The Fairfax Industrial Association will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the industrial district with a luncheon Sept. 15 at the Wyandotte County Museum, 126th and State Avenue, Bonner Springs.
The event will include the viewing of the exhibit on the Fairfax 100th anniversary currently running at the museum.
Also, there will be an interactive panel discussion and a barbecue luncheon at the event Sept. 15.
Besides artifacts, the museum exhibit includes a 10-minute video on the history of the Fairfax industrial district, which is located in Kansas City, Kansas.
The exhibit will run through Sept. 24 at the museum, 621 N. 126th. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
The cost of the luncheon at 11 a.m. Sept. 15 is $35. Advance reservations are necessary. For more information, visit https://fiakck.org/product/sept2022_luncheon_museum/.
Photos from the history of the Fairfax Industrial District are on display at a new exhibit at the Wyandotte County Museum celebrating Fairfax’s 100th anniversary. (Photo from Wyandotte County Museum)Photos from the history of the Fairfax Industrial District are on display at a new exhibit at the Wyandotte County Museum celebrating Fairfax’s 100th anniversary. (Photo from Wyandotte County Museum)Photos from the history of the Fairfax Industrial District are on display at a new exhibit at the Wyandotte County Museum celebrating Fairfax’s 100th anniversary. (Photo from Wyandotte County Museum)
An exhibit on the history of the Fairfax industrial district opened today at the Wyandotte County Museum, Bonner Springs.
The exhibit will be open through Sept. 24, according to a museum spokesman.
The Fairfax Industrial District 100th Anniversary exhibit will show the progression of the district alongside personal memories, and will include familiar and untold stories of people, places and events in the district, the spokesman stated. The Fairfax district is in the northeast area of Kansas City, Kansas.
The exhibit will help visitors connect with a place where tens of thousands of residents have worked during the past 100 years, according to the spokesman. Many of the objects and stories on display were shared for this exhibit.
Visitors will see products made in Fairfax, together with items employees saved from their time in Fairfax. They can compare maps of the district, find out how long a company was in business, and look through employee newsletters and newspaper articles.
The spokesman said it is a great way for families to connect with their past and visitors are encouraged to share their memories connected to the district.
A version of the museum’s exhibit also will be highlighted at the Fairfax Festival on Oct. 6 as part of the larger centennial celebration brought together by the Fairfax Industrial Association.
The Fairfax Industrial District began more than 100 years ago with a vision for the future. In 1922, area property owners signed a petition to form the Fairfax Drainage Board. This move ultimately led to the area becoming one of the first planned industrial districts in the country. Through the 1920s the district became a hub for flight schools and airplane manufactures. It continued to expand with new industries despite the Great Depression. The district became a National Center of the Defense Industry during World War II, housing the North American Aviation of Kansas, B-25 plant and the Darby Corporation, which produced landing crafts, aerial bombs, and more. After the war new companies made the district their home. Since then, the Fairfax Industrial District has grown to house more than 130 companies and is still going strong.
The Wyandotte County Museum is located in Wyandotte County Park, 631 N. 126th St., Bonner Springs, Kansas. It is open to the public, free of charge, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The Wyandotte County Museum is operated by the Unified Government, with support from the Wyandotte County Historical Society and Museum Inc., a 501c3 non-profit. The museum mission is to strive to identify, collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate material and information pertaining to Wyandotte County history, in order to assist the public in understanding, appreciating and assisting in the preservation of the heritage of Wyandotte County.
For more information about this exhibit contact the Wyandotte County Museum at 913-573-5002 or visit www.wycokck.org/wycomuseum.
Three re-enactors who camped on the grounds of the Wyandotte County Museum from June 24 through June 26 were, left to right, Joe Amos, Topeka; Aaron Racine, Overland Park; and Tom Sprague, Fall City, Kansas. (Photo by Murrel Bland)Re-enactors, portraying U.S. Army Dragoons who participated in an encampment, shot a cannon. The re-enactors were observing the 165th anniversary of the Utah Expedition; President James Buchanan had ordered the soldiers to Salt Lake City to quell errant Mormon settlers. The encampment was June 24 through June 26 on the grounds of the Wyandotte County Museum. (Photo by Amy Loch)
by Murrel Bland
The Santa Fe Trail played a very significant role in the development of trade routes.
That was the message that Dr. Gene Chavez presented at the summer quarterly meeting of the Wyandotte County Historical Society Saturday, June 25, at the Wyandotte County Museum.
The Santa Fe Trail started at Independence, Missouri, and stretched southwest to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Dr. Chavez said the trail became active in 1821 when Mexico gained its independence from Spain along with Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica. That same year, the United States gained control of what is now the state of Florida.
Before 1821, El Camino Real was used as a trade route for several hundred years by Plains and Pueblo Indians.
Dr. Gene Chavez
Dr. Chavez said that when Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, his sponsor, Spain, claimed territory in North and South America. However, as nations gained independence, those who controlled commerce changed.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 pushed many indigenous tribes out of their ancestral lands. The Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 authorized the establishment of reservations in what is now the state of Oklahoma.
Dr. Chavez told of William Becknell, an Indian trader, who found a market for goods in Mexico. Becknell encouraged the widening of the trail so it could accommodate wagons; previously pack horses and mules were used to move goods.
Dr. Chavez told of the importance of the Grinter Ferry to cross the Kansas River for those seeking to connect to the Santa Fe Trail.
The Santa Fe Trail was used until 1880 when railroads became the main mode of transportation. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad replaced wagon trains.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is a trustee of the Wyandotte County Historical Society.
The Santa Fe Trail stretched from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
