history

Lawrence violist Mary Tuven and composer and bassist Charles Kelso Hoag often brought their daughter, Andrea Hoag, to their wintertime performances when she was just a small child. Now all grown up, Hoag brings those decades-old memories to life in her short story “The Christmas Musicians.”

Since 1956, Leila Cohoon had amassed the world’s largest collection of hair art and jewelry — intricate works made of human hair. Her museum in Independence, Missouri, was the only one of its kind. But when Cohoon died last year, the future of this Kansas City institution — and the unusual tradition it preserved — was suddenly an open question. Suzanne Hogan speaks to KCUR’s Julie Denesha to find the answer.

Leila's Hair Museum, the most unusual attraction in Independence, Missouri, closed in September. Thanks to the founder’s granddaughter, the massive collection of wreaths made out of human hair is finding new homes at museums across the country.

As an 11-year-old, Sarah Rector became the richest Black child in America, but danger in Oklahoma led to her family moving to Kansas City. Rector’s story, long forgotten from the history books, is now the subject of the 2025 film “Sarah’s Oil.”

“Death by Lightning,” starring Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen as President James Garfield and his assassin Charles Guiteau, is based on Kansas City author Candice Millard’s New York Times bestselling book “Destiny of the Republic.”

The three-year renovation of the museum cost $6 million and takes visitors on a journey through Kansas history with reimagined exhibits. Visitors also now have a better opportunity to see one of the museum's "most treasured" artifacts, a 1914 biplane, up close and personal.

The one-room schoolhouse was moved from a property north of Merna in Custer County to its new home east of Broken Bow to become part of a historic exhibit.

In his new book "The Team That History Forgot," sportswriter Rick Gosselin highlights the story of one of the most exciting professional football teams of the 1960s: the Len Dawson-led Kansas City Chiefs.

Visitors looking to see the Arabia Steamboat Museum’s collection of pre-Civil War artifacts have until next November. After more than 30 years at the City Market, the museum is closing when its lease ends in 2026. But the owners say they’re exploring options to relocate and even add to the historic collection.

The museum in Topeka reopens on Nov. 22 with free admission, special guests and activities. It will ask visitors to focus on a singular question: What is Kansas?

A Kansas City historian is preserving the stories of Mexican Americans who served during Vietnam. The new oral history project is titled "In Their Own Words: Mexican American Vietnam Era Veterans."

Eight crew members and 37 passengers — many from the Kansas City area — died in one of the deadliest air crashes in U.S. history. A book explores how, for some residents and families who responded to the disaster, the impacts can be lasting.