About Reno County Museum

Reno County Museum Outside

Admission is free to the museum, but donations are always welcome! Our suggested donation is $2 for adults and $1 for children. This money goes back into the museum to improve the visitor experience.

The Reno County historical society was formed in 1960 and the original museum opened in 1963. In 1968, the museum relocated to Haven’s Township hall where it stayed until 1986. That year, the museum came back to Hutchinson and has remained here since. The Reno County Museum occupies two historic buildings at the corner of Avenue A and Walnut. The Great American Life Insurance Building, also known as the Kline Building, was built in 1917 and houses the museum’s exhibit galleries. The Rosemont Apartment building was built in 1913 and contains the museum’s artifact storage and administrative offices. The museum currently has over 40,000 artifact records with 200,000 number items.

The museum has two floors. The first floor contains our main gallery, transportation gallery and our special exhibit showcasing important people in Reno County’s history. The main gallery will soon be developed into a comprehensive and chronological history of the county. The second floor contains a gallery that explores specific topics. Currently an aerial photography exhibit that compares early photos of Hutchinson with modern shots.

The second floor also contains our Pat Mitchell Research Library. In the library you’ll find a variety of important historical documents to help you examine the county’s history on your own. Birth and death records, marriage records, history books, 140 years of city directories and a variety of reference books fill our shelves.

The children’s area can also be found upstairs. This area is filled with activities related to important parts of Reno County’s cultural heritage. These include a BNSF train, Gleaner Combine and Carey Salt rail car. Efforts are underway to update our theater to replicate the Fox Theater where kids can dress up or create their own puppet show.

Outside on the museum grounds we have an 1870s claim house that once had a family of six living inside. There is also an early iron jail and a variety of farm implements. Our courtyard is undergoing improvements with new plants that will highlight native species to Kansas!

David Reed of Reno County Museum

David Reed, Chief Curator

david@renocomuseum.org
David has lived in Kansas for the last 15 years after moving here from El Paso, Texas. His family has a long history in the Hutchinson area. David received his BA in Archaeology at the University of Texas El Paso and has a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Wichita State University. Any questions about Reno County history, item donations, and exhibits can be directed to David.

Thomas Waters of Reno County Museum

Thomas Walters, Lead Archivist

thomas@renocomuseum.org
Thomas has a Bachelor’s in History from KU and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from ESU. He worked at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at KU for about a year and a half as a Student Processing Archivist before moving to Hutch and starting here at the museum as a volunteer in 2017. His duties here at the museum revolve around managing the collection; He oversees what is added to the collection, the storage and conservation of artifacts, and the creation and maintenance of our records relating to the artifacts.

Ceeley Williams of Reno County Museum

Ceeley Williams, Archivist

ceeley@renocomuseum.org
Ceeley moved to Hutchinson in December 2016 from the Cincinnati, Ohio area. She completed a Bachelor’s of Religion in 2017 and a Master’s in Public History in 2020; both degrees are from American Public University. In order to earn her Master’s, Ceeley completed a practicum here at Reno County Museum. She liked it so much that she stayed on as a volunteer until finally becoming part of the archives staff at the end of 2021. She enjoys working with the Lead Archivist to care for the museum’s collection. She loves new donations! Her favorite artifacts are personal letters and journals. Ceeley finds these items fascinating because of the unique insight they give to life here in Reno County throughout time.

Brianna Buller of Reno County Museum

Brianna Buller, Event Coordinator

bri@renocomuseum.org
Brianna was born and raised in Hutchinson, Kansas. Bri received her BA in History from Fort Hays State University and a MA from Royal Holloway, University of London in Egham, Surrey, England. She has been an active member of this community since childhood. She is excited to create events that will unite and benefit the people of Reno County and the museum. Bri is passionate about and committed to helping people. She is a connector who loves to bring people together and takes great satisfaction in making people smile and watching how happy everyone is at each event.

Officers:

Jason Steele – President
Josie Thompson – President-elect
Kelsi Depew – Vice President
Christine Terrill – Secretary
Pat Weathers – Treasurer

Board members:

Nicole Brand, Travis Booe, Mary Clark, Lacie Janzen, Jeff Stroberg, Nancy Stucky, Betty Taylor, Cynda Wright

Ex-officio members:

Mike Carey, Jim Barta, Lee Spence, Steve Harmon

Our Hours

  • Sunday Closed
  • Monday Closed
  • Tuesday – Friday 9:00AM – 5:00PM
  • Saturday 11:00AM – 5:00PM

THE RENO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS A 501(C)3 ORGANIZATION THAT IS COMPRISED OF THE RENO COUNTY MUSEUM AND STRATACA-KANSAS UNDERGROUND MUSEUM.

Reno County Museum| |620-662-1184 |