Andrew County Museum - A Rural Way of Life

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The Museum's new 4,000 square foot permanent exhibit, A Rural Way of Life, focuses on the people and places of Andrew county from 1841-2001 - its families, farms, towns, social life, and community spirit - from agriculture and businesses, to entertainment and industry throughout Andrew County.

In numerous ways Andrew County's story is similar to the region's and the nation's story in one historical chapter after another. Yet, Andrew County's history is also distinct. Only in Andrew County did thousands come from around the world to seek a cancer cure at Dr. Nichols Sanitorium. In Andrew County too, deposits of loess soil offered an agricultural bonus many other counties lacked. And, like other counties near the Missouri/Kansas border, Andrew County's deadly brawls between pro- and anti-slavery sympathizers in 1856 foreshadowed the national Civil War of 1861. By placing Andrew County in a regional, national and international context, the exhibit shows what historical trends it shares with these larger communities and what is distinct to the County.

Constancy is a current running through Andrew County's history as a rural community of family farms and small towns. So is change. The County remains agricultural, but the number and size of its family farms and the way the farmers farm have changed tremendously. Driving much of this change is technology. Tractors and combines, for example, expanded the number of acres a farmer could farm, increasing productivity, raised costs, required investment acumen and, by reducing the need for women and children's labor, affected the gender roles of farm families.