Looking inside one of Wichita’s oldest clock towers

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — There was a special tour of the historic clock tower in the Old Wichita City Hall Friday afternoon.

The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum is in the old building at 204 S. Main. The clock tower is usually closed to the public, but special access was granted Friday as part of the museum’s spring break activities.

The museum’s lead educator said they like to offer this tour over spring break so kids can come.

“Just another way to learn that history can be a lot of fun, and there’s a lot more to history than just what you learn in school,” Samantha Carter said.

The clock tower took two years to build and was completed in 1890. Lightning hit the tower in 1981, sparking a fire that heavily damaged it.

“Something really interesting about the clock tower is, you’d think the clock would be all the way up there, but it is actually right here,” Carter said. “This one cord, the long wire goes all the way up, and that’s what’s very slowly cranking the clock face upstairs.”

The museum will highlight Wichita’s history all weekend. On Saturday, it will focus on the Victorian cottage and Victorian customs. On Sunday, it will highlight the history of Wichita’s different flags.