Historic Fulton House Opening This Weekend for the Summer
Finney County Historical Society
The Historic William Fulton House, located southwest of the Finney County Museum inside Garden City’s Lee Richardson Zoo, will open for weekend visits June 27.
The folk Victorian style home, built in 1884, is owned and operated by the Finney County Historical Society. Plans call for the structure to be open 2-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through at least Aug. 9. Admission is free and social distancing practices will be in place. Group visits will be limited in size, also as a COVID-19 precaution.
Exhibits at the nearby museum are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Social distancing practices are in effect there too.
Originally located on Seventh Street, the house was moved to Finnup Park in 2003 and opened to visitors in 2005 after restoration work took place. This will be the 15th season at the house for summer tours, which are supported by the Finney County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The ground floor of the home is outfitted with period-correct furnishings, though none actually belonged to Garden City co-founders William and Lettie Fulton, who built and lived in the house. The surrounding grounds include plantings appropriate for the 1880s as a tribute to Mrs. Fulton, whose flower garden is credited with giving Garden City its name.
Garden City resident Dakota Britton, whose college major involves history, will serve as the Fulton House host for the second consecutive summer. Entry to the home is from the front porch on the north side of the structure. When the house is open, a 38-star American flag flies from the west porch, since the U.S. flag included 38 stars when the home was built in 1884 and when Garden City was founded in 1879.
The home will be closed July 4 for Independence Day and July 11 for the museum’s 2020 Flea Market Festival.
