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Beginnings
The wheels are turning to make the Burrton Historical Museum a reality. For now, this website will serve as our online records and artifacts collection.
If you have stories or memorabilila from anything related to Burrton's history, please consider making a donation of either originals, or quality copies.
Kansas celebrates its 150th Anniversary of Statehood in 2011. Harvey County will celebrate it’s 140th Anniversary in 2012, and Burrton’s 140th Anniversary will follow in 2013. Thus, 2011 is the perfect time to launch the initiative to develop the Burrton Historical Museum, hopefully seeing its culminating effect by 2013, and thereby utilizing the historical interest generated by City, County, and State efforts.
The purpose and plan for the Burrton Historical Museum is not simply to be a repository for dusty old records and momentos. While the development of museum collections is vitally important to our mission of telling Burrton’s story, it only serves as the platform from which to communicate that story.
Indeed, such collections are valuable of themselves, and the lack of a museum location for Burrton’s artifacts over our 138-year history has resulted in the destruction of monumental amounts of these artifacts. The Museum undertaking must be originated immediately, and widely promoted, in order to gather anything of historical interest that may yet remain. Failure to do so now will insure that future generations will have nothing to view of Burrton’s rich past.
At the same time, the Burrton Historical Museum doesn’t simply exist to preserve the past. An old photo - a single remaining portrait of a life once lived - can be a curiosity to behold; but coupled with the story of a life so lived it becomes a rich lesson of many facets, a personal connection to the past with a profound message for the future. Positive lessons of life – honesty, integrity, inginuity, perseverance, family loyalty and community pride – are contrasted with the consequences of less noble pusuits. Fierce debates in local papers about matters of local politics, temperance issues, and the direction of the country in matters of liberty, the impact of recessions, natural disasters, & world war – all within the context of our local community as voiced by our own citizens – help us better understand not only the reasoning for decisions that were made in the past, but enlighten us to the best path to take as we assume our place of leadership into the future.
The Burrton Historical Museum seeks to provide for future generations:
A SENSE OF PLACE
The Burrton Historical Museum seek to provide current and future residents with an anchor to their history, a connection to the larger Burrton community. Burrton should never simply be a wide spot in the road somewhere to park their camper, for lack of anywhere else to do so. We want to encourage residents who choose to live in Burrton, who choose to identify with us and our heritage, to have a greater sense of pride in this community. This is needed more than ever at this time of community recession.
A Stage for growth
The Burrton Museum, embraced by the community and proactive in its efforts, will provide a stage for potential growth of the community overall in a variety of ways. Ultimately, this will serve to invite new residents and merchants alike, as they are made aware of Burrton’s history and her people - realizing that the community as a whole maintains a pride and respect in her past, which overflows to a continuing commitment to itself and its growth in the future. The museum, together with the Burrton Community Development Committee and other individuals and groups who are committed to restoring a growing, thriving, and vibrant community, can prevent Burrton from becoming another casualty in the decline of rural Kansas prosperity.
A sagacity through opportunity
The Burrton Historical Museum will be proactive in its education efforts by making volunteer and educational opportunities available to everyone in the community through a variety of means, involving as many people as possible in its circle of activity. Providing resources on a variety of topics through Burrton-centered historical artifacts, the Museum leaders will seek to partner with local educators to provide meaningful, action-oriented lesson plans and activities. The Museum will also seek to find and cultivate individuals (students and adults alike) who wish to participate through historical re-creation, story telling, mentoring, restoring, and curating. While a portion of the building will be dedicated to exibition, an area will be required for group education and activity not only inside the building, but in the outdoor area at the rear of the building as well.
A sculpt in innovation
The common model for historical and genealogical societies in their mission has become extremely antiquated and ineffective in this current society. The Burrton Historical Museum will need to be proactive in sculpting a revolutionary 21st Century model which will not only serve to meet the needs of Burrton residents, but will provide a model across the country for effective and visionary Museum management. Membership, and its resulting benefits, should therefore not be limited to a limited group of dues-paying historians, but must be open to everyone who expresses an interest in Burrton History at any level. Monthly Museum programs, a staple in the 1960’s styled curriculum, should be abandoned in favor of an approach which utilizes online communications opportunities in order to effectively reach as many people as possible with historically accurate and culturally relevant content.