Dickinson County Heritage Center and Museum

Three Museums In Abilene, Kansas that bring History to Life


live your history


UPCOMING EVENTS

Sawmill Class April 13

The Dickinson County Heritage Center will be hosting the second year of sawmills class. This year Todd Reid and Austin Anders will be the instructors. We will start at 9:00am in the morning and lunch will be provided.

Attendees will learn the history of saw mills, safety, operation, and cutting techniques. During the afternoon we will cut wood with a band saw and circular saw mills. Cost this year is $20. Participants must be age 16 and up. We are requiring you to have leather gloves. If you are interested in participating, call 785-263-2681 to reserve your spot today.



Spring Tombstone Talks April 14

Spring Tombstone Talks will be held on April 14th at the Sunset Hill Cemetery. Groups will meet at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 114 N. 8th St.  Herington, Kansas 67449. We ask that you arrive 15 minutes before your tour time. Tour times are 2:00pm, 2:30pm, 3:00pm, and 3:30pm.  Cost is $5 per person.   

Tickets can be purchased at the Herington Historical Museum or the Dickinson County Heritage Center. Tickets will go fast so sign up today. 








Three museums that bring history to life

Feel the wind through your hair while “rocking” on

a hand-carved wooden horse as a 1901 C.W. Parker carousel spins to the music of a 1904 Wurlitzer Band Organ.


Step inside the one-room log cabin and immerse yourself in the daily life of a pioneer family who settled on the prairie, where homes were lit by a kerosene lamp and heat came from a wood-burning stove. 


Try your hand at using a party-line switchboard

that once connected telephone calls throughout the country.


The Heritage Center consists of the Dickinson County Historical Society Museum (including outdoor exhibits and additional buildings), C.W. Parker Carousel National Historic Landmark, and the Museum of Independent Telephony.


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Come visit us soon!


The Heritage Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. We'd love to have you visit our museums or attend one of our events.

Plan your visit

The C.W. Parker Carousel

Take a spin on the oldest operational C.W. Parker carousel known to exist, still delighting children of all ages as it did in the Gilded Age prior to World War I.

Learn the rags to riches story of Charles Wallace Parker, who spent his last dollar to buy his daughter rides on a carousel instead of purchasing groceries. Seeing the excitement on her face, he decided to get into the carousel business and later became known as the “Amusement King”.

The carousel features horses and chariots artistically hand-carved by German immigrants.

Hear the music of the 1904 Wurlitzer Band Organ, playing the tunes that kept children and adults thrilled and amused for decades as they rode the carousel at carnivals.

During special events, the carousel is operated by a steam engine, just as it did more than a century ago.


Explore a

historical world

There's more outside to explore! 

Step inside the original one-room log cabin and see the porcelain basin used for washing dishes by hand, the kerosene lanterns that provided the only light, and the wood-fired stove on which meals were cooked. 


Watch chickens scratch in the ground near their coop, and walk into the big red barn to find an early-day artifacts.


Ring the school bell, then sit at a desk in the one-room schoolhouse and test your knowledge with the arithmetic problem on the blackboard.


See the forge and tools used by a blacksmith when horses were used for transportation.




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