Watkins Museum of History

Everywhere I visit, I love checking out the local museum of history to learn the regional past. Watkins did not disappoint, and highlighted well what a visitor with limited time ought to know about the city's history really well. Perhaps a minor suggestion is the addition of signage that indicates where to start if one wants to explore and learn in chronological order, but I did figure it out and had a really nice time.

We spent at least an hour and a half here and I easily could have stayed longer but we had to move on. The Watkins Museum is housed in the beautifully restored Watkins bank and mortgage building, itself an important part of Lawrence history. They have some wonderful exhibits about the history of the city and I found the one about Quantrill's raid to be particularly interesting. Lots of fun artifacts and some interactive displays to entice children to take an interest in history too.The price is right--it's free but I would encourage visitors to leave a nice donation.

Watkins Museum of HistoryLawrence, KansasIt's like when your older siblings say "SMELL THIS!!"- you KNOW that you shouldn't smell it. But you smell it anyway; not because you have live-in bullies but because you must. Full knowing that it (the smell) will undoubtedly be terrible, but you must bear witness to the raw smell of cooties.Like the bullies of my youth (I mean my beautiful sisters) encouraged me to "SMELL THIS", I encourage you to visit the Watkins Museum of History. Ok, let me start by saying that Downtown Lawrence is a lovely and vibrant area. If you should find yourself escorting a loved one to attend KU (ROCK CHALK!), take a few minutes to visit this museum (the fee is a donation). The building is gorgeous and its history is by far the most interesting part of the entire thing.The museum is small and some of the items were not quite museum quality (see attached picture). Overall, I was disappointed with the exhibits (random thrift store item collection) but am glad that I experienced the beautiful architecture.

Very lovely museum worth a visit. A nice collection of historical information about the very turbulent an important past of Lawrence and the state of Kansas. Good for kids too! Very educational.

This is a fascinating museum featuring and preserving the history of Lawrence, Kansas, and surrounding areas. From the birth of the State, to the Civil War, Bleeding Kansas, Native American History...there is so much to explore.