Host sites for a countywide America 250 exhibition started opening their displays this week, including exhibits at The Watkins Museum of History and Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum in Lawrence on freedom for African Americans, Native Americans, women and LGBTQ+ people.
“Finding Freedom: The Promise of 1776 in Douglas County, Kansas” is a countywide exhibition that received funding from the Kansas Tourism Marketing Grant Program in December. It explores “the realities of securing freedom for all people in Kansas and chronicles events from the 1850s to the 1990s throughout Douglas County,” according to a news release.
Some exhibitions, such as the one at the Watkins, opened Tuesday, and others will debut shortly. All of the displays will be open to the public throughout the summer.
Watkins’ exhibition is entitled “Those Who Were Left Out” and centers on the revolutionary spirit of Lawrence in the 20th century.
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“This exhibit examines the challenges of African Americans, Native Americans, women, and the LGBTQ+ community and their efforts to secure the rights promised at the nation’s founding,” according to the release.
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The museum, 1047 Massachusetts St., is always free to visitors and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
“Angels of Freedom: The Underground Railroad in the Wakarusa River Valley” at the Wakarusa River Valley Heritage Museum highlights abolitionists from the valley. It also looks at “the efforts that established an active Black community in Bloomington, a history lost in the creation of Clinton Lake,” according to the release.
The heritage museum is at 716 North 1190 Road. It’s currently open to the public 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, or visitors can make appointments by calling the reception desk at 785-783-4420 and leaving a message.
People can tour a virtual exhibit of “Angels of Freedom” at this link.
Here are the other “Finding Freedom” sites:
• “Stories from the Western Border” at the Eudora Community Museum “places the violent and turbulent period of Bleeding Kansas within the context of the national struggle for freedom and equality.”
The museum, 720 Main St. in Eudora, is open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
• “The Women’s Spirit” from the Santa Fe Trail Historical Society explores local women’s role on the Santa Fe Trail, Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War, and as driving figures of Kansas institutions and college education.
This exhibit is at the Baldwin City Public Library, 800 Seventh St. in Baldwin City. The library is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
• “The Kansas Controversy” at Constitution Hall looks at Bleeding Kansas and the fight in Kansas about entering the Union as a free or slave state.
Constitution Hall, 319 Elmore St. in Lecompton, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Entry costs $3 for adults and $1 for children.
• “Home of the Free, Because of the Brave: A 19th Century Vote Ushers a Community into History” at Territorial Capital Museum connects Lecompton’s Bleeding Kansas battles to its present-day legacy of military service.
That museum, 640 E. Woodson in Lecompton, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.
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