Whether you are a fan of barbed wire, history, or friendly people who love to share their antiques and artifacts with the world, the LaCrosse Kansas Barbed Wire Museum is your place. I’m assuming the elderly people working there and the surrounding buildings are all volunteers, so half the fun for us was being greeted and shown around by these beautiful old women.
The barbed wire museum displays over 700 varieties of barbed wire and related fencing items. The fencing tools on display are one of the world’s largest of its kind. Although the building that houses these items is not huge, it has them displayed in an easy way to view and admire and doesn’t take too long to see most everything they have. The gift shop has many items; including small pieces of barbed wire sticks for sell for one to two dollars. Those items are probably not the best toy or gift for naughty kids. The t-shirts are $15, which I thought was a little high for one color silkscreen design, but probably worth it if you desire to show the world you have visited here.
The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum shares property with the Rush County Historical Museum and the Post Rock Museum, and all can be seen in the same visit easily, unless you chose to make a day of it.
LaCrosse is situated at the intersection of Highways US-183 and K-4, 24 miles south of Hays. Their address is 120 W. 1st Street - located in Grass Park. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
From journal Once Wild West