1980s
In 1981, Cow Town officially changed its name to
Old Cowtown Museum. Cowtown then
concentrated more on living history interpretation.
More costumed interpreters were hired to show
what daily life looked like in early Wichita history.
Arriving from Bentley, Kansas in 1986, the museum
received a new historical building in the Arkansas
Valley Grain Elevator. This fixture of the small
town was then renovated by Cowtown. A Scale
House was built in 1987 to pair with the elevator to
emulate functionality.
In 1987, Cowtown received another historic
building. Built in 1890 in Whitewater, Kansas, the
building functioned as a meat market. Later owned
by Frank Breising Sr., his family donated the
structure to Cowtown. After renovation, the
building opened to the public in 1988.
1990s
During the 1990s, more films were being made with
Cowtown as the backdrop. Two films in particular
starred Hollywood elite. These were the second and
third installments of Sarah: Plain and Tall. The movies
starred Glenn Close and Christopher Walken. The
second movie Skylark filmed in 1993. And the final
installment, Winter’s End, was filmed in 1999.
New construction continued into the 1990s. A two-story J.P. Allen drugstore was built on site in 1996.
The former drug store building was then moved to
the west of the general store and reinterpreted, now
the Thomas Shaw Music Store.
An 1884 farmhouse at 15428 E. Central Ave was
moved to Cowtown in 1990. To interpret an active
farm, construction of a farm began in 1997. The
Devore Farm with the Smith Farmhouse opened in
May 1998.
