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Coronado Quivira Museum
Lyons, Kansas
Description

The Coronado-Quivira Museum in Lyons is one of the best small museums in Kansas. Separate displays focus on early inhabitants, Spanish explorers, the Sante Fe Trail, and the coming of homesteaders and permanent settlers. Part of the museum is in the old Carnegie Library, with most of the displays in the newer, adjacent structure.

Mission

To foster understanding and inspire broader knowledge of the unique history of Rice County and the Rice County region for residents and visitors of all ages through the collection, preservation, research and dissemination of information and historical artifacts.

Artifact Collections

We cover four main interpretive areas:

- The Quivira Indians and Quiviran Indian Culture. We house the largest collection of Quiviran Indian artifacts in the area and use them to tell the story of the prehistoric inhabitants of Rice County and the Rice County region.
- Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his 1541 visit to Rice County. While searching for Cibola and the Seven Cities of Gold, this Spanish Conquistador spent over a month with the Quivira Indians in Rice County. While he did not find what he was looking for, Coronado and his followers left an impact on the Quivira.
- The Santa Fe Trail and its progress through Rice County. This commerce trail which began in 1820 passed through the middle of Rice County, bringing Americans, Mexicans and Native Americans into close contact for the purpose of trade. We have several important Santa Fe Trail sites in the county, including some of the best preserved trail ruts to survive to the modern day.
- Rice County development at the turn of the 20th century. How did Rice County get its name? What were some of the main occupations of Rice Countians? What was life like in 1902? We explore all of these issues and more in our Rice County 1902 exhibit.
Research Collections

The Coronado Quivira Museum exists to collect and preserve the history of Rice County. Potential donations must reflect the culture, lifestyle and history of Rice County and meet additional standards as set forth in the Collections Management Policy before approval by the Collections Committee. If you have an item you would be interested in submitting for consideration by the committee, contact the Curator of Collections.

Programs
Coronado Quivira Museum Podcast

The Coronado Quivira Museum is announcing a new podcast series! We have uncovered a treasure-trove of research about Rice County's various salt mining operations, and we simply couldn't tell all of the great stories in our Smithsonian Companion exhibit By The Sweat of Their Brows: The Men, Mechanics and Science of Salt. To give some of those stories a chance to be heard, museum staff are working on a podcast series. The podcast will be available from our website and from I-Tunes Music Store.

Governance

501 c 3 status. Board of Directors

Library
Solving your Research and Genealogical Questions

The Coronado Quivira Museum hosts a research library including an extensive collection of research and writings on historic topics relevant to Rice County history. The library is open during museum hours. Museum admission is required of non-county residents and non-RCHS members to use the research library.

Staff of the museum can perform research when requested, utilizing the full extent of museum archival and photographic collections. Fees for this service are listed on our website. To submit a research request, contact the museum at 620-257-3941 or e-mail

Access: General Public, Students, Scholars, Members

Appointment required: True

Services
Mid-May to mid-October Historic Site Tours

Tours of county historic sites are available from mid-May to mid-October, weather permitting. Contact the museum at 620-257-3941 or e-mail museum[at]cqmuseum.org to book your tour. All tours must be book at least 48 hours in advance.

Group Tours
Street Address
105 West Lyon
Lyons, KS 67554
Mailing Address
105 W. Lyon
Lyons, KS 67554
phone: 620-257-3941
e-mail: director@cqmuseum.org
home page: www.cqmuseum.org
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Hours of Operation
Tuesday - Saturday9 AM - 5 PM
Sunday - Mondayclosed

Closed on major holidays.

Admission

Adults: $3
Children (5-12): $2
Children under 5: Free

Museum Type(s)
Archaeology
Culture
General
History
Historical Society
Staff
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