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FRANKLIN —
Franklin Community Center and Heritage Museum was built after a 2003 tornado devastated the small community, and became a symbol of its triumphant recovery.
Now the structure, built through funding from FEMA, USDA Rural Development and generous private donations, will be repurposed for a related but greater use. It will become the Miners’ Hall Museum, dedicated to celebrating the rich mining heritage of southeast Kansas.
According to Craig Stokes and other FCCI board members, they reviewed the use of the center and felt the facility had potential for greater use which would be beneficial to all of southeast Kansas. After lengthy discussion, the board voted to contact others known for their support and interest in the area mining industry and offer them the use of the facility.
A steering committee was formed, consisting of Kaye Lynne Webb, a driving force behind Immigrant Park; Louis Casaletto, who headed efforts to build the Miners Memorial in Pittsburg; Debby Close, who compiled numerous histories of local miners; Linda Knoll, gifted educator at Girard and Pittsburg, who has made an extensive study of the Amazon Army; Randy Roberts, curator of Special Collections, Axe Library, Pittsburg State University; Linda Grilz, Crawford County commissioner and proud daughter of a miner; Craig Hull, director of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Skip Urich, owner of Uncle Willie’s Emporium, an antique store; David Keller; Craig Stokes; and Phyllis Bitner, Franklin historian.
“We’ve been quietly meeting and discussing this for the past three or four months,” Bitner said.
She and Knoll pointed out that Franklin is a perfect place for a mining museum because the site itself is historic.
“Franklin started as a mining camp,” Bitner said. “When I was doing historical research, I found a newspaper article about mining houses being brought in to put in Franklin.”
“There was history on this very ground,” Knoll added. “A union hall formerly stood on this site, and the Amazon Army march started from this spot in December 1921.”
The Amazon Army consisted of miners’ wives, sisters and daughters who marched from the site to area mines to demand fair pay and safer working conditions for their men.
Knoll said that the Miners’ Hall Museum is not intended to be in competition with any other organization.
“There is so much history in this area to celebrate, and there’s nothing else solely devoted to mining,” she said.
The center already has numerous mining-related items on display, but more are needed.
Franklin Community Center and Heritage Museum was built after a 2003 tornado devastated the small community, and became a symbol of its triumphant recovery.
Now the structure, built through funding from FEMA, USDA Rural Development and generous private donations, will be repurposed for a related but greater use. It will become the Miners’ Hall Museum, dedicated to celebrating the rich mining heritage of southeast Kansas.
According to Craig Stokes and other FCCI board members, they reviewed the use of the center and felt the facility had potential for greater use which would be beneficial to all of southeast Kansas. After lengthy discussion, the board voted to contact others known for their support and interest in the area mining industry and offer them the use of the facility.
A steering committee was formed, consisting of Kaye Lynne Webb, a driving force behind Immigrant Park; Louis Casaletto, who headed efforts to build the Miners Memorial in Pittsburg; Debby Close, who compiled numerous histories of local miners; Linda Knoll, gifted educator at Girard and Pittsburg, who has made an extensive study of the Amazon Army; Randy Roberts, curator of Special Collections, Axe Library, Pittsburg State University; Linda Grilz, Crawford County commissioner and proud daughter of a miner; Craig Hull, director of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Skip Urich, owner of Uncle Willie’s Emporium, an antique store; David Keller; Craig Stokes; and Phyllis Bitner, Franklin historian.
“We’ve been quietly meeting and discussing this for the past three or four months,” Bitner said.
She and Knoll pointed out that Franklin is a perfect place for a mining museum because the site itself is historic.
“Franklin started as a mining camp,” Bitner said. “When I was doing historical research, I found a newspaper article about mining houses being brought in to put in Franklin.”
“There was history on this very ground,” Knoll added. “A union hall formerly stood on this site, and the Amazon Army march started from this spot in December 1921.”
The Amazon Army consisted of miners’ wives, sisters and daughters who marched from the site to area mines to demand fair pay and safer working conditions for their men.
Knoll said that the Miners’ Hall Museum is not intended to be in competition with any other organization.
“There is so much history in this area to celebrate, and there’s nothing else solely devoted to mining,” she said.
The center already has numerous mining-related items on display, but more are needed.
“A lot of our miners have been passing away, and many times their families don’t really want their items,” Linda Grilz said. “This would be a good place to donate them so they will be preserved.”
The building is and will continue to be owned by the Franklin Community Council, Inc., which will lease it long-term to the Miners’ Hall Museum.
“We’ll be able to operate under FCCI’s non-profit status, which will be a big help,” Grilz said.
“We also own a lot of land around the building, so there would be room for expansion if necessary,” Stokes said.
There will also be space for outdoor exhibits, and Knoll dreams of seeing a bronze statue on the grounds, dedicated to the women of the Amazon Army.
“Perhaps statue of a woman with a baby in her arms, because so many of them did take their babies on the march,” she said.
“We’re talking about a mural on the side of the building, but we don’t have a date yet when we’ll put a Miners’ Hall Museum sign out in front,” Bitner said. “The center is still open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. six days a week, and people can still come in and drink coffee.”
Education will be a prime focus, but programs probably won’t start for several months.
“This will educate not just kids, but all ages,” Stokes said.
There’s still a lot to do, but planning committee members believe they’re on the right track with the new museum.
“Last week a maintenance man digging out in back of the building found the iron head of a a miner’s pickaxe,” Bitner said. “Maybe that’s a sign.”
Interested people can help in a variety of ways. Donations of mining memorabilia will be accepted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Friday at the museum, and monetary gifts may be dropped off at the museum or mailed to Miners Hall Museum, P.O. Box 43, Franklin, Kan., 66735.
Anyone wishing to volunteer or serve on a new museum board of directors may call Grilz at 620-235-9464 or Knoll at 620-875-0419, or e-mail minershallmuseum@yahoo.com.
