Our Past Is Present August 2, 2018

August 2, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            Our next two programs will be about Geary County Historical Society sites, which may be visited free of charge.  And… today we begin with the Museum site at 530 N. Adams Street in Junction City.  This building is the former Junction City High School.  The exterior is of native limestone and was built in 1903 by Ziegler and Dalton contractors who also built the Geary County Courthouse.

            The building served as a four-year high school from 1904 to 1918, when growing enrollment necessitated the construction of a separate junior high school.  The building served as a three year high school from 1918 to 1929 when the last high school class graduated.  In the fall of 1929, the JCHS building became a seventh grade building.  From the 1950’s to the time it was vacated in 1980, the building held sixth grade classes, a kindergarten class in the building’s basement level and administrative offices for the school district. 

            The building sat empty for about two years before Fred Bramlage purchased and donated it for use by the Historical Society in 1982.  Extensive remodeling was done to the building before its grand opening in May of 1983.

            The basement level includes the maintenance workshop, three storerooms, the Research Center, an historic printing press and exhibit about the press and an exhibit about the history of the fire department.

The main level includes offices for the Executive Director, and Programs and Education Director, three galleries for exhibits, which include “Main Street”, “Grandma’s Kitchen” and a temporary exhibit about floods in Geary County and a Native American exhibit. There also is a gift shop on the main level. 

            If you have never been to our Museum or it has been more than a while since your last visit, stop by and see the exhibits and share any stories you have about Geary County history. The building is handicapped accessible with an elevator installed in 1986.  And… thanks for reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.