To the many who drive past, it is just another stone building along the road, but to Cheryl Collins, the Goodnow Historic Site is one of the most important pieces of Manhattan history.
    “I think local history, and learning local history is one way that people can feel like a part of their place, and feel that personal connection to their place,” Collins said. “Sites like the Goodnow House, that can give people that personal connection, are really important.”
    Collins, the Director of the Riley County Historical Museum, has been working with the museum since 1980, and has been the director since 1988. As the museum director, Collins runs the day-to-day operations of the museum and the historic Goodnow House, at 2309 Claflin Road.
    The museum offers educational programs for children and adults, tours of the Goodnow House and other local historic sites, as well as bus tours.
    “We offer the whole gamut,” Collins said. “Educationally I think we have a pretty broad spectrum, and I’m pretty proud of that.”
    Collins said she takes pride in how involved the museum is in different programs.
    “We do whatever needs done: tours, speaking to groups, cleaning and designing educational programs for children and adults and research,” she said. “We are continuing to learn new things about the house and the people that lived there, and that’s really important so we can find those interesting connections.”
    Collins said she and the staff at the museum assist several researchers including: genealogical researchers, history students, residents looking to uncover local artifacts, and even people looking for historically “haunted” houses.
    Collins, who has two history degrees from K-State, said her job allows her to manage one of the most important historical sites in the state.
    “I like getting a chance to look at Goodnow’s era,” she said. “He was one of the founders of Manhattan and one of the leaders of the free-state movement that has given me a chance to look at that era in a way that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”
    Isaac Goodnow, a Rhode Island abolitionist, built the house in 1861, after moving to Kansas to help make it a free state. Goodnow was one of Manhattan’s first residents, and also helped found Bluemont College in 1863, which eventually became Kansas State University.
    The Goodnow House is one of 17 Kansas state historic sites, and is also one of the features of the Freedom Frontier National Heritage Area, which encompasses 41 counties in Missouri and Kansas, and honors the fight against slavery along the states’ border.
    “The history that we have, through the Goodnow house, has national, and by extension, international connections,” Collins said. “And that is very exciting.”
    In 1996, the Riley County Historical Society and Kansas State Historical Society entered into a partnership, to care for the house, making it a landmark for both groups. The house is open to tours from 2-5 p.m. on the weekends, and is also open, when staff is available, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday.
    “I think every student should visit the Goodnow House at least once during their term as students at K-State,” Collins said. “We’ve had a number of students visit over the years and we’re always looking for opportunities to partner with students or student groups, but we would like more.”
    The house, however, is closed for renovations. Workers from the state historical society have worked on it since mid-April, and will have the house ready to reopen by October.
    The Riley County Historical Society also manages the Wolff House Museum, at 630 Freemont St., which depicts 1880s life in Riley County. It also manages the Rocky Ford School, which is from the 1920s, and the Pioneer Log Cabin, in City Park, which is open to the public on weekends.