It’s been a lot of work, but the advances made by the city’s only museum are making its president smile.
“I’ve seen a lot of progress this year,” said John Rhodes, president of the executive board of directors of the Derby Historical Society Museum.
Much of that progress is simply protecting the exhibits from the elements in the decades-old building at 208 N. Westview. Recently, a windows replacement project was completed and a new roof added, cutting out leaks.
“We had real problems, but the contents are finally safe,” Rhodes said. “We’re getting the building in good shape.”
The museum, which is open for four hours on Saturdays from April to November, received 172 guests in July, more than double its June figure
of 84.
Visitors stopping by have home states as far away as Ohio, Arizona, California and Oregon. Among the museum’s collection is a locally built 1870 log cabin, an original two-horse covered wagon that traveled to the Derby area in the 1860s, a 40,000-piece button collection, and the largest displayed collection of arrowheads in Kansas, among numerous local items.
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