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History
In a relative brief period time Great Bend has lived many lives. From prairie settlement to cowtown, from Sante Fe Trail way station to oil boomtown, Great Bend has performed on a grand stage. There are many ways in which to experience this fascinating past, from the Barton County Historical Museum and Village to the Kansas Oil & Gas Hall of Fame and Museum. Please join us for a leisurely trip through our storied remarkable history.
Barton County Historical Museum and Village
 Step into central Kansas history at the Barton County Historical Museum and Village. Located on the Arkansas River, just south of Great Bend, the museum preserves the history of Barton County, from its Native American roots to World War II and beyond. The village brings the region’s settlement era to life through several restored historic buildings, including an 1871 pioneer home, 1898 church, 1910 train depot, 1915 one-room school house, and a small post office. Group tours are available. Admission is charged. For information visit the museum Web site or call 620-793-5125.
 Kansas Oil and Gas
Eureka! The “ka-thump” ka-thump” of oil rigs forms the industrial heartbeat of the Great Bend region. Oil exploration began here in 1886, financed by a group of Great Bend speculators. By 1930, it was estimated that the county received more than $20 million annually from the oil and gas industry. Oil pumps dot the landscape along throughout the region and remain an important contributor to the regional economy; in 2006, more than 3,200 oil wells and 177 gas wells operated in Barton and Stafford counties.
Learn about the history of local oil and gas production at the Kansas Oil & Gas Hall of Fame and Museum, 5944 W. 10th Street. For more information or tour scheduling call (620) 793-5742 or (620) 792-7033.
B-29 Memorial
Visitors to the Great Bend City airport are often puzzled by the size of its runways, since you seldom see 8,000-foot-long runways in towns our size. Great Bend was a B-29 bomber training base during World War II, and crews from all over the United States trained to fly the huge Superfortress bombers right here in Great Bend.
The airfield is the site of a memorial dedicated to the men and women who manufactured, flew and provided support for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The City of Great Bend donated land at the Great Bend Army Airfield, and an artist and architect designed a dramatic memorial for the site, with intersecting arches representing the emblem of the Global 20th Air Force and a centerpiece of a B-29 cast in stainless steel. The memorial honors bomber crews, groups, and individuals on bronze plaques and bricks.
For more information contact the Barton County Historical Museum at (620) 793-5125.
HISTORICAL TOURS
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