At a ceremony Thursday morning, Kansas officials will unveil a new visitor center in the basement of the Kansas Statehouse.
The facility contains pictures, documents and items focused around Kansas history and government.
Mary Madden is with the Kansas Historical Society. She says they have a sword once owned by John Brown and ballots from a vote on a proposed state constitution.
“They were writing on a piece of paper, and not even a nice piece of paper. It’s like torn off scraps,” says Madden. “And it says ‘constitution with slavery’ or they wrote ‘constitution without slavery.’ And these were from Bourbon County. It’s just fascinating. They’re from 1857.”
The visitor center also features Kansas-themed merchandise, including jewelry and other items made from the old copper dome removed during the Statehouse renovation.
