In observation of Women’s History Month, Fort Scott National Historic Site will be hosting a new exhibit on loan from the Kansas State Historical Society during the month of March. The exhibit, entitled “Reflections on the War: Women and Their Civil War Quilts,” portrays the turbulence in Kansas during the Civil War. Women played an instrumental role in protesting the injustices of slavery, aiding runaways on the Underground Railroad, nursing the sick and wounded during the war, and later raising funds to purchase monuments to heroes of the conflict. From Petticoat plotters to Post-Civil War Kansas, the exhibit celebrates the contributions women in Kansas and Fort Scott made during the chaos and turbulence that the young state endured in the mid-nineteenth century. The exhibit will open on March 1 and run until March 31.

The National Historic Site will also host “Voices from the Quilts: A Cultural History of Nineteenth Century Women,” March 29 and 30. The two day symposium explores the creativity, courage, and skills of nineteenth century women as reflected in the quilts that they left behind.

Fort Scott National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park Service and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is an entrance fee of $3.00 for each adult age 16 and over. Children 15 years old and under are admitted free of charge. For more information call the site at 620-223-0310.