El Quartelejo Museum and Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection - El Quartelejo Museum and Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection

Heartland History on the Highway

As part of the June Jaunt celebration along Kansas Highway 96, the Scott County Historical Society will be offering two presentations of The Story of the Fleagle Gang, by guest speaker Keen Brantley.

This dark incident in local history involved a bank robbery in Lamar, Colorado, on May 21, 1928, and the subsequent murder of four innocent citizens. One victim was a Lane County physician, who was kidnapped by the Fleagle Gang to treat one of their men with a gunshot wound.

Keen Brantley is a Scott City attorney, who first heard the story from Don Lang, who was Scott County Attorney at the time of the incident. Mr. Lang was one of several men who formed a posse to search for the missing doctor and the bank robbers. Mr. Lang presented his own version of the story to the Scott City Lions Club in 1965. Mr. Brantley uses that summary to tell the story, which is both informative and entertaining.

The Story of the Fleagle Gang program will be presented at El Quartelejo Museum on Saturday, June 2, 2012 at 2:00 p.m., and again at 4:00 p.m. There is no charge to attend and refreshments will be served. El Quartelejo Museum and the Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection, located at 902 West 5^th Street, will be open from 1:00-5:00 p.m.

HISTORIC BUS TOUR

Another June Jaunt event offered by the Scott County Historical Society will be the Free Historic Guided Bus Tour to the State Park and the Duff Buffalo Pasture. The tour will take place on Sunday, June 3, 2012. The bus will leave the museum parking lot at 1:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required.

Call the museum to make reservations: 620.872.5912

Bulletin Board

The Scott County Historical Society is pleased to welcome Lorraine Stoll to the SCHS Board of Directors. Lorraine was elected to the position at the annual meeting on April 29, 2012. A local artist and benefactor to many causes, Lorraine has long shown her keen interest toward the efforts of SCHS, the museum, and the gallery. She takes the seat held by Jerry Snyder, who has decided to retire after his many years of service on the board and to the society. Jerry has generously shared his great passion for the Battle Canyon site, the society, and Scott County history with enthusiasm and his presence and charity toward all will be sorely missed.

Summer hours will begin on May 26th, with the museum and gallery adding Saturdays from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. These new hours will last through September 1st, when we will return to the Monday-Friday schedule. The building remains closed on Sunday. Private tours are always available.

The Scott County Historical Society is pleased to announce their association with Grandmothers Horses, a commemorative ride on horseback of the Cheyenne Exodus in 1878. The schedule for their visit:

Tuesday, June 5 - Leave early AM, travel 198 miles by trailer to Scott City, nothing scheduled for afternoon, set up camp...

Wednesday, June 6 - Bus to Eads Colorado, (2 hours) Sand Creek Massacre, Bus back to Scott City

Thursday, June 7 - Ride or drive (TBD) to Punished Woman Fork, then back to camp Scott City

Friday, June 8 - Reception /BBQ

Saturday, June 9 - Rest Day

You can also read about this interesting reenactment on the website dedicated to the ride: www.grandmothershorses.com

The Scott County Historical Society sends a special "Thank You" to Don Cotton. Don generously repaired and refurbished the kiosk at the entrance of the Battle Canyon site. SCHS is very grateful to Don for his time and effort on our behalf.

Jerry Thomas was inducted into the Southwestern College Fine Arts Hall of Fame on April 21, 2012. Congratulations to Jerry Thomas on the presentation of this honor from his Alma Mater. Read more about it: Thomas Inducted

The Spring Newsletter is now available on the Newsletter page: Spring Newsletter
On Friday, 27 September 2013, the Scott County Historical Society will be observing the 135 year anniversary of the Battle of Punished Woman's Fork. The museum has three books on sale at the gift store which feature the Battle of Punished Woman's Fork. Two of the books are from local Scott County authors Vernon R. Maddux and Albert Glenn Maddux. The third available book is from co-authors James N. Leiker and Ramon Powers, which we had the great pleasure of hosting at our facility for a book signing, Battle Canyon tour, and presentation in the Fall of 2011.

Become a Member of SCHS!

The Scott County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history of the Scott County area and educating the community and visitors about the function of El Quartelejo Museum and the Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection.

Throughout the 80 year existence of SCHS, individuals, families, and businesses have supported the Historical Society’s efforts. These generous people help to continue the work of the Historical Society and assist in maintaining the building and grounds, keeping the facility open to the public, guiding group tours, and raising funds for improvements.

There are three membership categories:

Individual $10.00

Family $20.00

Business $50.00