During your visit to this Salina, Kansas attraction, explore the Museum’s exhibits that chronicle the history of the Smoky Hills region and Salina. The Museum also houses a gift shop, stocked with merchandise related to Kansas.
Crossroads of the Heartland Exhibition
At the crossroads of the heartland is the Smoky Hills region, where grasslands teeming with plant and animal life have attracted humans for over 12,000 years. Journey through the Crossroads of the Heartland exhibition and experience the people, places and events that have shaped the Smoky Hills region.
Settling the Crossroads
Learn about the immigrants with anti-slavery beliefs who established towns across the crossroads of the heartland. Settling the Crossroads features information about the early pioneers who traveled West with the notion that God intended them to spread religion, politics and business across the continent.
Breaking the Sod
Discover how the crossroads of the heartland, once known as the Great American Desert, was transformed into the rich agricultural region it is today in Breaking the Sod.
Growing a Community
Choosing a favorable location was of great significance when creating the town of Salina. Find out how Salina became a thriving city in Growing a Community.
We Built This City
As Salina’s government was formed, new businesses arrived in areas of transportation, personal and professional services, the medical field, manufacturing and retail. Examine the challenges, solutions and growing pains Salina faced just like the other mid-sized cities throughout the Midwest in We Built This City.
A Thriving City
Salina’s central geographic location attracted both buyers and sellers to the town with enticing new merchandise. Discover some of the products that have been traded, bought and sold over the years in Salina in A Thriving City.
The Good Life
Learn about the lives of the progressive thinkers who first settled Salina who planned on enjoying the finer things in life from the very beginning in A Good Life.
Beliefs Across the Heartland
Religion was of great importance to Salina’s founders as was evident in the town’s first motto “Religion first, Education second, Business third.”Learn about the beliefs of Salina’s first settlers in Beliefs Across the Heartland.
Learning at the Crossroads
Learning at the Crossroads documents the achievements of Salina’s students who have been recognized locally, regionally, nationally and internationally throughout time.
A Military Presence
See how wars have shaped the crossroads both physically and socially in A Military Presence. This exhibit examines how Salina was established in part to help Kansas as a free state before the Civil War and how later, the city’s central location made it an attractive site for military bases.
Prairie Education Lab
Step back in time and experience what life was like on the American frontier. The Prairie Education Lab features a full scale replica of Salina’s first home, a dugout built by William Phillips in 1858, along the banks of the Smoky Hill River.
Be sure to visit the Museum Store. Gifts and keepsakes with a Kansas nexus including a wide selection of books and arts and crafts made by local artists and artisan are available to purchase.
Travel Tip
- The Smoky Hill Museum is ADA compliant.