This photo of the Liepman car, taken before a parade on July 4, 1916, in Fort Scott, is part of a local photograph display and exhibit that depicts several portions of Jewish history and the Jewish community in Bourbon County between 1863 and 1968. The photos were gathered by local resident Kate Emmett-Sweetser, who has completed a research project on Jewish history in the area. Starting Thursday, a Jewish history exhibit titled "The Jewish Legacy of Fort Scott" will be on display at the Lowell Milken Center, 4 S. Main St. Submitted photo/ David Meyer

Beginning Thursday, local residents will be able to learn more about the Jewish history of Bourbon County thanks to the efforts of several area students, one Fort Scott resident, and a local educational organization.

Staff at the Lowell Milken Center, 4 S. Main St., a local non-profit educational foundation, plan to open an exhibit to the public that depicts the history of the Jewish people in Fort Scott and Bourbon County. The exhibit will feature an archival photograph display, portrait sketches, and other collections of local Jewish history gathered during extensive research and genealogical studies conducted by several local students and local resident Kate Emmett-Sweetser.

"I think people will be amazed at the amount of Jewish history in Fort Scott," Lowell Milken Center Director Norm Conard said. "In the late 1800s, there was a huge Jewish population (in the area), but many of them left and moved to the city."

Several area elementary and middle school students, and one college student, as well as Emmett-Sweetser, have collaborated with the Lowell Milken Center to design the exhibit, which will include a display of photos taken between 1863 and 1968; a group of student drawings based on those photos; and a portrait sketch of Pine Lawn Cemetery, a local Jewish cemetery located on 215th Street just south of Jayhawk Road and north of Evergreen Cemetery, by a university student.

The exhibit also includes various art projects designed by area students, including entries in an art contest that is based on a photo exhibit titled "Our Jewish Past," Emmett-Sweetser said in a written statement. There will also soon be an art contest featuring entries by students who completed sketches and drawings of the Pine Lawn Cemetery. That contest will be directed by Megan Felt, the program director at the Lowell Milken Center, Conard said.

Another research project that is being organized by Lowell Milken Center staff and other people in the community in order to uncover Jewish history in Bourbon County include a project in which local middle school students will conduct genealogical research on Jewish surnames at the local genealogy library.

Conard said he and his staff became informed about the Jewish history project when local resident Kate Emmett-Sweetser -- who had already spent much time conducting research based on her interest in the Pine Lawn Cemetery and Fort Scott's Jewish community -- presented the idea to them and provided them with information to begin the project.

"We've had tons of interest from people in the community," Conard said.

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The photography display includes about 20 photos that depict members of the Jewish community who flourished in Fort Scott during the years between the Civil War and World War II, and are representative of the dozens of antique photos that Emmett-Sweetser said she has collected since beginning her research on the Pine Lawn Cemetery and the local Jewish community.

A special evening showing of the exhibit for invited community members only is planned to take place from 4 to 6 p.m. April 16 at the Lowell Milken Center, Conard said.

The center will host the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Coffee at 8 a.m. Thursday, after which the "Jewish Legacy of Fort Scott" display and exhibit will be available for public viewing. Anyone may stop by the center between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to view the exhibit, Conard said.

The Lowell Milken Center, funded by the Milken Family Foundation in California, is designed to help students and teachers around the globe choose and develop ideas for school history projects and other educational projects that deal with relevant social issues, such as the teaching of respect and understanding among all people.