Print edition: 
GREENSBURG — The opening of the Kiowa County Historical Museum next week will be another milestone for Greensburg as it continues to rebuild from a May 2007 tornado that virtually destroyed the town
The museum will open Tuesday in the Commons Building, which will also house the Kiowa County Library and a new business called the Media Center.
The Kiowa County Historical Society began planning the museum soon after the tornado, which wiped out most of the museum's prior collection, said Jim Crawley, director of the new museum.
The museum's exhibits will discuss the buffalo that once roamed the plains, the coming of stagecoaches and railroads and the settling of towns in Kiowa County. It will showcase information and artifacts from Greensburg, Haviland and Mullinville, as well as communities like Belvedere and Wellsford.
The museum also will feature a fully functioning soda fountain like those that existed in the 1950s. It was donated by the Greensburg business that originally housed it.
"There are a few dents from the tornado," Crawley said, "but it still works great — it froze the lines when we first turned it on."
The Kiowa County Library has rebuilt its inventory since it lost most of its books during the tornado. The Media Center is a new business that will provide production services, including sound recording, video production and editing and other consulting services.
To celebrate the opening, admission to the museum will be free of charge during the first week of operation. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
