Butler County Historical Society Home of the Kansas Oil Museum

Butler County Historical Society Home of the Kansas Oil Museum 100 Years of History on 10 Acres! The rich history of Butler County and El Dorado come alive at the Butler County History Center and Kansas Oil Museum.

Visit the museum today for inspiring exhibits on the Flint Hills, the history of Kansas oil discovery, and much more. An outdoor Oil Boom Town represents the height of 1920s oil towns that sprang up overnight to provide housing for the droves of people that came to Butler County to find their fortunes in black gold. Working antique oil equipment is featured on the ten-acre grounds as well as the o

ldest log cabin in the county, a garage full of early 20th century automobiles, and stately representations of our beautiful state tree, the Cottonwood. Indoors, our main gallery boasts a stunning exhibition on the Flint Hills, Butler County history, and oil development. The Rolla A. Clymer Research Library serves as a valuable research tool for anyone looking for more information about family, local, or state history. A small admission is charged to see the museum. Our museum is wheelchair accessible, although some outdoor buildings are not.

Thank you to everyone who joined us tonight for our screening of Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story!Tonight was espe...
08/29/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us tonight for our screening of Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story!

Tonight was especially meaningful because today would have been Nadine Ramsey’s 115th birthday. Nadine lived in El Dorado for a time while her family worked in the oil fields, making her story one that has a special connection to our community and the history we preserve here at the Kansas Oil Museum.

After the film, we were honored to welcome Raquel Ramsey, Nadine’s sister in law and executive producer of the film, for a Q&A through Zoom. It was so much fun hearing the questions from our audience, including some thoughtful questions from the elementary students who joined us for the screening!

A huge thank you to our community partners who helped make the evening special:

🥤 Sonic for donating free small slushy coupons
🍿 The Popcorner for donating two large bags of popcorn

And thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate Nadine’s birthday with us by learning more about her life and legacy. What a fitting way to remember her on what would have been her 115th birthday.

Want to watch the film again or share Nadine’s story with someone else? The Kansas Oil Museum gift shop is taking preorders for the DVD of Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story.

What started as a movie screening turned into a really special evening of history, storytelling, questions, and community.

Field Trips Made More Accessible Thanks to Our Sponsors!One of the things we love most about the Kansas Oil Museum is ge...
08/28/2026

Field Trips Made More Accessible Thanks to Our Sponsors!

One of the things we love most about the Kansas Oil Museum is getting students out of the classroom and into hands on learning. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we currently have 9 field trip scholarships available for the upcoming school year!

7 scholarships are available for Butler County schools
2 scholarships can be used by any school, inside or outside of Butler County

Each scholarship covers the admission cost for one grade level, up to 50 students, making it easier for teachers to bring their students to experience local history, STEM, and hands on learning at the museum. Schools can also add activities to their field trip starting at just $4 per student.

We are incredibly grateful to the businesses and organizations helping make these experiences possible:

⭐ Wichita Desk and Derrick Club
⭐ BrewCo. Coffeehouse & Dilly Deli
⭐ Shaws Pest Control
⭐ Jim's Propane Inc.
⭐ Barton Solvents, Inc.
⭐ The Buckeye Corporation

Interested in bringing your students to the Kansas Oil Museum? Learn more about our field trips and the different tour options we offer, then apply for a scholarship through our website.

🔗 Field Trip Scholarships:
https://www.kansasoilmuseum.org/field-trip-scholarship

🔗 Explore Our Field Trips:
https://www.kansasoilmuseum.org/tours

We are so thankful for the sponsors who believe that every student should have the opportunity to experience learning beyond the classroom! ❤️

A New Project Is Getting Its Start!We are incredibly grateful to the Tim Underwood Memorial Group for awarding the Kansa...
08/27/2026

A New Project Is Getting Its Start!

We are incredibly grateful to the Tim Underwood Memorial Group for awarding the Kansas Oil Museum a $2,500 grant to help kick-start the Tim Underwood Traveling Trunk!

Our Board Secretary, Julie Clements, accepted the grant on behalf of the museum at the Tim Underwood Memorial Lunch earlier this week.

The idea behind this project is to take the stories of Kansas oil and Butler County beyond the walls of the museum. We want to create a hands-on traveling experience that can visit schools, libraries, daycares, senior centers, and community groups and give people the opportunity to learn about our local history wherever they are.

This grant will allow us to take the first steps in building the trunk and developing the educational materials that will go inside it. Our long-term vision is to grow this into a larger mobile outreach program and eventually train volunteers and community partners to take the program into their own communities.

For now, we're starting small, building the foundation, and looking forward to seeing where we can take it!

We are especially honored to have Tim Underwood's name attached to this project. His legacy of service and commitment to our community makes this a meaningful way to continue sharing the history of the place he cared so much about.

Thank you to the Tim Underwood Memorial Group for believing in this idea and helping us get it off the ground. We can't wait to show you what comes next!

📅 Speaker Series LineupHere’s a preview of upcoming Speaker Series programs at the Kansas Oil Museum.Sponsored by Commer...
08/26/2026

📅 Speaker Series Lineup

Here’s a preview of upcoming Speaker Series programs at the Kansas Oil Museum.

Sponsored by Commerce Bank, with lunch available for pre-order through the museum and provided by BrewCo.

Stay tuned for full event details!

The first piece of the next chapter is already taking shape. As we begin working toward transforming the Energy Educatio...
08/25/2026

The first piece of the next chapter is already taking shape.

As we begin working toward transforming the Energy Education Center into the Kansas Oil Museum, we are incredibly grateful to have McCoy Petroleum Corporation be the first company to step forward in support of this vision.

McCoy has been part of the Kansas oil industry for more than 50 years, and their story is one of the many important stories we want to continue preserving and sharing. Roger McCoy founded McCoy Petroleum in 1970 after beginning his career as a geologist, and the company has remained a part of Kansas’ independent oil and gas industry ever since.

We recently put together a small preview of what we’re working toward for the KIOGA Annual Conference, including a little McCoy Petroleum exhibit. Seeing their history represented alongside a glimpse of where we’re headed is exactly what this project is about: connecting the people, companies, innovation and stories of Kansas oil with the next generation.

Thank you to Roger McCoy and the McCoy Petroleum team for believing in this vision and being willing to help us take that first step. We are excited about what comes next!

A refinery is more than equipment, pipes, and processing units. It is the people who keep it running.For our mini museum...
08/25/2026

A refinery is more than equipment, pipes, and processing units. It is the people who keep it running.

For our mini museum at the KIOGA Annual Conference, we wanted to include a small piece of the refinery worker story, so we created a display featuring memorabilia from United Steelworkers Local 241 alongside photographs highlighting refinery workers in El Dorado.

Local 241 represents refinery workers here in El Dorado, and its members have been an important part of our community and Kansas’ energy story.

We are especially grateful that United Steelworkers Local 241 has chosen to support the transformation of the Energy Education Center into the Kansas Oil Museum. Their support is helping us move toward a museum that tells a more complete story of Kansas oil, including the people whose work made the industry possible.

While they couldn’t join us at the conference, we’re proud to have a small piece of their story here.

Thank you, United Steelworkers Local 241, for helping us bring this next chapter to life.

What a fun day at the Butler College Parade!We had an incredible group of volunteers, staff, and board members come out ...
08/22/2026

What a fun day at the Butler College Parade!

We had an incredible group of volunteers, staff, and board members come out to walk in the parade and help represent the Kansas Oil Museum. A special thank you goes to Stanfield Roofing for generously allowing us to borrow their truck and trailer for the day!

Longtime volunteer Dale Wilson rode on the float, helping us share a little piece of Butler County history with the community. We also passed out cards highlighting upcoming opportunities to get involved, including:

-Wildcatters Kids’ Theatre
-The Jessie Perry Stratford Writing Contest
-The Energy Education Center Transformation Project

And yes… a little rain moved through during the parade, so we all ended the morning a bit damp, but that just added to the adventure!

Thank you to everyone who walked with us, waved from the crowd, and celebrated this special milestone for Butler Community College. We are proud to be part of such a wonderful community!

Tomorrow, Saturday 8/22, we will open an hour later than normal for our staff to participate in the Butler College Parad...
08/21/2026

Tomorrow, Saturday 8/22, we will open an hour later than normal for our staff to participate in the Butler College Parade.

Our Butler College Parade float is coming together, thanks to the help of our amazing volunteers!There’s always a lot th...
08/20/2026

Our Butler College Parade float is coming together, thanks to the help of our amazing volunteers!

There’s always a lot that happens behind the scenes before the museum shows up at an event. From building and decorating to loading and getting everything parade ready, we couldn’t do it without people willing to lend a hand.

We’re excited to celebrate 100 years of Butler Community College this Saturday and proud to be part of the celebration! 💜 💛

08/20/2026

You can watch the speaker series happening right now on our YouTube page!

Address

383 E Central Avenue
El Dorado, KS
67042

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+13163219333

Website

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