GRAHAM COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — A new museum in western Kansas is bringing in loads of people and drumming up business for the compact town of Hill Metropolis.
“We have experienced around 1,100 people today come by this museum given that we opened up in April of 2021 and
that is 1,100 people today, some of them are townspeople, but that is a lot of individuals who are coming into our neighborhood and both paying out income at the gas station, at a restaurant, or downtown browsing,” explained museum secretary Phyllis Weller.
The Graham County Vehicle & Artwork Museum is a one-of-a-sort venue with dozens of vintage cars and trucks, antique tractors, and vehicles that have graced movie sets like “Paper Moon” and “Tucker.”
“We have acquired autos from the 20s to the 70s, and they all acquired character, course, and model,” said museum board member Rick Roberts.
The museum is a labor of like. Numerous townspeople assumed of the strategy in 2017.
“Basically on a aspiration and a prayer,” Weller said.
When a setting up arrived up for sale in 2019, Weller and a couple other people started out seeking for donors. Dozens of businesses stepped up, as did Hill City native and Boulder, Colorado business enterprise icon Stephen Tebo.
“This is the Tebo place because Stephen Tebo was a key donor to us. He has these autos on exhibit from his possess selection,” described museum president Cory Simoneau as he gave KSN a tour in November.
Simoneau and other individuals related to the museum credit history Tebo for producing the museum what it is right now.
“We would be open up, but we wouldn’t have this caliber of cars. He’s received amazing excellent of vehicles, significant collection, and he is our major contributor,” discussed Roberts.
The museum characteristics about 30 classic vehicles, like a handful from Tebo’s assortment. The autos are on bank loan and are traded in and out just about every couple of months. In addition to Tebo’s automobiles are local motor vehicles from Hoxie, Hill Metropolis, Plainville and Hays.
“We have individuals who personal vehicles that want to come in, but they are on a waiting record,” discussed Weller.
That’s good information for Hill City and the surrounding area. Weller reported the far more cars and trucks they rotate in and out of the museum, the much more most likely they will travel readers to the town.
“That’s what any modest town desires, and that’s a person of our important items we want to do is provide folks to our neighborhood,” she reported.
“That’s what we are striving for, to support our neighborhood. All the board associates ended up lifted right here, grew up below, and we don’t want to give up. We like what we are performing. We get pleasure from it,” Roberts said.
The Graham County Auto & Art Museum is situated at U.S. 24 and U.S. 283. Admission is $5.
