Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum - Arkansas City, Kansas The Cherokee Strip and Land Rush Museum hosts many exhibits related to the history of Arkansas City, Kansas and the surrounding portions of Kansas and Oklahoma. For many years the exhibits related to the Oklahoma Land Rush of September 16, 1893 were the main part of the museum which would interest people from outside the community. But that all changed with the discovery that Etzanoa, "The Great Settlement," was located in present day Arkansas City. Tours of Etzanoa are available through the museum. Etzanoa was a large Native American city of the Wichita people from the mid 15th Century through the mid 18th Century. Relatively little is known about this community and the location was just determined a few years ago, after researchers finally resolved a 1601 map with the local rivers and terrain. The museum provides tours of some of the land which made up Etzanoa and the history of this Native American community will continue to grow in importance as more is learned and developed. The museum also maintains a genealogy reading room. On occasion, the Cherokee Strip and Rush Museum hosts melodramas. When I first visited the museum, "The Ballad of Gopher Gap" was being performed in the evenings. Prior to the melodrama, and during the intermission, you may tour the museum.
Cherokee Strip Land
Rush Museum web site
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