Last updated: March 11, 2024
Place
Coronado Quivira Museum
Photo/NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
105 W Lyon St, Lyons, KS 67554
Significance:
Presents exhibits on the Santa Fe Trail and related history
Designation:
Certified Site
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
3 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Restroom
The Coronado Quivira Museum contains Santa Fe Trail artifacts as well as Spanish Colonial and ancient indigenous artifacts from sites located in Rice County Kansas.
Years before the Santa Fe Trail passed through this land, the Quivira (Wichita) people lived here. The Quivira were farmers who built and lived in grass huts in the area. They created trails that would later become parts of the Santa Fe Trail as they travelled west to trade corn and other crops with nearby tribes.
Almost three hundred years before the initial journey on what would become the Santa Fe Trail, a Spanish conquistador and his men traveled along the trails created by tribes for hunting and trading. Fransicso Vasquez de Coronado travelled here in search of the legendary “Seven Cities of Gold.” His quest led him from Mexico into what we know call Kansas. Though he did not find the Cities of Gold, he did encounter the Quivira.
Years later, American traders from Missouri followed nearly the same route as Coronado to trade with the people of the newly formed country of Mexico. By the time the route became the Santa Fe Trail, the Quivira had moved south, but American traders encountered other indigenous people as they travelled the trail.
The Coronado-Quivira Museum has many items from the three cultures—Quivira, Spanish, and American. You will see a model of a grass lodge in which the Quivira lived. You will also see chain mail and other artifacts believed to have belonged to Coronado or his men. There are also Santa Fe Trail exhibits.
Site Information
Location (105 W Lyon St, Lyons, KS 67554)