heritage center of dickinson county

TrishA4

This little gem is tucked back off the main road, close to the Eisenhower Museum. One portion of the museum is devoted to the history of the telephone. There is an excellent collection and display of phones, insulators, and switchboard equipment. (Made me think of the stories my Grandma would tell of having a party line and people listening in!) a Kansas history timeline is in another portion with antiques and artifacts from various periods. Outside is an original Parker Carousel (you can ride!) and steam organ...these have quite a tale to tell! Also outside is a relocated log cabin owned by a family from the area, in addition to other outbuildings creating a small "town." Enjoy a step back in time!

TLCTerp

This is a small county history center, museum and outdoor historic area. The women working in the reception area where very friendly and helpful. The museum includes a Museum of Independent Telephony and an outdoor display of old buildings. The best part of the outdoor exhibit was the old carousel. We didn't pay the little bit extra to ride it, but another couple that was there at the same time did. We had fun even watching and listening to the music! A nice small history center!

CSIJWyman

This has many different histories in one place. The telephone and local history collides and make for a fun trip down memory lane.

Kiddzo

This is a nice set of museums to go to. It is a three in one set of museums. First you have the Historical Museum, which tell s the history of Abilene and Dickinson County. The second is the Museum of Independent Telephony, which has all sorts of things related to the telephone and has some cool exhibits. Out back is a small village with an old house, barn, grocery store and blacksmith shop. I liked looking at all the old machinery. The highlight is the old restored carousel that you can ride on. The admission price was very reasonable, plus AAA members get a discount. This is definitely a place to check out while you are in Abilene.

ttowntriper

neat little combo museums , you have to walk to the back of the telephone museum and go out a door to visit the old buildings out back ,neat old log cabin with a huge loft , cool ol truck way in the back along with some cool ol tractors.

ronsus

We spent an hour here and could have spent more time. Telephone exhibits were fascinating along with Wild Bill Hickok information when he was Marshall of Abilene. Make sure you step out the backdoor and visit little village restored. We loved the general store and the old items they have in there.

MercedesNicole

We visited this museum on a vacation in which we were touring Kansas and this museum did not disappoint. For the most part Kansas museums all hold similar artifacts and share stories, however the phone gallery was AMAZING! With phones and booths you could actually touch and try I can see this being a very kid friendly museum! It was VERY hot outside so we rushed through the outside buildings a little but they were worth the heat. I had never seen a windmill head so close before! And don't for get the carousel!! For $5 it was a well worth it ride! Authentic music and it is a relatively long ride! And on your way out be sure to pick up some "Old Fashioned Taffy"!

Astrodraco

We stopped here because we've seen the signs so often for the Museum of Independent Telephony and we were curious. The museum itself was very interesting and well laid out. It was a lot more fun than the title might suggest. What we didn't realize was that the museum was a part of the heritage center, which houses many more attractions. There are history exhibits inside (in addition to the telephony museum) and outside there are period buildings to explore. The best part was the carousel. It was well worth the extra $2 to take a ride. We highly recommend this place!

Joegilliam

Carousel by C W Parker! In full working order. And that includes the Model T transmission which will give you one hell of a spin in second gear! The grounds are great and lots to look at. The Telephone museum is great. It takes a couple hours to tour this museum.

GeorgeO2

I had not gone to the telephone museum for ages so when a visiting family member said they would like to see it, I was not real supportive. What a shock! It is now called the Heritage Center and it is a great place. The exhibits were well done and impressive. Once outside there was a huge area of buildings and old cars/farm equipment, and even a chicken coop. My wife fell is love with a metal swing. The old Merry go round was up and running and the worker went way beyond the call of duty by explaining the entire process to us and encouraging photos and fun. He even walked around the grounds with us and pointed out things we would have never seen. The cost was fantastic and I would highly recommend you stop by the Heritage Center next time you are in Abilene.

JoeH957

Had a very enjoyable time here. We came when it was really cold, but the museum was nice and warm. Cool exhibits and you actually learn about the county and the awesome exhibit on telephones. And we really wanted to go on the carousel but knew it was cold and probably wouldn't be able to, but the very nice workers asked if we would like to and we said yes. The carousel is so cool! A lot of history on it! My fiancée and I truly enjoyed the museum, carousel and the hospitality shown to us by the workers. Great visit!

Cookie064

We found the Heritage center worth a visit and were thinking the whole time about all the westerns and old timey cattle drives you see on TV or in old movies. It is very educational to find out more about this period of history -- we were surprised to find out how short the "cattle drive" era really was before fencing farmlands changed things. We enjoyed the outdoor museum very much, but it was terribly hot outside in July, so hot that we decided to skip the old timey train ride that stops there. At the indoor museum you get an overview of prairie life and westward expansion before Kansas became a state. The exhibits are are really good. Finally we stopped in the Telephony Museum and learned that what is now "SPRINT" was founded here in 1898 by C.L. Brown. For such a small town, Abilene has certainly produced some extreme leaders and wealthy people. (President Eisenhower, Brown , the Russell Stover candy people, Steve Doocy and others). the Heritage Center is a MUST.

dvl-jel

We came to see an old carousel, but saw so much more! This complex provides a 4-in-1 experience: Dickinson County Museum, Museum of Telephony, Outdoor Museum, and the 1901 C. W. Parker Carousel.We thoroughly enjoyed the two indoor museums. There are lots of displays about the local area and people. The telephone museum features a fascinating history of telephones and independent telephone companies.The outdoor museum is collection and reconstruction of old buildings from the area: log house, barn with loads of old farm machinery, church (not open yet), telephone office, grocery store, saw mill, and blacksmith shop. An information sheet about each is available in each building or at the front desk.The reason we came was to see the 1901 C. W. Parker carousel and we were not disappointed. Robert explained the history of the ride as well as the 1903 calliope before giving us a ride ($2 extra charge). The carousel is housed in a building designed to resemble a circus tent. The windows roll up/down to provide ventilation. We were the only ones there (on a Wednesday) and Robert spent about 30 minutes sharing with us.

Fibbos

Loved this museum. Arrived 15 mins before 4pm closing and they held it open for us. Had a ride on a carousel which was fabulous. Enjoyed the farm machinery and old switchboards and phones as well as the buildings that you can ramble around. It was the other reviews that took us there, and we loved it too.

AKButler

We were interested in Abilene given it's history. We were glad to find this collection of historic buildings including an antique carousel they let you ride. It wasn't expensive and was a worthwhile visit.