Riley County Historical Museum

The Riley County Historical Museum (RCHM) was founded by the Riley County Historical Society (RCHS) in 1915 and its first Museum (the Pioneer Log Cabin in City Park) was built and opened in 1916. The museum was then housed in the basement of Manhattan’s City Hall from 1957-1977.  The Riley County Historical Museum finally became a Department of Riley County in 1977 when the current building was built as a collaborative Bi-Centennial project amongst the two organizations. An addition to add more storage space occurred in 1986 giving the building the footprint it occupies today.

The Riley County Historical Museum located at 2309 Claflin Road in Manhattan is the official history museum of our county. The collection housed and administered by the Museum is the property of the Riley County Historical Society.  The Society collection includes over 85,000 objects, a library/archives of over 4,500 books and monographs, 10,800 cubic feet of manuscripts and archives, and 27,000 photographic negatives and images.  

The Museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sundays and admission is always free. The museum has two permanent exhibit galleries which tell the history of our county from prehistoric times to most recent times. A temporary gallery showcases a new, interpretive exhibition each year on a variety of topics.

A historic Library and Archives is operated under the same building and is available for public use by appointment. On site, there are additional historic structures that can be visited and toured including the Goodnow House State Historic Site, the Hartford House, and the Old Randolph Jail. 

Learn more about our exhibits here.

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