Kingman County Historical Society Museum

History:

The town of Kingman was incorporated in 1883 with a population of 400. Five years later with a population of nearly 6,000, the citizens of Kingman voted to build a permanent city hall. Ten months later on Dec. 1, 1888 the building was completed and occupied. For nearly 80 years this building housed the city fire department, city offices and the jail. It was made of native limestone and Kingman red brick. The twin towers are distinguishing landmarks. The front tower is 75 feet from the street to the tip and was used to hang the fire hoses in order to dry them. It is the only remaining functional hose tower west of the Mississippi. The second tower housed the bell that was used to warn the citizens of a fire and was also rung on special occasions. It sounded the end of both WW I and WW II before it was retired in favor of a modern siren.

In 1967 the city moved it's offices and fire equipment to a modern building and in 1969 the city sold the old building to the Kingman County Historical Society. The society opened the building to the public as a museum in 1970. In 1972 this remarkable and historic structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places thanks to the tireless efforts of Sadie Journey, the museum's first curator.