baxter springs heritage center and museum

J0ellaR

We had seen the museum from the outside, and it looked impressive. On a planned outing, we took the opportunity to visit. What a wonderful surprise! The staff of volunteers we cordial, welcoming, and informative. The two floors of displays were arranged in medium to large cases, but mostly in "rooms" that would highlight their uses and time periods. Very delightful to view! The Native American artifacts were arranged by tribe, the furnishings by period, as well as the fashions, machinery, and mining equipment. A black-lit room especially highlighted some beautiful native geodes. The gift shop had a number of interesting items for sale. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. This was an afternoon very well spent!

alanw509

This is absolutely one of the finest museums in the whole Midwest. You would never expect to find this class/quality museum as this in a small town. There are so many exhibits here and so well displayed. Civil War history, baseball, mining, Indian displays as well as many other interests are displayed here in unique fashion. The museum is free and survives on donations from visitors and patrons. Two floors of amazing exhibits will take you back in time. You will be glad you visited! Don't miss it.

dedge23

Gosh what a great place to stop and they do not charge. Donation only. We were all impressed with this museum. One if the best I have seen and lovely ladies that were there the day we went. You have done a good job of this museum. I must say Baxter Springs is one of the memories I will keep for our trip on route 66.

xaveo

I stopped in Baxter Springs for what should have been no more but a coffee and was told about the place by locals. This. Is. Amazing!The museum is filled with artefacts and information, you could easily spend two whole days there. Easily one of the best museums and local attraction I've seen on the route. The fact that it's entirely run and created by local volunteers makes it even more impressing.And as with my other encounters in Baxter Springs, people were really friendly and a delight to talk too.

JaniceS189

As we passed through town on a Route 66 nostalgia cruise, we saw the sign directing us to this wonderful museum. We were deeply impressed with the quality of the artifacts and impressive displays. As military history buffs, we seldom see Spanish American War uniforms, and have never seen a display of a Japanese officer's official and personal goods carried during WWII. Its free, but very worthy of donations! If you visit town on Sunday, its one of the few things open (1-4 p.m.).

Costaricatrip1

Definitely stop here when passing through Baxter springs. It's got an awesome collection of memorabilia and museum items, much more than one could imagine considering the location of this place. The woman on staff was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful.

SkyDragonfly

There is a lot to see here. It is very interesting and has lots of information. It was recommended to me by a local store owner and we were delighted to have experienced the museum during our short trip to through this area.

SteveK395

This museum is well worth the stop. This is a great museum. I'd say small, but there are two floors. If you are into the Civil War in Kansas, it is here. If you are into mining, it is here. If you are into baseball, it is here. Yes, Mickey Mantle played here before he became a Yankee. You will love the displays of kitchens, bank, barber shop, general store, dentist and doctor office of by-gone days, this is the place. The mining exhibit is very interesting. You will learn and read about Picher, OK and why it became a ghost town. The Civil War section of the museum is extensive as is the mining area. We enjoyed the pictures of the town as it progressed through the years. If you are in Baxter Springs or the area, take the time and stop in. You will not be disappointed. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

F645XVdavids

We stopped here on the way from Tulsa to Oklahoma while bumping around on Route 66.The large and exhibits that the museum had from around the town were very interesting and it was great to be able to take a glimpse of the town from maybe 75 years before. I liked how the museum capture the history of USA in the microcosm of Baxter Springs making it both of local interest combined with general US history.Not regarding the museum itself, the town of Baxter Springs was not attractive and not worth the visit due to too many closed down and dilapidated buildings.

TennesseeTraveler420

While visiting friends in a nearby town, we stopped in Baxter Springs to visit the Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum. We were so impressed with the facility, its volunteer staff, and the extent of their exhibits. Two complete floors were loaded with exhibits as well as exhibits on the grounds surrounding the main building. It seems that every aspect of the Baxter Springs area's heritage is included in the exhibits ... Native American culture, the area's Civil War history, the town of Baxter Springs founding and history, role of baseball in the community, mining history, agriculture exhibits, etc. The volunteer who greeted us at the door and gave us brief tour, Raymond Paul, did a wonderful job sharing interesting details with enthusiasm and charm. We only had time to scratch the surface of this unexpected special place and want to return sometime in the future.

love2travelGalicia

We stumbled across this place on the weekend when they were having a civil war reenactment it was really good with canons wagons and horses and then the museum which was great the people are so nice and knowledgeable , it was a nice couple of hours. Go

kabrooks

We were fortunate enough to recent a private tour of the museum thanks to Jo Ann Swalley, a docent at the museum. She was kind enough to let us land on her airstrip, and she personally escorted us on a tour through town and to the museum. Larry took over the tour of the museum, and it truly is amazing! I had no idea Baxter Springs had so much Civil War history within its boundaries! The museum does a great job recreating school rooms, small homes, black smith shops, etc. They also have multiple artifacts from the area including Native Americans, Baseball, and other wars throughout our history. I highly recommend visiting! Say hi to Jo Ann and Larry for us!

ClovaTheWestie

The people of Baxter Springs appear to be very proud of the fact that Route 66 passes through their town and this is shown in this excellent display

Julianversteeg

A real gem of a place, which really put the place in its social context for me. Really great, and absolutely amazing that the whole place was put together by donations by the locality, a great community museum, with some real gems!

91914

We were totally surprised by the quality and quantity of artifacts on display. The museum was staffed with a number of volunteers, and they couldn't have been more helpful. They seemed to be enjoying their work and the company of the other workers. This place has obviously been showered with much tender loving care. A treasure!