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The History Center continues to offer a variety of exhibits of historical items related to Western Expansion and the early history of Emporia. Of its total collection, 150,000 items in the research library are directly related to Lyon County's history. The Historical Society operated its first museum and local history center in the basement of the Civic Auditorium, which was later named in honor of journalist William White.When the new public library was completed in 1980, the organization moved its headquarters and museum to the former library which had been completed in 1904 with a matching grant from Andrew Carnegie. As part of an effort to better reach the public, the organization moved its museum to the downtown area in 2014-2016. The Board of Trustees also renamed their organization as the "Lyon County History Center."The museum's permanent collection focuses heavily on the native inhabitants of the Great Plains, the natural environment of the Plains, and the arrival of settlers of European descent from the mid-19th century to the early 1900s. Reflecting the region's heritage as an agricultural center, many exhibits depict the centrality of farming and ranching to other industries such as transportation. The museum also includes exhibits that share the experience of Lyon County residents in times of hardship, war, and celebration.

The museum and headquarters are now located in this recently remodeled building in the heart of the city's downtown shopping district.  

The research room is available for genealogy and local history research.

In 2015, the History Center moved into this former furniture store in downtown Emporia. The museum renovated this building and re-opened in 2016.

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Emporia: Images of America Series by Steven F. Hanschu, Darla Hodges Mallein

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Founded in 1937, this historical society and museum works to preserve and make available nearly a quarter-million photographs, artifacts, manuscripts, diaries, and other items related to the history of Emporia, Lyon County, and eastern Kansas. For many years, the museum was located in this historic Carnegie Library (constructed in 1904 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places). As part of the effort to breathe new life into the downtown area, the History Center is now located in a former department store.

Lyon County Historical Center

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This short walk though Emporia starts at the home of William Allen White and works its way to Commercial Street where it stops at the Granada Theatre, Lyon County Historical Center, and the Kress Building. The tour than turns east on 6th Avenue to include historic homes such as the Cross House and home of Senator Preston Plumb, one of the founders of the city who came to Kansas as part of the Free Soil Movement. 

White's editorials led to his reputation as the voice of Middle America. In politics, he helped Teddy Roosevelt form the Progressive Party and defended the business interests as well as middle-class progressive reformers. White is remembered for successfully challenging the Ku Klux Klan while also standing with fiscal conservatives. The home itself features Colorado sandstone on the exterior of the first floor, with red brick and stucco on the top floors. The home was originally built for a cattle baron, but due to an unforeseen decline in that industry, the original owner was unable to complete the construction of the home. White purchased the home and hired world-famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright to redesign the hastily-completed structure. The redesign also included the addition of a pagoda and lily pond

Red Rocks was the home of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Presidential advisor William Allen White between 1899 and his death in 1944. Given White's influence, he hosted five United States Presidents and influential Americans such as Jane Addams and Frank Lloyd Wright at this historic home.

Red Rocks-Home of William Allen White

The historic Granada Theatre was built in 1929, costing around $350,000 - which would equal about $4 million if it were build today.&nbsp;Architect Robert O. Boller, of Boller Brothers, Architects, designed the Granada Theatre. Boller Brothers were nationally known theatre designers with offices in Kansas City and Los Angeles.&nbsp;As such, it was the largest movie palace in&nbsp;Kansas, holding some 1,400 people. The outside of the theater has become quite famous - five clowns are built into the stucco at the front, mimicking the emotions of theatrical actors. The details inside are grand and include columnns and relief etchings on the walls. During its early years, the theatre attracted many famous performers. In addition to screening movies, it was used for everything from beauty contests to traveling vaudeville acts In the lat 1960s and 70's, the popularity of the Granada dwindled, and the building hit some hard times. The building closed in 1982 due to the damage caused by a leaking roof. While the building was on the National Register of Historic Places, demolition was still threatened. However, in 1994 a band of citizens rallied to preserve the theater for visitors and locals.In cooperation with the Kansas Preservation Alliance, the Emporia Granada Theatre Alliance was formed and acquired the building, saving it from destruction. Today, the building hosts concerts and cultural events that people come from all around to attend.

Constructed in 1929, this theater was once one of the largest in the state. From its grand opening in the final boom years of the 1920s to the lean years of the Great Depression and the postwar boom, the theater hosted many of the leading cultural events in the city and hosted famous entertainers from all over the world. This Spanish Colonial Revival style theater faced years of decline in the 1960s and 1970s as residents patronized other theaters and event venues. The theater closed in 1982 and might have been demolished a decade later, but thanks to the efforts of local citizens, it has been restored and once again hosts local and national acts.

Historic Granada Theatre

The Kress Building is a two-story brick structure with a footprint of 50 by 130 feet and a full basement. The two-part commercial block building is notable for its distinctive architecture, something the S. H. Kress &amp; Co. brand was known for. The company favored building designs with historical details meant to distinguish them from their neighbors. The Emporia building features a crenelated parapet with a sign panel lettered in relief, decorative brick in a crosshatch pattern, and elaborate terra cotta trim, crests, and belt courses. The choice of S. H. Kress &amp; Co. to build a store in Emporia was a source of pride for the town, which was in the midst of a building boom in the 1920s. The S. H. Kress &amp; Co. brand was bought out in 1964 by Genesco, Inc. The new owners emphasized store locations in the newly popular shopping malls and paid less attention to stores in downtown neighborhoods. The Kress Building was purchased by John Mellon and the Inno-Vest Corporation who worked to restore and preserve the structure; it was the first of many such projects locally for Mr. Mellon, who passed away a few years ago. The Kress Building is one of over 100 contributing buildings in the Emporia Downtown Commercial District, clustered along Commercial Street from 3rd to 10th streets and nearby intersecting and parallel streets. In 2011, the second floor of the Kress Building was being used as a dance studio and one of the downstairs commercial spaces was empty. The original ground floor details were still in place: Corinthian capitals atop columns and beams covered in molded decorative plaster. Decorative pressed metal panels covered the upstairs ceiling, and the original elevator occupied part of the east end of the building. A number of spaces within the Kress Building are currently available to lease. The basement could be used for a variety of purposes while the first floor is suited to retail or services. The mezzanine and upper floors are suited for office spaces. Besides Amanda's Bakery and Cafe on the first floor, an insurance agency has offices in the building.

The Kress Building was constructed in 1929 and was designed by architect George E. Mackey. The building was part of a company of five and dime stores established by Samuel Henry Kress in 1896 as S. H. Kress & Co. The brand grew to over 200 stores and became part of McCrory Stores in 1981. The parent company went out of business in 2001. Nine other Kansas towns have Kress buildings standing; the Emporia and Wichita buildings are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Kress Building is part of the Emporia Downtown Historic District. The historic district map is below. Amanda's Bakery and Cafe on the ground floor of the Kress Building has been serving up tasty treats for years.



Kress Building

Preston Plumb served in the U.S. Senate from Kansas for fourteen years and was a member and speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives. He previously was a reporter for the Kansas Supreme Court. His wife, Carrie Plumb, played a prominent role in the social affairs of Emporia and donated the nearby land where the Emporia Carnegie Library was constructed in 1904. Mrs. Plumb set aside one room in the mansion in 1917 for the Red Cross to make surgical dressings for the war effort. The original portion of the house, which served as the home of both Senator Plumb and Carrie Plumb, is clad in wood shingles; the later additions by his widow are clad in brick. The Neoclassical style front portico features two-story Ionic columns facing south toward Sixth Avenue supporting a pedimented front entryway topped by a fanlight. The intersecting gabled roof covers an irregular, asymmetrical two-story building with a wrap-around porch to the west of the main porch. The foundation is rough-cut stone. The quirky octagonal building that projects off of the building's northeast corner was designed as a library. After Carrie Plumb's three daughters - Mary, Ruth and Caroline - inherited the mansion in 1919, they donated it to the National Y.W.C.A. and an Emporia chapter was chartered in 1920 to accept the gift. Their two brothers donated thousands of dollars in order to move the carriage house from the alley and attach it to the north side of the house with a connecting two-story passageway. The passageway provided sitting space and the carriage house was remodeled inside to be used as dormitory space. The house became the Community Center of Lyon County in 1955 when the Y.W.C.A. chapter disbanded. The Community Center used the building as a residence for low-income women. The Emporia Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution affixed a plaque to the house in 1976 to honor Preston Plumb, a founder of Emporia, and his family. The Plumb House was owned by the organization Working Women of Lyon County in 1984 when it was listed in the National Register and the Kansas Historical Places Register. The offices of the Flint Hill Girl Scouts Council occupied the ground floor of the carriage house. The house was primarily significant for its architecture and represents one of the most elaborate examples in Kansas of the "Neo-Colonial" style, combining elements of Georgian and pseudo-Georgian decorations added to an irregular, picturesque Victorian home. It marks the beginning phase of the Colonial Revival movement. By 2011, the house, on one-half acre, was owned by Plumb Place, Inc.

The core of the historic home standing at 224 East Sixth Avenue is an earlier house built in the 1870s. The house was home to United States Seantor Preston B. Plumb and his wife, Carrie, beginning in 1880. After Senator Plumb died unexpectedly in late 1891, his widow remained in the Italianate style home with a tower and a French mansard roof. In the mid-1890s, Carrie Plumb had major additions and remodeling done on the home and dedicated the Neoclassical style building as a memorial to her late husband. Carrie's heirs donated the house to the National Young Women's Christian Association. The house was listed in the National Register in 1984.

Preston and Carrie Plumb House

The Cross House was built for Colonel Harrison Cory ("H.C.") Cross, a banker and Civil War veteran. Sadly, Cross died soon after the house was completed. Examining his estate revealed some irregularities in the bank operations, leading to the eventual collapse of the bank he had founded with four others, the First National Bank. His son, Charles, tried to deal with the massive debt and scandal but ended up committing suicide in 1898. H.C.'s widow, Susan, continued to live in the home with a granddaughter until her death in 1902; the house was deeded to the bank due to H.C.'s debts. The house's style is Queen Anne Free Classic featuring decorative stained glass transoms, round and polygonal towers, and shingles curved into recessed windows. The Cross House renovations by the new owner, Ross MacTaggart, also involve upgrading the Victorian structure's heating/cooling, wiring, and plumbing. To help the neighbors enjoy his handiwork, he has backlit the original and replacement stained glass windows. One discovery was a system of tubing in the walls used like an intercom. Steel I-beams were placed to support areas that were sagging in the 8,900 square foot home. The architect of the Cross House, Charles W. Squires, tended to incorporate quirky elements into his house designs. MacTaggart has learned to recognize these unexpected, impish exaggerated features and writes about the architect in his blog that details his never-ending quest to restore the 1894 home. Squires' own home that he designed for his young family in 1895 was just a block away from the Cross House, so he seems to have appreciated the neighborhood (the Squires House, at 613 Union Street, also is a Clio entry, and several other buildings on the Union Street block are Squires designs). MacTaggart estimates there might be 30 Squires houses in a four-block area surrounding the Cross House, some known and some educated guesses. The Cross House has served many purposes over its 125+ years. The home was purchased in 1909 by Dr. William Meffert for use as a private sanitarium. The house was Phi Sigma Epsilon's first frat house in the U.S., from 1912 to 1918; the fraternity formed in Emporia and is now Phi Sigma Kappa. In the 1920s, the Cross House went from being Kelly Boarding House to the Elms Tea Room to the Mouse Palace Hotel (named for Scott Mouse). Chi Omega sorority and several other sororities and fraternities occupied the house into the 1960s, followed by a succession of private owners. MacTaggart plans to move into the house once renovations are done.

The Cross House at the corner of Union Street and Sixth Avenue, is in the midst of an ambitious renovation project by its new owner since 2014 to take the house back to its original state from 1894. Ross MacTaggart uses old photos and evidence from buried layers of the house itself to bring back older finishes and replicate missing elements like one of the roof finials. The Cross House was designed by a local architect, Charles W. Squires, who contributed designs for thousands of Kansas buildings over decades of work. The Cross House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It is significant for its association with several people and a fraternity, and for its Victorian Queen Anne architectural style.

Cross House

Bert Rich, born in Kentucky in 1878, moved with his family to Emporia as a small child in 1880. This move to Kansas coincided with the "The Great Exodus" or "Exoduster" movement between 1879 and 1881, a coordinated and planned migration that saw more than 20,000 African Americans leave the American South to start new lives in Kansas and adjacent states. Rich's uncle became one of Emporia's early entrepreneurs, owning two restaurants and railroad tracks. Bert Rich followed in his uncle's footsteps, becoming the most prominent African American contractor west of the Mississippi River, employing more than 100 men. Local construction projects included Lake Wooster, many of the stone structures at Peter Pan Park, the Sunken Garden at Emporia State University, and rebuilding the Santa Fe railroad road beds between Emporia and Kansas City. Rich also owned a circus, which he used to entertain people in and around Emporia. Rich noted that he wanted to show that Black men could do more in life than do manual labor. Rich built this historic home in 1915, which he later expanded in order to house Black students at Emporia State University. The college president, Thomas W. Butcher, had suggested to Rich that he accommodate African American college students. So, Bert responded by adding a second story comprised of six rooms and a bath. Clinton Henning later purchased the home and moved it to 626 Union. Henning converted the house into a small multi-residence building comprised of four apartment units; the first renters moved into the building in 1962.

Constructed in 1915 by Bert Rich, this home serves as a reminder of the Great Exodus that saw over 20,000 African Americans arrive in Kansas in 1879 and 1880. Rich arrived in Emporia with his family and would later build the largest African-American-owned construction firm in Kansas. Rich's company had over 100 employees at its peak and the firm built many structures in Emporia that still stand today. Rich built an addition to his home, which was essential to providing housing opportunities for African Americans who attended Kansas State Teachers College (known today as Emporia State University). The home originally stood at 1202 Sylvan-close to the Emporia State campus. The home was moved to its current location around 1960 and divided into apartments.

Home of Bert Rich

Charles Wesley Squires was born on Long Island, New York, in 1851 and moved to Ohio in 1870 to study architecture in Columbus. He moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana around 1876 and then relocated to Springfield, Illinois in 1877. His next move was his last, to Emporia in 1879. He married Susan Howey in Fort Wayne in 1881 and had three children: Shirley in 1885, Wesley H, in 1886 and Anna S. in 1890. He and his young family moved to their new home at 613 Exchange Street designed by Mr. Squires in 1895. The family was part of the congregation of Emporia's First Presbyterian Church. See the images for a copy of the recipe Mrs. Squires contributed to a cookbook published by the church in 1900. Squires designed two more houses on the same block as his home. Right next door to the north is a very similar house that Squires designed for the long-time superintendent of Emporia schools, L.A. Lowther. Further up the street, at 637 Exchange Street, is the 1906 home of Dr. William Meffert. Years before he designed these houses, he was the architect for the Emporia High School (1880), the International Order of Oddfellows (I.O.O.F.) Hall at Emporia (1880), the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Emporia (1881), the Osage County Bank in Osage City (1881), the Whitley Opera House in Emporia (1881), and the Welsh Congregational Church in Emporia (1882), among dozens of others. The Squires home was occupied in 1910 by Charles W. Squires (age 56); his wife, Susan (50); their daughter, Shirley (25); their son-in-law, William C. Nash (35); and their married daughter, Anna S. (20). Shirley was a stenographer in a real estate office and William worked in a "moving pictures" theater. The son of Charles W. and Susan (Wesley H.) had passed away by 1910, according to the population census data. In 1920, Shirley was no longer living in the house, but a young grandson, Charles W. Nash, had been added to the family. The elder Nash worked in 1920 as a promoter for an oil field. By 1930, the elder Nash had passed away but the rest of the family still lived at 613 Exchange Street; one roomer also resided in the house. Charles W. Squires was buried in Maplewood Memorial Lawn Cemetery in town after his death in 1934; Susan died in the prior year. The nearly 3,000-sqare foot home currently has three apartments within. The two-bedroom ground floor apartment is below two one-bedroom apartments on the second story - one with a balcony. Most of the windows have been replaced with vinyl and two of the apartments contain new flooring.

Charles W. Squires was an architect who contributed his talents to designing scores of buildings in town and thousands in Kansas in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Squires designed the house at 613 Exchange Street in 1895 for himself and his wife, Susan Howey. Squires was fond of adding quirky details to his houses, such as shingles that curved toward a window instead of laying flat like normal cladding. The architect lived in the home until his death in 1934. The home was been carved up into rental apartments and was up for sale in early 2020. 

Charles W. Squires House

Paul Terry may not be as well-known as Jackie Robinson, but his legacy lives on in Emporia as a young basketball player that broke the color barrier. He played for coach Al Smith, father of hall-of-fame coach Dean Smith, during the 1933-34 season. The young African American sophomore faced racism head-on throughout the season. For instance, opposing team fans sometimes tripped him when Terry dribbled close to the sidelines prompting referees to call him for traveling. Some cities banned him from playing. And Terry routinely ate by himself because restaurants refused to serve him. Moreover, rules prohibited him from playing in the school's championship game. Terry continued to face issues associated with segregation and racism after high school, too, but that never stopped him from striving for success. He met his wife, Odessa, while attending Kansas State Teachers College (Emporia State University), where each earned a bachelor's degree in education. But, segregation policies prevented Black students from student teaching, and finding teaching jobs after graduation proved exceptionally difficult. During World War II, Paul served in the military, and he gained a bronze star while traveling through European locations like England, France, Belgium, and eventually Germany as Allied forces closed in on Adolf Hitler. After the war, Paul spent nearly fifty years in the dry cleaning business, which included two decades managing his own dry cleaning operation.Paul and Odessa had eight children, all of whom earned college degrees, with five of them attaining graduate degrees (four master's degrees and one child with a master's and a doctorate). Three of his sons played Division I basketball, with one playing internationally (in Sweden &amp; the Philippines).Paul Terry was inducted into the Kansas Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006. Emporia State University established a basketball tournament in his honor, and a large portrait of him still hangs in a hall at EHS.

In 1933, Emporia High School (EHS) head basketball coach Alfred D. Smith put Paul Terry on his 1933-34 team, the first African-American member of the EHS basketball team. Terry faced racism in many forms, including harassment from fans, players, and referees, and having to eat on the bus because restaurants refused to serve him. And, when the team made the state championship, rules forbade Terry from participating; he had to stay at home while his team won the trophy. Coach Al Smith's son, the legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith, credited Terry in his book, A Coach's Life, with single-handedly integrating high school sports in Kansas.

Historic Downtown Emporia Kansas Walking Tour

Lyon County Historical Center

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Backstory and Context

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