Kansas Military History Museums

The Combat Air Museum boasts collection of 42 aircraft in two hangars; the Combat Air Museum also houses a wide variety of military aviation engines, exhibits, artifacts and aviation art, from WWI to present day! According to the museum's website, "The Combat Air Museum was organized in the Fall of 1976 as a wing of David Tallichet's Yesterday's Air Force. The group was chartered in April 1977 as Yesterday's Air Force Kansas. The founding group's interest was aroused by the declining number of WWII operable aircraft. Originally, the core of the display was aircraft from the Yesterday's Air Force large collection of dynamic historical aircraft. Most notable was the crown jewel of this collection, the B-24J Liberator bomber, the only one flying in the world at that time. In the beginning, aircraft and memorabilia were displayed under an agreement whereby volunteers from the local group would restore and maintain Yesterday's Air Force aircraft in return for the privilege of displaying them." The museum has been operating ever since. Visitors will be pleasantly surprised to find the museum has many aircraft that are well known and just as many aircraft that will leave visitors puzzled. The museums C-47, F-86, Mig 15, F-84, and World War 1 repicas are just a few of the notable aircraft worth dropping in to see. As you consider stopping to visit the Combat Air Museum don't forget it is a museum for all ages. Various exhibits and aircraft allow visitors to climb, walk, and crawl their way through. Children will love sitting in the Skyhawk's cockpit and walking through the museum's giftshop.

Fort Belmont, in southern Woodson County, Kansas, was built about 1860 near the town of Belmont. It was to protect the settlers there from attacks by Border Ruffians and Indians. The fort consisted of three or four officer cabins, a redoubt about a quarter of a mile to the north and a parade ground a mile to the east. The redoubt was an earthwork and log structure. Historian Daniel C. Fitzgerald visited the ruins of the redoubt and reported it to be rectangular, 150 feet by 60 feet across. The earthworks were the base of the structure. On top of the earthworks were four layers of logs. The wall was said to be fairly high. A house was built in the center of the redoubt. Fort Belmont was manned by local militia under the command of Capt. Joseph Gunby. A Federal agency for the Osage and Creek Indians was located at Fort Belmont until 1864, possibly until October. In 1861 Creek Indian leader Opothleyahola led around 10,000 followers to Kansas to escape the pursuit of Confederates in present-day Oklahoma. Little protection was offered to them at Fort Row in Wilson County, so the survivors were moved to Fort Belmont where more than 240 refugees died during the winter of 1861/62 when the Union army was unable to provide sufficient food and shelter; their unmarked graves, including those of Opotheleyahola and his daughter, are nearby. On October 30, 1864, Gov. Thomas Carney relieved the militia from duty and Fort Belmont was permanently closed. The town of Belmont was abandoned soon thereafter. (Source: Wikipedia)