About

The Geneseo City Museum, once the home of Dr. Elmer D. Janzen, is a peek into many fascinating aspects of central Kansas history--and Doc Janzen himself!

First opened to the public in the mid-1960s, while he was still living in the house, Janzen's museum offers an unparalleled photo and slide collection covering northern Rice County history. From railroad history to Kansas pioneer families, Janzen's collection covers it.

The museum's best-kept secret, however, could be Janzen. A lifelong learner, Janzen pursued knowledge and its transmission in myriad forms, including theological and moral questions, novel forms of entertainment, physical illness and healing, Braille, and magnetic tape recording. Janzen explored these areas just before the dawn of the Information Age.

Another area of research he explored with friends, in the midwest and southwestern United States, was the growing number of flying-saucer sightings. On the surface, this seemed to many just another interest of Janzen's. Closer examination of the Janzen collection, however, reveals that he saw connections with deeper questions about humanity.