St. Marys Historical Society

08/19/2026

The Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival has become such an important part of our community, we don't want to see it close its doors! Please consider helping this unique non-profit continue to provide high-quality performances and amusements!

We have some good news to share:

We've reached 13% of our goal! 🙌

Every donation that comes in -- in any amount -- truly humbles us. A sincere thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.

Can you help us reach our break-even amount of $50,000 to ensure that we can provide a festival both this year and many years to come? Every like, share, comment, and donation helps make this possible.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/save-the-festival

Your donations are tax deductible and are eligible for sponsorship perks (see the comments for details).

Please know that there is a real human composing each update plus a cherished team of volunteers whose hearts delight a little bit more each time we see what our festival and Christkindlmarkt have meant to you!

08/19/2026

Our friends at Onaga Historical Society have a couple events coming up soon. Note that "Joe Talks" is only a few days away!

07/23/2026

Behind the scenes at the Kansas Museum of History! On Monday Barb Brockamp, Pam Sumner, Jeanine Lake, and David Steele enjoyed this private tour of the newly renovated museum. They went as members of Museum Matters—a group of local museum leaders who meet bi-monthly to share ideas and provide mutual support.

On the three-hour tour, museum department heads explained how they created exhibits, the challenges of artifact storage, and the elements of artifact preservation. Thanks to our own David Steele and Marci Spaw of the Wabaunsee County Historical Society & Museum for coming up with the idea for the tour and to Patrick Zollner, Executive Director of the Kansas State Historical Society for his help in making it happen.

07/16/2026

This week, back in 1951, St. Marys suffered through the “flood of the century.” Unprecedented rains brought the Kansas River pouring out over its banks and into town. Notice in the pictures the familiar bathhouse surrounded by water and see townspeople look on as some men es**rt Agnes Schoemann to safety. Some of those men in or near the boat were George Schoemann and Arthur Hammerland.

St. Marys wasn’t alone, all the cities along the river suffered tremendous damage, from Manhattan to Kansas City. Losses in Kansas and Missouri were estimated at $1 billion in the 2.5 million acres that flooded. The devastation was so bad that the U.S. Weather Bureau referred to July 13, 1951, as the “the single day of greatest flood destruction in Midwestern United States history.”

The flood’s effect on St. Marys is evident in some of the photos from our archives. The pictures here show several homes swept off their foundations!

Ultimately, the flood of ’51 proved to be the greatest argument in favor of flood control dams in the region. One of its legacies, for instance, is Tuttle Creek Dam.

07/02/2026

Pictured here is the east room of the Pay Station, which has been updated many times since the 1850s. Originally, when it functioned as part of the Pay Station, the room was, let’s say, rustic and minimalist. Today it looks downright cozy as our turn of the century bedroom exhibit. We upgraded the room last Fall with new lighting, thanks to Jordan from Perry Electrical. He installed track lighting with museum quality bulbs and a programmable dimmer. The old lighting had nearly become a museum piece in its own right, last upgraded in the 1970s.

06/25/2026

Even 100 years ago St. Marys didn't hold its patriotic festival on July 4th. Nowadays we opt for an earlier celebration. Remember to come to Riverside Park this weekend for Experience St. Marys' Red, White, and Blue!

06/18/2026

Remember the Caring Community Foundation campaign back in December 2025 when we raised money for a floor refurbish in the barn? You all were so generous that we raised nearly double the amount we needed for that project. We even had money left over from fixing some air leaks and cracks in the barn.

With this extra money, we were finally able to put the finishing touch on the Heritage Center building—a sign! We’d been talking about getting one for 20 years, but never seemed to have the funds available. With the new sign, the Heritage Center feels complete. So, thank you all again for the generous donations, and thanks to the The Design Shop for making the sign. Photo credit to them too.

06/11/2026

Anyone lose power from the recent storms? Yep, us too, but losing power at the Pay Station Museum is not as annoying as it used to be.

We have 8 display cases with their own lighting—like the Rosary case pictured here—that were controlled by 8 different timers. In the past, every time the electricity went out, someone had to crawl on the floor and reach behind the cases to access the hidden timers and reset them when power was restored.

Now, the days of power outage gymnastics are over! Why? Because last summer we received a grant to reconfigure and rewire our electrical outlets. With that project recently completed, we can turn on all of the display counter lights with the flip of a switch. This is a much appreciated convenience!

05/23/2026

04/30/2026

The third grade boys from St. Mary’s Academy visited the museum recently. Their visit lasted a couple of hours; they were so well-behaved and so interested in their history! We gave them a tour of campus and pointed out the locations of some long-lost buildings. Then back to the barn for some Oregon Trail stories and a scavenger hunt. We added something new to this visit: after a tour of the old-time kitchen area, we served the students biscuits and homemade butter!