Old Cowtown Museum

Old Cowtown Museum is a unique outdoor living history museum in Wichita, Kansas, offering a vivid step back in time to the city's early days as a booming cattle town from 1865 to 1880. Walk the dirt roads and immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the Old West. The 23-acre site features over 50 historic and recreated buildings, including homes, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, and a period farm. Experience the past through costumed interpreters, hands-on activities, and a rich collection of artifacts. It's a fantastic place for all ages to learn about frontier life and the dramatic transformation of Wichita from a small settlement to a bustling agricultural and manufacturing center. Don't miss the staged gunfights and the chance to sip a sarsaparilla in the saloon! A must-visit for history enthusiasts.

We took a day trip today & it was so much fun!!! The FAQ says to allow 1.5-2 hours, but it is also easily a full day depending on how much you want to read, absorb, and experience. We spent 4 hours and didn't read everything, or spend as much time in certain buildings as we could have. Our boys are 10 & under, and they had a blast!! They've already asked when they could come back. So much fun and truly an amazing experience. My husband & I haven't been here since we were in elementary school, and it's grown in the best way.

An absolutely amazing place!! 60 building from around Kansas have been moved to create Cow Town. Each building contains all the time period appropriate decor, instruments, clothing, and machinery.

This was such a cool place! We LOVED it! So amazing it feels like you went back in time! We very much appreciated the buildings with air conditioning. Also we loved the we could eat our picnic in the porch of the visitors center. Lovely museum!! Highly recommend!

This was an unexpected treat! This town is very well preserved. Many of the shops are exactly as they were in the1800 's and still serve the visitors. We got there right at opening so there were no crowds. We were told it got busy around noon.

We had a fantastic time at the Old Cowtown Museum! It truly felt like stepping back in time. The staff and volunteers were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, and the historic buildings were beautifully preserved. We especially enjoyed the live demonstrations and interactive exhibits great for both kids and adults. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Wichita!

Awesome little historical recreation. I loved how we could go into so many buildings. We went on a Thursday, so only the blacksmith was there, but he has to be one of the coolest people I've met. Definitely go on a cooler day too.

It was great place to visit. You can see all the history alive. Every single corner had fingerprint of history. If it is summer and and Sunday it is free to enter. Everybody needs to go. We watch a perform about how life back then. GREAT GREAT GREAT

Great experience, lots of history. We enjoyed the cowboy shootout re enactment, very nice gift shop and nice employees.

A pretty neat place to visit especially during a themed/holiday event. We took our little one trick or treating during a Halloween themed event one year and it was extra spooky as it got dark.

We were looking for something to do while in Wichita, Kansas for the day. We spent about an hour here. We walked around and looked inside the houses, businesses, and the farm area. They did have sheep. There was a lot of kids there. It was a weekday, so it probably was a school field trip. I expected more staff to be dressed like that era, but I only encountered one staff member on the grounds. It is interesting finding the history behind this town. Only $10 to go in which isn't bad for an hour of entertainment. Wear comfortable walking shoes because it is a good walk. Parking is free and on site.

I can't really rate this museum - I only left one because I had to leave something - I had read that they were dog friendly, but we were not allowed to bring our very calm for a gentle dogs in. We were visiting from out of state and drove an hour to come to the museum. Please disregard reviews you see telling you that they are pet friendly because they are not and I would hate for you to make the trip and be disappointed as we were

I thought this place was outstanding and one of the best places to visit in Wichita. You can easily spend 2-3 hours here going through the various houses and rooms and you really come out with a great vision of how life was on the frontier back 150+ years ago. My how far we've come! I really enjoyed the "shoot outs" -- a MUST if you're going to visit. Really great reenactment of "shoot outs" -- great costumes, actors, lots of fun for the whole family. Adults and kids will enjoy the show these people put on. The blacksmith was also a very cool experience -- you can witness a real life modern day blacksmith working with horribly smelling coal as the fuel! A must when visiting Wichita.

Such an amazing place! Super affordable to get into as well. It's great to see and take the kids to see old Wichita. They sometimes have dancer and shoot out performances too. It's like stepping back in time.

Well I'm a pretty fast museum walker. They shut off entry at 4. Not said close at 5. It does not. It actually closes at 4. The gentleman was a little less than friendly. Unfortunate for me, as I won't be back to Wichita.

I went with my daughter when I came to visit her in Wichita Kansas in May. I absolutely felt so happy and relaxed and felt like I went back in time. I enjoyed the exhibits and learning about the history of Wichita back in the day. The saloon was a nice experience as well. We enjoyed a hot dog and an old fashioned root beer. We even got to meet a dress maker in one of the shops. I felt like I was on the scene of Little House on the Prairie. I will definitely be back to visit.

Great place for family trip. Really for any age. We happened to go in a Sunday with free entry. Lots of historical information. Highly recommend!

I love these types of museums. Step back and walk through many buildings, many original from the 1800s. They were very neat to see. A bit heartbreaking to see how dirty they were. Lots and lots of dust, windows filled with dead bugs. Would have been really neat to have some sort of food/ cafe options. Or to have people doing some sort of woodworking, black smithing ect. Great value for the money.

I came here with my family to get to know what Wichita was all about. You can spend many hours here. There are cute little houses in original form that you can go into and see what it was like back then. They have items that are also original. They have a show they put on and it's a lot of fun. If you have little kids they would enjoy going here. I cant wait to bring my kids here when we visit again

Fantastic museum. They have so many original buildings that are beautifully decorated. You can go in almost all of them and explore which gives you a really good feeling of what Wichita was like back in the late 1800s.

I have been to Colonial Williamsburg countless times. I thought this would be a LOT more like that. My mistake. My expectations were way too high. Whereas Colonial Williamsburg consulted with the Walt Disney Company to make almost a theme park, Cowtown Museum is really just a museum. Instead of people in period costumes in the buildings and walking around, it was mostly just dusty items in buildings for us to go in and look at and then leave. There was a guy in the printing press building. It would have been nice to see someone in the blacksmith building and the carpentry building and in the general store ... We ate at the Saloon. It had sarsaparilla which was good. Hotdog bratwursts. Are they period food? I don't know. The pretzel probably isn't period food. It came with melted nacho cheese in a plastic container. The one cool thing was learning about the 10 cent magazines from the time period, and seeing actors have a shootout in the Main Street. Most of them ended up dead at the end. I wanted more people , cleaner props, cleaner buildings. It all just felt old and not well kept, instead of immersing us in history as if we were really there, back in time. I also feel like the gift shop could have had more choices of period toys, food (like rock candy?), jewelry, playing cards, tea sets, horseshoes ... things that feel more appropriate. I had promised to send a friend a postcard and all the postcards were of actors. I didn't feel any of them conveyed that Cowtown is a fun place to go. I didn't want to send my friend a postcard of an actor. My friend we went with is a native Kansan, and he had never been there or even heard of the place. We tourists got him to go. I doubt he will ever feel like going back with his friends or family.

We actually went here back in March and it was super a fun little trip! I'm from the Indianapolis area and this place reminds me of the Kansas version of Connor Prairie (which is a must-see in Indiana!). It's an outdoor interactive museum that takes you back to the 1860s and 1870s along the Arkansas River. There are 54 structures, many of those re original buildings, and during their peak season (April-October) they have actors that play in character. The saloon actually serves drinks (soda and water) and snack foods that you can order at the "bar." The kids will love getting up on the stage to "preform" and munching on their yummy popcorn and root beer. Several homes, a theatre, ballroom, doctor's office, school, mill, and many more buildings are here. Some containing original items on display or allowing interactive play. We went during the day when it was dead and it almost felt like a ghost town - we got the whole place to ourselves! Also splurged on some old time portraits and the Old Time Photos building, I believe it was like $30 for 5 of us. Fun!

If you have some time, worth your while to stop by and check this place out! Staff are really friendly and very knowledgeable and will take the time to educate you on the ways of the old west! Buildings are authentic, well-kept and have modern air-conditioning!

I really enjoyed my visit here. It was basically a self-guided tour through a recreated Old West village, but there was so much to see. For only $7.75 you get access to the town and we spent hours walking around, going in all of the buildings, and looking around. It appears they are still building and updating more. As others mentioned, there is a lot of potential. The saloon and I believe the Old West photography building are operational, but both were closed when we got there. The saloon may have just closed minutes before because there was someone there. I think adding "workers" to be there and interact with people would give it a nice feel for what the town would have been like during those days. If there was a banker, a blacksmith, the saloon, have some horses at the livery, etc. and people were made to feel like they were visiting an actual town during that time then I would think it would be one of the top attractions around. Of course that would mean the admission fee would have to be higher, but I think it would still be worth it. As it is now it is a fun time just walking and experiencing it as is.

This place is pretty awesome! If you are spiritual or believe in the paranormal, prepare yourselves. Someone opened the door for me and my husband at the dry goods and clothing store. Like, literally held it open for us. Like, my husband was pushing opened and someone pulled the door hard. We tried to explore the place but didn't want to be in a closed area with a ghost. The Munger house is definitely not welcoming. I walked in first and immediately felt like I was not welcomed and walked out. The Blood Family Homestead was another weird one. I felt as if a man said "welcome back"... this was weird because I was born in Kansas and that was my first time there since I was three mi the old. If you visit Wichita, go visit Old Cow Town Museum. I had NO IDEA it was haunted. I just thought it was a museum. That's it.

There's so much potential here. Having come in March there were only 2 buildings that had people in them (the blacksmith and the saloon). My hope and prayer is that when the tourist season is in full swing there are many more characters walking around bringing the place to life with stories and costuming and the 'experience' that we found so lacking. The buildings and displays were vivid but left to ourselves to wander alone it was lackluster. I'd almost suggest that a place of this caliber shouldn't be open if it isn't staffed properly. We were pleased it was not too hot, I can't imagine wandering these dusty windy streets in the heat of summer with no shade to be found. WEAR YOUR HATS!

A fun place for kids to go, and also cool to see the historical accuracy of the different buildings. There are a lot more little houses and shops to pop into than I expected. I don't know if it's part of the staff's acting to stay in character, but not all the workers we encountered were super friendly. Some were. It was a super hot day and so it was nice that they had a Kona Ice truck set up. Really little kids might not appreciate this place as much, but I'd say it's great for kindergarten age and up. We spent about 2 hours here and didn't see every single thing.

We visited for the first time during their Victorian Christmas this past weekend. We were pleasantly surprised with the history housed in this area! Cow Town has multiple buildings from around the area dating back over a century that are set-up with furniture and scenes commonly found during the Victorian era. They had informational signs through the property producing information the buildings, time period, and family who originally lived in the home. They have a post office, meat market, grain elevator, livery and several other businesses along Main Street. They also have volunteers who play the part of townspeople answering questions and providing other information. We had a fun time and we're there much longer than we anticipated.

This was a cute spot with lots of period buildings and displays. We were disappointed that the docents not only didn't stay in character, they didn't embody their characters at all, with the exception of those taking part in the gunfight. The shopkeepers were dressed in period costumes but spoke to us in present day terms. We would also like to point out an inaccuracy. One of the docents said this was the only living history museum west of the Mississippi with buildings from that era. Last spring we visited George Ranch outside of Houston, TX, which was a very well-done living history museum with buildings from the same era.

Love this place so much! It is like taking a step back into time. We always have a good time with the people walking about and like to eat in the saloon are really enjoy their special events!

We stopped here on a road trip through Wichita to let my 7 and 5-year old get out and move around. We ended up staying over 3 hours. It was so nice to get a look inside so many historic buildings. They were able to work the printing press with someone, watch the blacksmith and carpenter work. The favorite was swinging on the rope swing and trying out the old games by the schoolhouse. Although watching the gunfight and drinking Sarsaparilla in the saloon afterwards were close seconds.

Old Cowtown is beautifully done! It's great to walk through the streets and see how things were in the 1800s. The "townspeople" were very knowledgeable, answering our questions and showing us old style printing and blacksmithing. It really feels like going back in time. Everything is authentic. We had our almost 6 year old with us, and we worried it might be boring for her, but she loved it! We watched two of the gun fights, which weren't very impressive, but the overall feeling of the place, and the sense of stepping back in time is worth the visit. We were trying to chose between Dodge City and Cowtown and i'm glad we did both. We liked Cowtown much better overall, but Dodge City had the best gunfight. If you can, i'd recommend doing both since they're quite different in feel.

An impressive array of authentic late 19th century period buildings from the Wichita area. My wife and I enjoyed visiting on a relatively quiet Friday afternoon --

Cowtown has good bones but needs some life restored, which may explain why it was a ghost town on a Saturday instead of the bustling town we expected. It's a great reproduction of an Old West town, and it's filled with interesting artifacts. There's even a street shootout at scheduled times, which we loved! You can go into almost all of the buildings, and information about that building or business' purpose in the 1800s is posted, which is adequate. Historical interpreters are few and far between, though, and the two or three we came across couldn't answer what seemed like pretty basic questions. As a historical interpreter myself, I can tell these folks just haven't been fully trained in their areas. I expected it to be similar to Conner Prairie, a pioneer living history village in Indiana, but it misses that mark. I see its potential, and I see how great and interactive it could be, so I hope it can get the funding and programming to fully realize that potential one day!

What a trip back in time! We saw a real gunfight and drank Sarsaparilla at the local saloon. There was a ton of stuff for the kiddos to do. The bridge over the river is beautifully constructed. The staff was so friendly and helpful. Lots of bang for your buck too. Very moderately priced with a AAA discount among others. I highly recommend for any age!

I've been coming here since a child and I still love it immensely. It's such fun to walk around and explore their dusty roads, old creaky houses, and to see their volunteers dressed in Victorian clothing! This place gives you a taste into what it must of been like in the 19th century, which is AWESOME! If you're in Wichita during December, make sure to come to Cowtown to watch their cancan dancers perform their x-mas specials and to take a horse carriage ride in the snow! Talk about a great experience for both adults and children.

This place is great to take the whole family to for a day of adventures. The staff go out of their way for you, and the exhibits are entertaining and interesting. Make sure you dont miss the live plays and shoot-outs.

My Step-Brother and his wife got married here. I have no idea why. It was hot and dusty. No place for a suit and a girl with a beautiful dress.

Enjoyable atmosphere, but some of the volunteers should familiarize themselves with basic historical facts. An older man sitting in the first cabin you enter argued with a visitor about the reasons behind why the ceilings in homes during the 1800s were so low. The fact, which is easily researched, is that humans weren't very tall (in the mid 5 ft range), usually due to poor nutrition and other environmental factors. However, he incorrectly insisted multiple times that people were tall and the ceilings were low because they just couldn't lift the boards very high. ??? Okay. We had a laugh about that one. *The wagon rides were also unavailable.

I always think that Wichita will get this right and it will be better, but no. There are some interesting things, but the few shows we've seen are so painful to watch that you can't wait until it's over.

I seen the bad reviews and I have to say they are completely false. My first time there was amazing! I'm not a country guy or anything but I was very taken back by the buildings we could walk through, the blacksmith you can not only see but smell what it smelt like during those times. There is a whole lot to do during your visit and even people dressed as people were before cars and our known way of life. I loved the school building, railroad tracks, (fake) gun fight shows that would happen in the streets. There are animals and much more for you and families to do there. I have been to Cowtown 3 times with my nephews & nieces and they had a great time. There are games kids played back then and SO much to look at. Please give them a try! I've even been to a wedding there and it's incredible for that. I think someone wrote in a review dirt and wind, well I don't know where they got that from but the wind is outdoor Kansas. They must be from somewhere else.

I loved my journey at cow town it was a great experience i loved how old they made everything look. the saloon was fantastic but was also very expensive on their drinks and food. I also enjoyed all the old games from the old west including the swing. If i got the chance i would totally go again.