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Litch Historical and Mining Museum

319 West 7th, Galena, KS
Phone: 620-783-2192

East < GO > West

This is a fun stop in Galena with a ton of relics from the local mining industry, and it's right on the original Route 66! The staff here are very friendly. Together with a ton of mineral samples, mining equipment and other local artifacts and memorabilia there are a couple old cars inside that have very interesting stories, ask where they came from.

The museum is named for Howard Litch who was a local historian and influential in getting this old KATY (Missouri-Texas_Kansas - MKT) depot moved to this location in 1984 and later opened as a museum after renovation. The museum is larger than it looks at first thanks to the annex that was opened to the public in June 1988. At one time there were three railroads serving Galena but this is tha last depot standing.

At it's peak there were about 30,000 people living in Galena, now it's more like 3,000. I think they were ALL downtown when Galena threw a street party and car show during the 2013 International Festival that spilled over from Joplin, MO. I'll say this, Galena knows how to throw a party!

During the summer the museum is open Mon-Sat, 9-3:30 staffed by volunteers. It is closed for lunch so plan ahead, it is well worth the visit.

Photo(s): 2013