By NATE KING
Salina Post
A new exhibit, "A Place to Call Home," opens on Friday, Oct. 27, at the Smoky Hill Museum. This exhibit explores the settling of Kansas. In the early days, Kansas was filled with challenges and plenty of dangers. Imagine arriving in a vast wilderness with few resources and enduring all that Kansas weather can muster.
Smoky Hill Museum Director Susan Hawksworth said the inspiration behind the new exhibit theme came from a visitor feedback survey.
"We knew this was a topic that was of interest, and when we did a survey a few years ago about what type of exhibits people would like to see, this one on early immigration was right up there," Hawksworth said. "So we thought, 'Well, let's do it.'"
Hawksworth said the "A Place to Call Home" exhibit takes a different angle than just the founding of Salina. Instead of simply focusing on the founders, the exhibit looks at the wide variety of reasons settlers ventured west.
"The reason behind 'Why central Kansas' varies from person to person," Hawksworth said. "That's what we explore in our exhibit — the decisions that drove people to come to Kansas."
Hawksworth said the main reason settlers headed west was due to a shortage of land out east.
"The east was getting built up, and it was harder and harder to find enough land in order to do a farm or be able to sustain themselves in any way," Hawksworth said. "Some people headed west for the sheer adventure of it. Some came because they needed to make a new start in life. Maybe something didn't go well back east and now might try something new. Some came for no reason at all."
With limited supply options, making a home on the prairie was not for the timid or faint of heart. Nonetheless, thousands traveled to Kansas to stake their claim and create a new life.
Whether on foot, horseback, wagon, train or boat—they came. Whether bringing a wagon stuffed with goods or empty pockets—they came. Alone or in families—they came. The great immigration of settlers into Kansas started in the mid-1850s, swelled after the Civil War and continued through the late 1800s.
In this exhibit, hear from those who risked it all through diary entries. These stories share the immigrants' decisions, the hardships they faced, and the hope that brought them to Kansas.
Diary Entry by Henry Northrop
Henry wandered to Kansas with no plan. He found work with a freighting business that led him to Saline County, Kansas.
"I came on the boat up to Leavenworth, and I had my trunk removed up to the hotel, and after breakfast in the morning, I started out over Leavenworth to try to get employment. I could not find employment at fair wages….and I owed .75 cents to the hotel for my breakfast…. After I became so discouraged and could not find work, could not even work for my board, I went back to the landlord of the hotel…. I told him that I came to the conclusion that if he would trust me for the .75 cents that I owed him for breakfast and would keep my trunk till such time, I would be able to send for it, that I was going West. I had no idea where nor when I might show up again, but whenever I did to redeem the trunk that I would pay him the .75 cents for breakfast and keeping my trunk. I then went and secured some crackers and took my little grip sack and started out West up over the hills out of Leavenworth…as young as I was, I was determined to go West…"
-Henry Northrop, Saline County stake claimed, July 20, 1866
"A Place to Call Home" offers two hands-on activities to spur engagement. Visitors explore and experience the trail like an 1800s pioneer with the interactive "Who will prevail–You or the Trail?" This interactive challenges their knowledge to see if they would survive as pioneers. The interactive "The Immigrant in You" asks visitors to show where they or their family immigrated to Kansas.
Visit the Smoky Hill Museum to see "A Place to Call Home." The exhibit opens on Friday, Oct. 27. The Smoky Hill Museum is a nationally accredited history museum at 211 W. Iron Ave., in Salina, Kansas. This FREE museum is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Also, be sure to stop by the Museum Store for a wide variety of regional and Kansas products, local artwork and gifts for all ages.