Greenwood County Historical Society & Museum

02/19/2026

02/11/2026

A new display at the Greenwood County Historical Society museum is a collection of cornhusk dolls loaned to us by Linda Scott. She has been collecting these dolls since 1986 and is personally acquainted with the artist.

Come in and see the variety of dolls and the creative uses of cornhusks and corn silks in this unusual collection.

This display will be available for viewing through the end of March.

If you have a collection of items that you would like to share with community and display at the museum, please contact us at 620-583-6682 o4 email us at [email protected].

The following is information Linda shared with us about her collection:
These cornhusk dolls were created by Gary Stapp, husband to my best friend from high school, Kim (Zinszer) Stapp. Gary made blue Ribbon Cornhusk Dolls in the mid- to late-1980s and into the early 1990s. Currently, Gary and Kim Stapp reside in Tyler, TX. He is a published playwright with scripts staged in the United States and Canada, as well as in Europe. He is also the author of the book Trespassors, published in March of 2025.

Gary, who grew up in western Kansas, spent summers in Greenwood County with his grandparents, Vader and Eva Stapp, on their farm near Neal. Gary states, “My grandparents moved from Western Kansas to a little farm about 7 miles east of Neal in 1965/66, I think. I spent many summers of my childhood on their farm helping my grandma with the milk cows while my grandpa drove a road grader to maintain roads in Greenwood County. They were a simple, humble couple who lived on very little income, but those summers with them are among my most cherished childhood memories

02/04/2026

Neal Methodist Church Friendship Quilt

This quilt was made in 1890 to raise money to help build a new church. The script was all done by a male teacher of the Neal School. The ladies of eh church did the embroidery and quilting. The quilt was sold at auction. A. M. L.M. Boone bought it for $25 and he was to pay $.10 for each name on the quilt. There are 389 names on it.

The quilt was donated in 1981 by Margaret Jean Miller Burnley from Alameda, California.

The names are done embroidered in red floss on a white background. It is backed and bound in white and hand-quilted.

12/10/2025

The Greenwood County Historical Society Museum will close at 4:00 P.M. on Friday , December 12th. We will be closed for the remainder of December and all of January. We will re-open at 10:00 A.M. on February 2nd.
If you need to contact us for research help or any other question please call 620-583-6682 and leave a message or email us at [email protected]. Phones and emails will be checked regularly.
Plan to come in after we re-open to see new displays as well as items that are permanently out to be viewed.

11/11/2025

Work continues on the Claycomb School Project at the Greenwood County Historical Society. Within the last month the new roof was completed and stairs with a landing were put on the front of the building. Historical Society Board President Mike Pitko is now spending time taking out the lath and plaster in the interior of the building. Plans are to complete the project in the Spring of 2026.

11/11/2025

Cattlemen’s Day at the Greenwood County Historical Society in Eureka was a busy day. Visitors had the opportunity to visit with Joel and Sheryl Edmondson. Joel, a Greenwood County resident, was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma the weekend of November 8th. Special displays to honor Joel were created by museum volunteer Carma Wilson. Other displays commemorating the 100th anniversary of Cattlemen’s Day in Greenwood County were created by Wilson and Museum Director Robin Himes. Featured artifacts included the museum’s collection of saddles, Rodeo Princesses from Greenwood County, and items from the younger generation of rodeo competitors – Cash Fuesz and Brody Harrison.
Outside the museum, visitors had the opportunity to learn about the sport of falconry with Tristan Boyer and his aplomado falcon, Freya. Keep your eyes on the sky November 26 – 30th as Boyer welcomes more falconers to the area for a Field Meet in Eureka and the Greenwood County area.

The majority of these displays will be up through Thanksgiving. Come into the museum and relive the history of cattle in Greenwood County and enjoy our other displays as well.
The museum is open 10 – 4 Monday through Friday.

10/21/2025

Come to the Greenwood County Historical Society museum and celebrate 100 years of Cattlemen's Day traditions. New displays will be ready for viewing October 27th through the month of November

09/30/2025

Trapunto Rose Quilt

Possibly made by Dolly A. Wheelock in 1860. It was donated by Dorothy Fitch Vanderbilt and Anita Fitch Moore in 1993.

This quilt was brought from New York to Kansas in 1920 by Mrs. Dolly A. Wheelock Fitch, mother of the late Dr. E. W. Fitch. It was believed to be at least 130 years old at the time it was donated. As of September 2025 it is approximately 165 years old.

The quilt has a white background with red flowers and green leaves appliqued on. The appliqued work is stuffed (padded). This quilting technique is called trapunto.

The quilt is hand-stitched/quilted with some evidence of machine stitching on the edges of the quilt attaching a bias tape binding to the back, which is then hand-stitched on the opposite side of the bias tape. There is no batting in the quilt.

09/22/2025

The Greenwood County Historical is grateful for the work done by students from Eureka Jr/Sr High School last Tuesday during Community Service Day. Display areas were cleaned and they look wonderful. We appreciate the work done by these students and Mrs. Hall and the care they took with our historical artifacts.

08/19/2025

A new exhibit featuring the community of Virgil is now up at the Greenwood County Historical Society Museum. This display focuses on three individuals with strong ties to the Virgil community, as well as the settlement and history of this town in the northeast section of the county.

Basketball legends Charlie Dehlinger and Jerry Milner are prominent in the display with photos, memorabilia and newspaper articles detailing their successes on the basketball court.

William Storrer was a dedicated member of the Virgil Lions Club. Included in this display are artifacts from his many years as an active member of that organization.

The Greenwood County Historical Society museum is open Monday – Friday from 10 – 4. Come in and explore the history of the community of Virgil and many other interesting artifacts from the county that are on display.

08/11/2025

A new display is up at the Greenwood County Historical Society highlighting one of our newest acquisitions. The fire chief’s hat belonging to Dick “Cap” Souders was donated by his great-grandson, Mason Branstetter, and is prominently placed in the display along with other memorabilia and photos from his tenure a member, and later fire chief, of the Eureka Fire Department.

Additional photos and other artifacts from our permanent collection are included in the display.

The Greenwood County Historical Society Museum is open Monday – Friday from 10 – 4. We invite you to come visit us and see this display as well as many other items of interest from Greenwood County.