Museum preserving piece of JoCo’s past to be upgraded with federal grant

A national grant will help fund an organization dedicated to the history of Monticello Township.

The self-funded, all-volunteer Monticello Community Historical Society received a $3,000 grant from the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area.

The society’s museum in an old fire station on 83rd Street — straddling the city lines between Lenexa and Shawnee — highlights artifacts and stories about the former Johnson County township, which was annexed by Lenexa and Shawnee in 1988.
Monticello Township once comprised a number of smaller towns, including Zarah and Holliday, and served as a trading post in the pre-Civil War era.
Part of the township’s enduring fame comes from the historical fact that it elected a young James Butler Hickok as the town constable, before he became better known as “Wild Bill.”
Since establishing the museum at Floyd Cline Hall, 23860 W. 83rd St., which once operated as Monticello Fire Station, the society depends on fundraisers and donations.
The society raises money through events, such as pancake breakfasts, and sales of soup, mulch and plants.

The Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area is a federally funded nonprofit organization dedicated to building awareness of the struggle for freedom along the Missouri-Kansas border.
Because of the Monticello Township Historical Society’s themes are regularly centered on the settlement of the frontier, the Missouri-Kansas “Border War” and Civil War and the enduring struggle for freedom, it was awarded the grant.
“It’s not an easy task (to apply for grants), but we do it,” Cheryn Swanson, Vice President of the society, said. “This $3,000, I know that doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but to us, that is a whole lot.”

One of the most important uses of the grant money, Swanson said, will be updating its computer system, which was operating on a PC from 2007.
It will also update all of the locks in the building to protect its artifacts and pieces, including a decommissioned fire truck and photos.
“People would store things under their beds, waiting for the day they would have a museum,” Swanson said.
The money will also be used to update its filing system.

Swanson said she hopes the upgrades can be used to help the society move into the future and reach new visitors.
“I think it’s important for people to know what went on here beforehand and how we got to where we are,” she said. “We are a little thing full of a lot of stories.”
The museum is free to everyone and open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and also by appointment.

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