Darlene Schroeder, Director/Curator

Welcome to the Mennonite Heritage Museum. Dedicated in 1974, the museum complex was established to preserve the artifacts from early households, farms, schools, churches and the hospital in our Mennonite community.

The museum was erected as a living tribute to the forefathers of the Goessel community who settled this area. It tells the story of the Mennonite families who left Russia for religious freedom in 1874 and chose the Kansas plains for their new home.

The museum complex consists of eight buildings, including the Immigrant House and the Turkey Red Wheat Palace. Six historic buildings from the community have been moved to the museum for preservation and restoration.

The Museum Store in the Immigrant House features a variety of ethnic cookbooks, local history books, wheat weaving, and other Goessel/Kansas gift items.

The Immigrant House is a replica of those built by the Santa Fe Railroad to provide temporary shelter and housing for the immigrants. At the west end of the building is an exhibit illustrating the interior of the immigrant houses when it was used for shelter. Other exhibits in the Immigrant House include thirty showcases which contain personal items related to the pioneer families that arrived in Kansas in the fall of 1874. These exhibits were designed by descendants of the immigrants. A scale replica of the Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church, 1886-1928, is also on exhibit.

The Turkey Red Wheat Palace is a tribute to the farmers who introduced and developed the wheat industry in Kansas. The Mennonites who settled in Kansas brought with them seeds of Turkey Red Wheat, a hard winter wheat, which proved to be productive and eventually developed Kansas into the "Bread Basket of the World". The Wheat Palace features a blacksmith shop, farm machinery and tools relevant to the late 1800s and early 1900s.