One of the most expansive city history museums in the state of Kansas, the Watkins Museum offers several rooms of exhibits as well as a local history research library. Since 1975, the museum has been located in the Watkins Land Mortgage and National Bank Building that was built between 1885 and 1888. Highlights of the museum include exhibits related to the history of the University of Kansas (including basketball), the early settlement of Douglas County, Bleeding Kansas, and the lives of influential Lawrence residents such as the poet Langston Hughes. The museum hosts a number of public events and programs for children that explore the history of Lawrence and eastern Kansas throughout the year.
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