Rush County Historical Society

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La Crosse, KS
Rush County Historical Society

Post Rock Museum, Historical Museum, Nekoma Bank Museum, Pleasant Point School Museum

The Rush County Historical Society operates four unique museums; the Post Rock Museum, Historical Museum (Timken Depot), Nekoma Bank Museum, and the Pleasant Point School Museum. The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum is operated by the Kansas Barbed Wire Collectors Association and also houses the headquarters of the Antique Barbed Wire Society.

04/29/2026

The 60th annual Barbed Wire Weekend starts this Thursday, April 30, 2026...

04/21/2026

Update: Vendor found. Thank you! We are looking for a food vendor for lunch on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2 at the La Crosse City Auditorium for the Barbed Wire Festival. Please PM for information if you are interested.

04/01/2026

After much discussion, we have decided to add a modern train engine as an accessory to our historic depot. This new engine provides a much needed contrast to enhance the overall museum experience. We hope you enjoy our updates and we wish you a happy April Fool's Day.

02/24/2026

Father Rudolph Stollenwerk served St. Joseph parish in Liebenthal from 1899 until his death 32 years later. Ordained in 1898, he served for one year as assistant to Bishop Henry Tihen of Wichita. He was known throughout the United States for having assembled one of the world's largest collections of stamps. Because of his stamp trade around the world, he served as Postmaster of Liebenthal from 1916-1922. Sadly, his collection was lost in the 1917 fire of St. Joseph Church and Rectory. Father Stollenwerk is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery and was memorialized by a grotto adjacent to the church.

02/21/2026

From Volga's Distant Shore
Dedicated to the Pioneer Settlers of Northern Rush County in honor of the 150th Anniversary of St. Joseph Church in Liebenthal.

From Volga’s distant shore they came,
To forge a home, to speak His name.
No gilded halls, no easy ground,
Just endless prairie all around.
They came to Kansas, wide and vast,
A future built, a painful past.

That February’s harsh embrace,
Found weary souls in this new place.
They scratched the sod, they dug in deep,
And prayed the fragile roofs would keep.
The creek ran near, the prairie high,
And watched their first, cold winter by.

From broken promise, here they grew,
With stubborn hearts and purpose true.
The land was harsh, the skies were broad,
But in their hands they carried God.
The limestone beds, a gift from stone,
Would build a house for Him alone.

The quarry rang with hammer’s blow,
As sturdy walls began to grow.
A steeple reaching to the blue,
A sacred home, both old and new.
No more the sod, the makeshift prayer,
A house of stone stood shining there.

For Liebenthal, is love defined,
By those who left the old behind.
A valley of the heart and hand,
Now rooted deep in prairie land.
The wheat grows tall, the bell still rings,
And to this day, their spirit sings.

brp

02/19/2026

Join us on Sunday, February 22 at 2:00 pm at the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum Conference Room for a presentation about the Volga German churches of Rush County, "Building the Faith" presented by Bradley Penka. Through the technology of AI, the history of Volga German Catholic and Protestant settlements in Rush and Ellis County will come to life through photos and histories about the people and their churches.

02/15/2026

St. Joseph, pray for us.

02/13/2026

Tomorrow is St. Valentine's Day, so we choose to honor Father Valentine Sommereisen. Father Valentine, as he was known, came to Hays, Kansas in October 1876. Through May of 1878, he ministered to parishes in Hays, Victoria, Munjor, Catharine, Pfeifer, Schoenchen, Liebenthal, and Rush Center. He was the first resident Priest to serve the new Volga German settlements. He retired northeast of Hays and operated an orchard and vinyard selling to people from the surrounding area. He is credited as being the first known person in Ellis County to press tomatoes into a juice. Father Reggie Urban, Loretto native, will be giving a presentation about Father Valentine on March 21st at the Ellis County Historical Society.

02/09/2026

"Building the Faith" will show the story of the arrival and settlement of the Volga Germans in a new and different way - in full color. Learn about the architectural styles of their churches in Rush and Ellis County and comparisons to the Catholic community in Rush County. Sunday - February 22, 2026 - 2:00 pm - Kansas Barbed Wire Museum in La Crosse, Kansas

02/04/2026

Rush County Historical Society Annual Meeting
Saturday, February 21, 2026 - 1:00 pm
Kansas Barbed Wire Museum Hagemeier Conference Room
120 W 1st, La Crosse, Kansas
Everyone is Welcome!

Address

202 W 1st Street
La Crosse, KS
67548

Telephone

(785) 222-2719

Website

http://www.rushcounty.org/RCHS

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