During your visit to this Lindsborg, Kansas attraction, explore permanent and special exhibits across the Museum’s 12 buildings that offer a look at McPherson County and Kansas history. In the McPherson County Old Mill Museum Gift Shop, you can browse an assortment of gifts and keepsakes.
Exhibits
Dreams of America
The Swedes and Mennonites who settled in McPherson County had a defining impact on the region’s history. Learn about these two groups in Dreams of America, an exhibit that explores the adventures of the Swedes and Mennonites in a new land.
Brief History of the 1898 Flour Mill
Learn how Kansas wheat was made in the flour mill. Originally called the Smoky Valley Roller Mill, the mill was built in 1898. Unlike grist mills which grind grain using stones, roller mills use a series of corrugated rollers to grind grain into flour. During its days of operation, it took four to six individuals to run the mill. Processing 30-35 bushels of wheat per hour, it yielded 1,260 to 1,470 pounds of flour per hour.
1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion
On the grounds of the McPherson County Old Mill Museum is the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion. Step into the beautiful pavilion and experience Swedish elegance. The Swedish Pavilion was designed by renowned architect, Ferdinand Boberg, for the 1904 World’s Fair and moved to McPherson County Mill Museum in 1969, during which time the building underwent a partial restoration. It is Boberg’s only international exposition buildings in existence today, the only example of his work in the United States and one of very few international buildings remaining from the St. Louis World’s Fair.
Other Historic Buildings
Additional buildings which grace McPherson County Old Mill Museum’s grounds include: the 1903 West Kentuck One Room School, the 1879 Lindsborg’s Kansas Pacific/ Union Railroad Depot, the 1879 Lindsborg School, the Erickson Bros. Workshop from circa 1890, a 1869 Blacksmith Shop, Lindsborg’s first county courthouse and the 1870 Homestead Cabin. Discover what it was like for school aged children during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the 1879 and 1903 school houses. Experience 19th century travel from the 1879 Union Pacific Depot, learn about the new technologies of the late 19th century in the Erickson Bros. Workshop, see what being a smithy entailed in 1869 in the Blacksmith Shop, visit Lindsborg’s first county courthouse originally located south of Lindsborg and explore home life in a cabin from 1870.
Be sure to stop by McPherson County Old Mill Museum’s Gift Shop. Gifts and keepsakes related to Lindsborg, McPherson County and Kansas are available to purchase.
Travel Tip
- The McPherson County Old Mill Museum is ADA compliant.