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Platial | Who and What's Nearby
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So provocative was the Bender family atrocities that a special museum was established in Cherryvale for the Kansas State-wide Centennial Celebration in May of 1961. It featured an exact reconstructed replica of the Bender building and housed antiques and household items of the Bender days. In the first three days of its opening, the museum attracted approximately 2,150 visitors from many states and Canada. It operated until 1978 and was closed when the city decided to built a fire station at the site. It was bought by an individual who wanted to place the building on Cherryvale’s Main Street, but the plan was axed by city officials. The building code prohibited wooden frame structure from being placed within the fire limits of Main Street. Some proposed it be relocated behind the Cherryvale Museum, but due to the fact that over a 1.200 visitors came during summer months, parking would be a problem there. The Bender museum had become a point of controversy in Cherryvale. Some of the townspeople objected to the town being known as the place of such tragic happenings. They were anxious to preserve the good and well-merited name of their town. The museum building and its contents was again sold to Denis R. Ast, a Cherryvale resident and operator of an auction service. He moved it seven miles west on US 160 to the Dennis corner, then a mile south and 1 ¼ miles west to the property where Mr. Ast had his sale barn. The site was within three miles of the original Bender killing site and only a few hundred yards from the new Army Corp of Engineers' Big Hill Lake recreational area. The lake was nearing completion and scheduled to be filled by June,1981. Completion date of the entire project with picnic and camp sites was June of 1982. The relocated museum plan fell through. It is believed it later was used as pool/recreation room.
Southeast Kansas may be the only place anywhere where mass murders are marked in both a topographical and celebratory manner. The two prehistoirc Indian promontories north of US 160 are now known as the "Bender Mounds." The City of Cherryvale, after the removal of its successful Bender Museum in 1978, had for several years an annual “Bender Days” event.
Cherryvale Museum
The Cherryvale Museum is itself the dream of a woman who lived here when she was a little girl. Opal Conduitte moved with her parents to Florida, and when she died in 1964, her husband, Clarence E. Evans, notified the people of Cherryvale that his wife had willed valuable antique pieces of glass and china and early Americana to found a museum. The 1927 SWBT office building was purchased with funds from a membership drive.
One of the prized items include the Martha Washington plate given to Martha by the Dutch East India Company when herMartha Washington Plate husband, George Washington, was president of the United States. The only other surviving piece frin a set of12 can be found in the Smithsonian Institute. The infamous "Bloody Benders" murder hammers and other Bender memorabilia are also displayed. The front room of the museum is known as the Opal Evans Parlor. The room at the rear is called the Hibbard memorial Room and displays items once belonging to the S.L. Hibbard family.
Over the years, gifts to the museum have been many. In addition to the fine collections, the Museum also displays a clock with wooden works, a spinning wheel, framed sketches of the Bender Family, antique furniture, a silver water tanker and tumbler, vintage clothing, many Cherryvale photographs and much more.
Special exhibits are shown monthly throughout the season. To celebrate Cherryvale's 100th birthday in 1971, a "Time Capsule" was encased outside to be opened during the 200th year celebration in 2071.
Free Admission
April to October - Sunday, 2:00 to 4:00 pm, or by appointment.
215 East 4th Street
620 336-3576
Little Know Fact- The Independence Historical Museum, Independence Ks.
In the "Antique Barber Room" at the Museum, look carefully and you will find a small silver antique cash register. Read the display tag and you will discover the cash register was used by the Bender family at Bender's Inn. Creepy !
So provocative was the Bender family atrocities that a special museum was established in Cherryvale for the Kansas State-wide Centennial Celebration in May of 1961. It featured an exact reconstructed replica of the Bender building and housed antiques and household items of the Bender days. In the first three days of its opening, the museum attracted approximately 2,150 visitors from many states and Canada. It operated until 1978 and was closed when the city decided to built a fire station at the site. It was bought by an individual who wanted to place the building on Cherryvale’s Main Street, but the plan was axed by city officials. The building code prohibited wooden frame structure from being placed within the fire limits of Main Street. Some proposed it be relocated behind the Cherryvale Museum, but due to the fact that over a 1.200 visitors came during summer months, parking would be a problem there. The Bender museum had become a point of controversy in Cherryvale. Some of the townspeople objected to the town being known as the place of such tragic happenings. They were anxious to preserve the good and well-merited name of their town. The museum building and its contents was again sold to Denis R. Ast, a Cherryvale resident and operator of an auction service. He moved it seven miles west on US 160 to the Dennis corner, then a mile south and 1 ¼ miles west to the property where Mr. Ast had his sale barn. The site was within three miles of the original Bender killing site and only a few hundred yards from the new Army Corp of Engineers' Big Hill Lake recreational area. The lake was nearing completion and scheduled to be filled by June,1981. Completion date of the entire project with picnic and camp sites was June of 1982. The relocated museum plan fell through. It is believed it later was used as pool/recreation room.
Southeast Kansas may be the only place anywhere where mass murders are marked in both a topographical and celebratory manner. The two prehistoirc Indian promontories north of US 160 are now known as the "Bender Mounds." The City of Cherryvale, after the removal of its successful Bender Museum in 1978, had for several years an annual “Bender Days” event.
Cherryvale Museum
The Cherryvale Museum is itself the dream of a woman who lived here when she was a little girl. Opal Conduitte moved with her parents to Florida, and when she died in 1964, her husband, Clarence E. Evans, notified the people of Cherryvale that his wife had willed valuable antique pieces of glass and china and early Americana to found a museum. The 1927 SWBT office building was purchased with funds from a membership drive.
One of the prized items include the Martha Washington plate given to Martha by the Dutch East India Company when herMartha Washington Plate husband, George Washington, was president of the United States. The only other surviving piece frin a set of12 can be found in the Smithsonian Institute. The infamous "Bloody Benders" murder hammers and other Bender memorabilia are also displayed. The front room of the museum is known as the Opal Evans Parlor. The room at the rear is called the Hibbard memorial Room and displays items once belonging to the S.L. Hibbard family.
Over the years, gifts to the museum have been many. In addition to the fine collections, the Museum also displays a clock with wooden works, a spinning wheel, framed sketches of the Bender Family, antique furniture, a silver water tanker and tumbler, vintage clothing, many Cherryvale photographs and much more.
Special exhibits are shown monthly throughout the season. To celebrate Cherryvale's 100th birthday in 1971, a "Time Capsule" was encased outside to be opened during the 200th year celebration in 2071.
Free Admission
April to October - Sunday, 2:00 to 4:00 pm, or by appointment.
215 East 4th Street
620 336-3576
Little Know Fact- The Independence Historical Museum, Independence Ks.
In the "Antique Barber Room" at the Museum, look carefully and you will find a small silver antique cash register. Read the display tag and you will discover the cash register was used by the Bender family at Bender's Inn. Creepy !
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Tags:
ghosts , hammers , History , Parsons , Bloody Benders , Harmony Grove cemetery , Bender mounds , Cherryvale , Kansas , Wild West , Benders , Bender
ghosts , hammers , History , Parsons , Bloody Benders , Harmony Grove cemetery , Bender mounds , Cherryvale , Kansas , Wild West , Benders , Bender
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