Kaw City Museum Annual Reunion Set

KAW CITY — The public is invited to attend Kaw City Museum’s Annual Reunion on Sunday, May 27 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Board members will be on hand to answer questions about the vast collection of vintage artifacts, maps, books and photographs, many dating back to the early 1800s and beyond as attendees enjoy refreshments and renew old memories with friends and classmates. A short presentation at 2 p.m. will give an update on the museum’s activities. Door prizes will be awarded.

The “Old Kaw City”, established in 1902, was a flourishing farming community in the fertile oxbow bend of the Arkansas River, 18 miles northeast of Ponca City. It became a booming oil town when oil was discovered nearby. Floods in the early 1920s washed out the town’s river bridges, businesses closed during the Great Depression and many people moved away during World War II. The town never regained its momentum. However, the biggest blow came when Congress established the

Flood Control Act of 1962 making it necessary for the town to be moved to higher ground two miles to the west of the original site.

Houses were either moved or demolished. The only surviving business building was the Santa Fe Depot, built in 1902. The railroad presented the building to the Kaw City Museum Association and donations were collected to move it. In 1972, the depot was raised onto a large trailer and became the final float in the “Last Day Parade” before its relocation to the new town where it became the Kaw City Museum, now listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

In 1975, the old town was covered by the waters of the newly created Kaw Lake, the ninth largest lake in capacity in Oklahoma. The Kaw City Museum has continued to develop, adding a second building and countless displays from the early days. Operated by volunteers and funded by donations, the museum in a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization.