Old Cowtown Museum

We are open Saturday and Sunday for your holiday adventures. Start your Labor Day weekend with a bang!

This weather is absolutely perfect for strolling the streets of Old Cowtown. Plus you can catch an old time Dime Novel Skit, replete with gunfight, at 1 and 2:30 p.m. We are lucky to have TWO volunteer gunfighter groups who work hard to give visitors a fiesty and fun old west experience!

Haaaaay there! Have you met our new Longhorn friends yet?

Have you seen our new resident? Old Cowtown Museum is thrilled to finally be able to introduce you to our Keeper of the Plains, embellished by artist Ellamonique Baccus. Come and see it the next time you visit, along the pathway near the Visitor’s Center.

We're hoping for drier skies for this year's Women of the West event! Join us on Saturday, September 14 for this annual event that celebrates the hard-working, courageous women who helped to shape the frontier.

This year, Old Cowtown will be hosting the Wichita Kansas Inter-Tribal Warrior Society's Annual Powwow from 2-10pm on the same day! Save the date to immerse yourself in history and culture.

Thank you, Wichita!

We are so proud to have been nominated for the annual Best of Wichita awards in three categories: Best Museum, Best Attraction and Best Family Attraction. As if that wasn't enough, our in-house melodrama troupe, the Empire House Players, has been nominated for Best Live Theatre!

Vote daily through September 6th at votewichitaks.com!

Pick-up rehearsal last night before our shows this weekend! Here you see the cast's response to "Some folks don't know if they should see the show this weekend!"

Just kidding! This is a scene from the show! Come out to Old Cowtown Museum Friday or Saturday at 7pm, or Sunday at 2pm, to see if you can spot which one!

"How the West Was Worn or...Black Hat Optional"

bit.ly/HowTheWest
Or buy at the door
$15 Adults
$7 Children

We'll see you there! 🤠

Hey look at that! The have been nominated again for ‘s under Things To Do: Live Theater!

The Wichita Carriage Works, our newest exhibit, was added to Old Cowtown Museum earlier this year and is based on the early Wichita business of the same name. Carriage Works was designed to properly house and display our collection of rolling stock which includes buggies, surreys, carriages, and spring wagons. Learn more about the project here: https://www.oldcowtown.org/Pages/CarriageWorksProject.aspx and a special thank you to the many donors and community members who helped make this project possible.

Stop by and visit Carriage Works and more! We’re open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Sundays from 12 noon to 5:00 pm. General admission rates apply.

Last weekend, the Historic Wichita Cowtown Inc. - Board of Trustees hosted a Night at Cowboy Camp. The evening event included cowboy-themed games and activities and gave attendees the opportunity to learn new skills like roping and branding. Over 40 participants enjoyed this new family-friendly fundraiser.

Thanks, as always, to our wonderful board members and volunteers for their support and love for Old Cowtown!

Save the date for our celebration of the hardworking, courageous women who helped to shape our nation!

On Saturday, September 16, come out to Old Cowtown Museum and learn about the Women of the West from suffragettes to soiled doves, proper ladies and rule breakers.

The ladies.

Opening this weekend!

Tell us Mr. Tycoon! Does Black Flatts pass the test?! Will we be getting a railroad through that'll save this town?

Find out THIS WEEKEND at Old Cowtown Museum for "How the West Was Worn or...Black Hat Optional"!

Opens Friday and runs Aug 16-18 & 23-25
7pm Friday and Saturday
2pm Sunday
Only $15 Adults and $7 Children

Get your tickets in advance at bit.ly/HowTheWest or buy at the door

We'll see you there!

This Sunday, August 11 is the last day for the Sunflower Summer program!

PLUS catch a Cowtown Vintage Base Ball Club match, featuring the Red Stocking vs. the Bull Dozers at 1 p.m.

Summer may be winding down, but there's still a lot of fun to be had at Old Cowtown Museum! Thank you, Paul, for visiting with your grandchildren - we're so glad your family had a great time!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/8012755588806567

If you haven't already, be sure to take advantage of the Sunflower Summer program to bring your family down to see us! Just three more days left this year- more info at sunflowersummer.org.

Send a message to learn more

Have you lassoed your tickets yet for the Night at Cowboy Camp FUNdraiser?

This Saturday from 5:30-8:30pm, the Historic Wichita Cowtown Inc. - Board of Trustees will take you on a journey back to the late 1800s where kids will learn what it takes to be a Cowboy or Cowgirl! Take part in cowboy-themed games and activities, learn some new skills like roping and branding, then gather around the campfire with a sarsaparilla for a delicious dinner, singing, and other surprises!

This new fundraiser is recommended for kids but all ages are welcome. All proceeds help HWCI in their support of Old Cowtown's volunteer and educational programs.

Registration is required for this special event, so make sure to sign up today!
https://app.aplos.com/aws/events/night_at_cowboy_camp

Old Cowtown's volunteers are the beating heart that keep this living history museum going. We cannot thank them enough for the time, talent and treasure they share with us throughout the year!

Today is another FREE admission Sunday! We are open 12pm-5pm, with last admission at 4pm. Come visit us to experience the old west in real time!

Don't fight the stampede for tickets to the Empire House Players next melodrama performance "How the West Was Worn or...Black Hat Optional"! Get your tickets online ( Bit.ly/HowTheWest ) or in the Mercantile today!

Performances take place over two weekends, August 16-18 and 23-25, with Friday and Saturday shows at 7pm, Sunday matinee at 2pm

$15 Adults, $7 Children

We're having a lot of fun with this script! We know you will, as well!

Run, don't walk... (actually you don't even have to move) to get your tickets TODAY!

Head to bit.ly/HowTheWest to get your tickets for "How the West Was Worn or...Black Hat Optional" at Old Cowtown Museum!

August 16-18 & 23-25
$15 Adults (13+)
$7 Children

We'll see you there! 🤠

🌻🤠😎🤠🌻

Sunflower Summer 2024 ends on August 11! If you haven't yet, be sure to sign up at sunflowersummer.org and download the app to get your family in FREE to Old Cowtown and other great museums and attractions in Wichita and all across our state!

This program, brought to you by Kansas Tourism, encourages Kansas families to see and do ALL THE THINGS this summer!

This looks like an interesting opportunity to learn about the recent renovation of the Sternberg Mansion on Waco, and how the community can better support restoration of historic properties!

Historic Home Tour, with Christina Lopez-Rieth & Pepin Suter.

Christina Lopez-Rieth
Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Wichita.

Join two forces leading restorations of historic properties in Wichita & see a historic mansion brought to life.
Mon. Aug. 19th 2024 | 5:30 - 7PM
1065 N. Waco Ave. Wichita, KS.

RSVP today!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/966492112927?aff=oddtdtcreator

Your next chance to see the Cowtown Vintage Base Ball Club is Sunday, August 11, when the Bull Dozers and Red Stockings face off once again on our home turf!

Save the date! 🤠⚾️

"America remembers and even lionizes the gunslingers and stone-cold killers and hucksters of the Wild West, but it forgets other people who were no less fearless, but more bent on keeping the peace and founding churches than hanging out in brothels and preening for East Coast reporters and photographers."

This Washington Post article (link in comments) is a fantastic reminder that although history favors bold type names and legends, it's the ordinary folks who put their time and effort into everyday work that make our communities strong. It's why Old Cowtown Museum exists!

Opinion | The real history of the Wild West, told through my grandfather’s gun An old gun’s value is not in its death count. It’s in the mettle of the man who carried it.

Old Cowtown participates in a variety of programs to make sure everyone has the opportunity to experience the living history of the old west. Members get in free daily and on Sundays, museum admission is free, thanks to a generous donation from Colby Sandlian.

Sunflower Summer is a program from Kansas Tourism that offers Kansas families free admission to attractions throughout the state, including Old Cowtown. Download the app at sunflowersummer.org.

Enjoy free downtown transportation between many of the Wichita attractions participating in Sunflower Summer with Wichita Transit's Q-Line route!

Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), offering free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve.

Museums for All, an initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services , administered by the Association of Children's Museums, those receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) receive reduced admission simply by presenting their EBT card and a photo ID.

And, new this year, you can find Experience Passes for local attractions, including Old Cowtown, at the Wichita Public Library! Learn more and reserve yours with your library card: https://www.wichitalibrary.org/experience-passes

"...Those who’ve driven past the 1886 Sternberg Mansion at 1065 N. Waco lately have noticed that it looks almost new again. There’s no more broken glass. The house has new storm windows. And — most noticeably — it’s gotten a fresh coat of paint: white with gray trim.

The mansion, which during its 138 years of life has at various times served as a private residence, a boarding house, and a weekend handyman project, now has a new purpose."

We love to see historic homes and buildings in Wichita restored instead of razed! This one has been lovingly taken back to its former glory, with a renewed sense of purpose. Wonderful news!

Crumbling Wichita mansion is finally refurbished, finds new life as sober living house

Have you seen the new issue of KANSAS! Magazine yet?

You may see a few familiar faces, as our Empire House Players are featured in a profile spread! Learn a little bit about our in-house melodrama troupe and what they have coming up for you this year. Their next production, "How the West Was Worn or...Black Hat Optional" is coming up in mid-August. You don't want to miss it!