. Although he is from California, in 1990 he flew a hang glider from Hobbs, New Mexico to Elkhart, Kansas, a distance of 303 miles. The flight took over 8 hours at an average speed of 35 miles per hour. Elkhart had been Larry's goal when he took off, and although the Smithsonian Institute wanted to purchase the glider, he wanted it to remain where he set the record. The Dirty Thirties room devoted to the "Dust Bowl" period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the Great Pains in the 1930s. The exhibit just opened in 2025.
copyright 2011-2025 by Keith Stokes |
