Our History
The Herington Historical Society & Museum was chartered on March 25th, 1975. Herington postmaster George W. Kohls envisioned a museum to house a collection of artifacts pertaining to the history of Herington and it’s surrounding communities. Since the basement of the Herington Post Office was a seldom used area, Mr. Kohls obtained agreement for the museum collection to be housed there until funds for a suitable Museum building could be secured. For 8 years, the post office basement was the home of the museum’s collections. Meanwhile, a building fund was established and through contributions from local citizens, businesses, and organizations a new museum building at 800 South Broadway was dedicated in September of 1984. The museum soon outgrew its space. In 1987, in conjunction with the 100 year “Centennial Celebration” of the town of Herington, a museum addition expanding the floor space to 6000 square ft. along with the addition of a refurbished Rock Island Baggage car which would house the museum’s railroad artifacts, was added.
Today, the museum is home to thousands of artifacts, exhibits, and photographs pertaining to Herington and Southeast Dickinson County. A stone memorial in front of the museum was built from the remains of the historic Rock Island Depot after it was razed in 1985.
In addition to the many items on display, the Herington Museum also maintains all of the Herington historical newspapers from 1884 – 2010 on microfilm. We have many local church records, cemetery records, family history information and many other research resources.
Jolene Bradford - Curator
Jolene has served as curator for the Herington Historical Museum for many years. As curator, Jolene makes sure that the artifacts are received, documented, displayed and protected. She is often the first contact at the museum for research requests and also authors the museum's newsletter.
Sharon Kolanowski - President
Sharon attended Herington High School before entering her post secondary education at St. John's College in Winfield, Kansas as an education major. She entered a varied career with the United States Air Force. She retired from Civil Service and went to work at Ken "Chief" Hill Learning Academy in Arizona. in 2018, she retired from Chief Hill and returned to Herington to be near family. Sharon is active in many activities in her church at the district and local levels.
Verl Schlesener - Vice President
Verl has lived around Herington for many years and has served in just about every office and capacity at the Herington Museum. Verl can trace his family's roots in Union Township as far back as the 1870's. Having worked for the Rock Island Railroad for most of his career, Verl brings firsthand experience into what working for the railroad in Herington was like. He is acquainted with many folks that also had careers with the Rock Island. Verl is married to Karolyn and enjoys restoring player pianos, traveling and spending time with his children and grandchildren.