​On October 5, Cowtown celebrated the breaking ground of our new building...The Wichita Carriage Works and Repository. As mentioned in previous blogs, the building will house our rolling stock collection as well as display it to the public in this permanent display. Years of planning and fundraising went into this day. It was a time for celebration!

The agenda for the evening was straight forward. Our board of trustees' president introduced the evening. We then heard from the mayor of Wichita about the significance of Cowtown to the city. Next, our executive director spoke on what this means to Cowtown and our long-term vision. Our board president took us through the journey from conceptualization to planning to achievement. I then spoke briefly about the importance of this building to the collection as well as why we chose this particular business to portray and its history. Our committee chair then wrapped it up with explaining the building particulars and permits necessary to build. Then after everyone spoke, the five of us took our golden shovels and broke ground!

After the groundbreaking Cowtown hosted a small reception. Those invited to the ceremony were donors and museum members. Here everyone was able to mingle and have some light snacks and drinks. We even toasted with champaign.

There is no timeframe on when the construction will begin or end, but we passed a big hurdle by raising the money and breaking ground. Special thanks to all of those who made this day happen!!