Old Depot Museum

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Old Depot Museum The Old Depot Museum is part of the Franklin County (Kansas) Historical Society. Three rooms feature temporary special exhibits. All ages are welcome!

Housed in an 1888 stone building that once served Ottawa as a depot and division headquarters on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad line, the Old Depot Museum highlights Franklin County, Kansas, history through permanent and temporary exhibits and programming. Permanent exhibits include the story of Native and Indigenous tribes in Franklin County, the Pottawatomie Massacre, a large HO-scale model railroad, an Industry room, and several period rooms. Admission is free; donations are appreciated.

FALL HISTORY EVENTS & EXHIBITS IN FRANKLNI COUNTY! On October 24, the The Munsee Tribe in Kansas is hosting The Munsee L...
10/19/2026

FALL HISTORY EVENTS & EXHIBITS IN FRANKLNI COUNTY! On October 24, the The Munsee Tribe in Kansas is hosting The Munsee Legacy in Franklin County: 1859-1901 (Part 1). Dennis Peters and Todd Mildfelt will explore the story of the enslaved people finding freedom through their October 25 program Hidden in Franklin County: An Underground Railroad Story at the Richmond Community Museum. Matt Matthews will present the story of Major General James Blunt during the Civil War Round Table of Ottawa, Kansas on Tuesday, October 27. If you're in Ottawa, stop by the Old Depot Museum to see our new exhibit, Caught in the Current: Floods, Ice, and Twisters in Franklin County, which features photographs of weather disasters by Franklin Countians from 1904-2026. (Photo by Charles LeMaster of the Ruskin Heights tornado, 1957.)

OTTAWA MARBLE WORKS: One of Ottawa’s most amazing businesses, Ottawa Marble Works specialized in grave markers but also ...
10/19/2026

OTTAWA MARBLE WORKS: One of Ottawa’s most amazing businesses, Ottawa Marble Works specialized in grave markers but also produced counter tops, building ornamentation, and pretty much anything else you could make out of stone. They first appear in the newspapers in 1877, and though their ownership changes several times—Ferguson and Nettleton, then Vincent & Co.—they are the top producers of grave monuments in Franklin County through the 1940s.

Their shop moved around downtown, including along Second Street, then across Main to 113, then finally, they built this building at 110 South Main as their shop. It included a special derrick for lifting stones.

In the early 1900s, they were one of the first stonecutters in the region to use gas-powered pneumatic carving tools, which is why markers created after 1906 look so different from the ones from the 1800s. They were able to do finer, more detailed work on harder surfaces.

Between newspaper stories and Ottawa Marble Works’ ads, we can identify many of the markers that came from their shop.

Images include the interior of Ottawa Marble Works under the ownership of Vincent & Sons at 110 South Main Street (now part of Take It Outside) and advertisements from area newspapers.


Ottawa Main Street Association

UPDATE: Both ferns have found new homes! 10/15/2026 11:43 a.m.With patchy frost in our future, it's time for the annual ...
10/15/2026

UPDATE: Both ferns have found new homes! 10/15/2026 11:43 a.m.

With patchy frost in our future, it's time for the annual rehoming of the Old Depot Museum ferns! If you would like to adopt a fern, bring your own bucket or pot and help yourself. (Our urns stay.) First come, first serve. No holds. A donation is appreciated, but mostly, we want these floofy ferns to find a good home.

Biederman Orchard (1913-1959): Although he worked as a postal clerk for the U.S. Postal Service for 48 years, Carl Arthu...
10/13/2026

Biederman Orchard (1913-1959): Although he worked as a postal clerk for the U.S. Postal Service for 48 years, Carl Arthur Biederman’s passion was his orchard. Biederman planted his first trees in his small orchard in Harrison Township (30 acres in the NE ¼ NW ¼ Section 12 Township 17 Range 19) next to Highland Cemetery in 1913. By 1941, Arthur and his wife, Esther, were maintaining 1,300 trees producing between 5,000 and 12,000 bushels of Jonathan, Delicious, York, Winesap, Stayman, and Yellow Transparent apples.

Born in 1885, Carl Arthur Biederman, known as Arthur, was the son of German immigrants Carl and Maria (Kaschka) Biederman. Two years before Arthur was born, Carl, who was a gunsmith, opened a sporting goods store on East Second Street in Ottawa. It later moved to 217 South Main. Arthur’s brother Eric joined their father at the sporting goods store, while brother Herbert moved to Kansas City.

Arthur and Esther sold the orchard to Tauy Theater owner Don Shade in 1957. Shade developed the land into the Orchard Heights housing project, which was annexed into the City of Ottawa in 1959.

Today’s photos, circa 1951, show Arthur Biederman picking apples and bushels of already-picked apples at the orchard. Photos by J.B. Meucke (also Mickey).



HEARTLAND CHINA GRAND OPENING: In 1994, California-based Golden State Porcelain Inc. announced that they would open a se...
09/30/2026

HEARTLAND CHINA GRAND OPENING: In 1994, California-based Golden State Porcelain Inc. announced that they would open a second U.S. location in the former Parmelee Factory on Davis Road in Ottawa. The plant opened for operation in March 1995 and held their official dedication and grand opening September 22, 1995.

Governor Bill Graves, representatives form Golden State Porcelain, and leadership from Japanese parent companies Yamago Togyo and Nichimen Corporation were present for the celebration.
Heartland China originally employed 40 employees who produced 20,000 decorative plates per week. The company grew to 75 before being sold twice and decreasing its workforce to 5 before closing its Ottawa factory. Ernest and Spencer Steel Fabricators converted the building to an industrial powder-coat painting facility in 2006.

Today’s image is of the commemorative plate issued during Heartland China’s grand opening celebration.

Read more about former building owner Parmelee: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/191URjxto2/


OFFICER BODLEY KILLED DURING RAILROAD BOX CAR ROBBERY, August 29, 1906: Sealed merchandise-filled box cars en route from...
08/29/2026

OFFICER BODLEY KILLED DURING RAILROAD BOX CAR ROBBERY, August 29, 1906: Sealed merchandise-filled box cars en route from Kansas City regularly overnighted in Ottawa before departing for points further west, but during the summer of 1906, those sealed cars were regularly looted in the Ottawa yards. During the last week of August, Santa Fe watchmen Charles J. Cedar and Oscar G. Bodley hatched a plan to catch the thieves in the act.

In the days leading up to August 29, Cedar and Bodley made arrangements with the yardmen to park the sealed box cars near the scale house just west of King and Powhattan streets. Piles of railroad ties, separated by a small alley, gave Cedar and Bodley extra cover. At 2 a.m. that morning, Cedar and Bodley staked out the tiny 5’ x 7’ scale house and waited.

The railyard remained quiet.

Around 4:30 a.m., Charles Cedar returned to the Santa Fe Depot to perform his regular watch duties. At 4:48 a.m., five pistol shots in quick succession awoke Ottawans on the north end and sent railroad yardmen running to the scale house. Oscar Bodley was found crumpled by the piles of railroad ties, suffering from two gunshot wounds. He died minutes later.

Law enforcement from the railroad, City of Ottawa, and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department fanned out, searching for clues. Sheriff William R. Cody stopped at the house closest to the crime scene and found AT&SF railroad laborer Robert McDaniel, who claimed he did not hear the gunshots despite sleeping under an open window. Suspicious, Sheriff Cody ordered McDaniel’s house searched, where they discovered 150 pounds of bacon, 50 pounds of lard, two hams, a dozen new bandanas and a roll of carpet. They also found a recently fired revolver.

McDaniels was then taken to the second floor of the AT&SF depot, where they “sweated” a confession out of him.

McDaniels, who was Black, told law enforcement that he and two other railroad employees—Jess Bruce and Alonzo Pierce, who were White—had been robbing cars for weeks. Bruce and Pierce were immediately arrested. Ottawa citizens were astonished that three highly regarded men were responsible for the thefts. Bruce and Pierce also endured a grueling interrogation, but in the end, only McDaniels’ word connected them to the crime. They were released.

During his final interrogation, McDaniels admitted he acted alone. He was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was commuted by Kansas Governor Arthur Capper after 10 years.

Oscar Bodley had served as a city police officer and an AT&SF watchman during his 15+ years in Ottawa. He was 47 when he died and left behind wife Ida, son Harry, and daughter Ora. According to a short memoir written by Ora Bodley McRae, on the last evening of Oscar Bodley’s life, “He was so happy and proud about having made the last payment on our home. It had taken several years to pay for it and meant many sacrifices.”

As for the gun that killed Oscar Bodley: It once belonged to Oscar. Shortly before his death, Oscar had used the gun as partial payment for furniture for the Bodley home at George Lathrop's store. Lathrop later sold the gun to Robert McDaniel, who claimed he was a traveling minister and wanted a gun for protection.

Today’s photo is of the police badge once worn by Oscar Bodley, which was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society by his daughter, Ora Bodley McRae in 1962. The close up from the 1912 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the location of the scale house near the corner of King and Powhattan.


Franklin County, KS - Government
City of Ottawa Kansas Municipal Government
Franklin County, KS - Sheriff's Office
Ottawa Police Department

MISSOURI PACIFIC TRAIN DERAILS EAST OF OTTAWA, AUGUST 23, 1912: Missouri Pacific Train No. 3 was supposed to arrive at O...
08/21/2026

MISSOURI PACIFIC TRAIN DERAILS EAST OF OTTAWA, AUGUST 23, 1912: Missouri Pacific Train No. 3 was supposed to arrive at Ottawa at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, August 23, but the passenger train was running one hour and 20 minutes late. Conductor J.N. Kinney and Engineer W.A. Rader, who were in charge of the “double header” train, made the unfortunate decision to speed up the train to 35 mile per hour to make up for lost time.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. just five miles east of Ottawa, the rear wheels of the first engine, No. 6420, left the tracks. The second locomotive--Engine No. 5502'--completely derailed, along with a combination baggage car/mail car, an additional baggage car, a smoking car, a chair car, and a Pullman car. According to the Saturday, August 24, 1912, Ottawa Herald, “One of the express cars lay in a cornfield near the railroad track,” and the second engine and two cars were badly damaged. Only the second Pullman car and the dining car remained on the tracks. More than 70 sections of track (about 2,730 feet) and 350 ties were damaged.

Several Missouri Pacific employees and passengers were seriously injured. Edward M. Burns, the engineer on the second locomotive, was badly burned when he fell against hot steam pipes, but he tore off his snagged overalls and escaped the overturned engine just before the pipes burst.

Later trains were rerouted from Osawatomie through Garnett, then north on the AT&SF tracks to Ottawa until the wreck could be cleared and tracks repaired. This track is now part of the Flint Hills Trail, a bicycle/hiking/equestrian trail and state park.

Today’s image shows Missouri Pacific Engine No. 5502 lying on its side and a car stripped of its truck (the wheeled undercarriage) in a cornfield as people look at the wreck.

Missouri Pacific Historical Society
Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks

SKINNER CLOTHING STORE, OTTAWA, KANSAS: On February 10, 1895, the Hamblin House, dubbed the "nicest hotel in Kansas," wa...
08/11/2026

SKINNER CLOTHING STORE, OTTAWA, KANSAS: On February 10, 1895, the Hamblin House, dubbed the "nicest hotel in Kansas," was destroyed by fire. H.L.T. Skinner quickly purchased the Hamblin's lots at the southwest corner of 2nd and Main streets. By September 1895, H.L.T. Skinner clothing was open for business at 202 South Main. Just four years later, Skinner constructed an addition extending to the west alley. Like the original structure, the extension includes ornamental ironwork from Ottawa Foundry.

Skinner sold the clothing store to employees Gardner P. Walker and L.C. Jones in 1902. In 1905, Jones bought out Walker's share and ran the Jones Clothing Store company until 1910, when he sold the business to Peter Shiras. Peter and his wife, Cornelia, operated the store as the Henry G. Young Clothing Company. Peter and Cornelia invested $3,000 (nearly $110,000 in 2026 dollars) in remodeling the building, removing the large plate glass storefront windows on the north side and installing recessed "teaser" entrances on the Main Street side. Inside, they added a balcony for office space, electric fans, chandeliers with tungsten lights, and 75 feet of oak shelving.

Although the storefront changed hands several times, it remained a clothing store for the next 75 years. It operated as Gardner P. Walker Clothing (1912), Davis Clothing Company (1925), Davis-Wassmer Clothing (about 1926), Wassmer's Clothing (about 1940), and Breck's Clothing (1986). The building later became home to Jan's Stained Glass Cappuccino House, Prairie Rose Collectibles, and Goat Milk Soap Store. Today, The Collective Heart and Olde Thyme Treasures occupy the Main Street store fronts. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure in the Historic Ottawa Central Business District.

Images show how the building has evolved and stayed the same over the years.

Learn more about Ottawa Foundry: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ddkgTax2n/

Ottawa Main Street Association KSHPO - Kansas State Historic Preservation Office

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORSINVITATION TO BIDROOF PROJECTOLD DEPOT MUSEUM, also known as the Ottawa Santa Fe DepotOTTAWA, KANSA...
08/05/2026

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS
INVITATION TO BID
ROOF PROJECT

OLD DEPOT MUSEUM, also known as the Ottawa Santa Fe Depot
OTTAWA, KANSAS

Building Description
Completed in 1888, the two-story limestone building with a prominent tern-metal roof served as a depot for the Southern Kansas and the AT&SF railroad lines until 1962, when the structure was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society. FCHS reopened the building as the Old Depot Museum in 1963.

Project Description
Repair all built-in gutters on the North, West, and South sides of the building including replacement of the metal lining, adding expansion joints, and replacing damaged wood as needed. Additionally, repair the West side roof including replacement of deteriorated rafters causing dormers to fail, installation of effective flashing, and replace damaged wood, underlayment, and metal as needed.

Detail of Work
• Remove existing bottom row of standing seam panels to access built-in gutters. Remove existing built-in gutter.
• Remove any damaged or rotted wood discovered and replace in accordance with original construction methods.
• Fabricate and install new built-in metal gutters with expansion joints positioned appropriately to allow for proper operation.
• Remove existing metal from dormers and valleys. Replace any rotted or damaged wood discovered in accordance with original construction methods.
• Install new underlayment where necessary. Replace any deteriorated rafters used in construction of west side dormers.
• Fabricate and install new valley metal and any other necessary flashings on west side dormers.
• Reinstall all original roof panels removed during project. Fabricate new metal standing seam roofing to match original as needed to replace any damaged or failing roofing that was removed during project.
• Clean up site and dispose of all waste.

General Conditions
• Repair work to be in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Viewable at https://www.nps.gov/tps/standards//rehabilitation/rehab/stand.htm
• To ensure consistency of materials and appearance, work must generally match the appearance of the repair work completed in 2023.
• Certificates of insurance, performance, and materials payment bonds required as security for faithful performance and the payment of all bills and obligation arising from the contract.
• Storage and the handling of all materials must be in a manner which prevents additional loss, deterioration and damage; storage area to be designated by project administrator.
• All work subject to review by the Kansas State Historical Society throughout the duration of the project.
• Compliance with all applicable laws and statutory regulations required.

Sealed Bids should be labeled “Old Depot Museum HTF Grant Project #2 Roof Project.” Bids will be received by Diana Staresinic-Deane, Franklin County Historical Society, PO Box 145, Ottawa, KS 66067, or hand-delivered to 2011 East Logan Street, Ottawa, Kansas, until 5 p.m. on August 25, 2026, for the work noted above according to the accompanying scope of work approved by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office. This structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. All work must comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

Sealed bids will be publicly opened by 7:00 pm on August 26, 2026 during a Zoom board meeting. Parties interested in observing the opening bids are welcome to attend the public meeting and can also contact Diana Staresinic-Deane at [email protected] to receive a link to watch the meeting.

All inquires about the Invitation to Bid may be directed to Diana Staresinic-Deane, 785-242-1232 or [email protected]. Bids will be received on a total bid price basis and shall include a sum to cover the cost of all items of the contract, including insurance, materials, and performance bonds.

Proposals received after the date and time indicated above for opening shall be considered late and therefore shall not be considered for award. The Bid will be awarded on the basis of cost and performance; to the Bidder who, in the Owner’s judgement, is the lowest, most qualified, responsible and responsive Bidder. Owner reserves the right to reject any and all Bids and to reject the Bid of any Bidder if the Owner believes it would not be in the best interest of the Owner to make an award to that Bidder. In the event that costs exceed resources available by the HTF Grant and FCHS, the Owner also reserves the right to re-evaluate the scope of work. The successful Bidder must deliver to the Owner certificates of insurance, performance and material payment bonds as security for faithful performance and the payment of all bills and obligations arising from the contract. The successful firm will be required to comply with all applicable laws and statutory regulations. No Bidder shall in any way directly or indirectly, discriminate against any person because of age, race, color, handicap, s*x, national origin or religious creed.

This project is partially supported by the Heritage Trust Fund grant program from the Kansas State Historical Society.

Stop by the Old Depot Museum to pick up a copy of Greg Kendall's new book about the history of Warner/Ottawa Manufacturi...
08/04/2026

Stop by the Old Depot Museum to pick up a copy of Greg Kendall's new book about the history of Warner/Ottawa Manufacturing!

Address

135 W Tecumseh Street, PO Box 145
Ottawa, KS
66067

Opening Hours

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

Telephone

+17852421250

Website

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