FINNEY COUNTY MUSEUM EXTENDING HOURS FOR SUMMER AFTER MEMORIAL DAY
Free public tours also opening June 3 each Saturday and Sunday at Historic William Fulton House
The Finney County Historical Museum in Garden City will extend its exhibit hours for the summer season on May 30, after closing May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.
Hours to see museum exhibits May 30 and later will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, as well as 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. The museum is located at 403 S. Fourth, near the Lee Richardson Zoo entrance in Finnup Park, and admission is free.
In addition to extending hours in the main museum, the Finney County Historical Society will open the historic William Fulton House for tours starting June 3. The 1884 Folk Victorian home is located just southwest of the museum inside the zoo, and it will be open 2-4 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.
The house, built by one of Garden City’s founding fathers, was moved to Finnup Park from Seventh Street and restored to period condition in 2003-2005, and the 2017 tours are being supported by the Finney County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Exhibits in the main museum include Garden City Then and Now, the Spirit of the Plains Gallery, the Santa Fe Trail, Buffalo Jones – Last of the Plainsmen, Finney County Agriculture, the frequently-changing Front Door Gallery and nearly a dozen additional displays. The others range from Celebrate Kansas, offering children a chance to build Kansas icons using Lego blocks, to a vintage-style clothing dress up area styled like a room of the historic Windsor Hotel.
There is also new material in the Finney County Pioneers exhibit, a small display that features photographs and memorabilia representing the latest families to earn the Finney County Pioneer Award from the historical society. This year’s awards went to the George and Helen Meeker family and the Ralph and Mary Jameson family.
The Museum Store is open whenever exhibits are, offering Garden City and Kansas items, books, videos, postcards, handcrafts, souvenirs, decorative items, original art, craft goods and pottery by local artists and artisans, toys inspired by times past, T-shirts, jewelry, historic photographs and items linked to area history and culture.
Information is available at 620-272-3664. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with the exception of Memorial Day, and research library hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
