As a student at KU, whenever I hear Watkins, the first thing that comes to mind is the place where no student wants to go, the student hospital. I finally have a different image in my head, when I hear the name Watkins. After touring Watkins Community Museum of History, and talking with a museum employee, I learned Jabex Butning Watkins is a man of independence, wealth and controversy.
The building that houses the Watkins Community Museum of History was constructed between 1886 and 1888. The building was originally a three-story mortgage bank. Watkins eventually expanded from mortgages to a traditional bank. The first floor was used as offices for lawyers and civic groups. The second floor housed the bank itself. The walls on this floor were 24 inches thick. The original bank-teller cage is still intact today. The third floor was used for Watkins’ main business, the Watkins Land Mortgage Company. The employee at the museum informed me that above the third floor is a loft, where Watkins had a private bachelor bad, even though he was married.
Today the first level of the museum is used for storage. The second floor has a wide range of artifacts. Some of these items are a fully restored Milburn Electric car, Native American moccasins, a Kansas history timeline stretching along the back of the bank-teller cage, quilts and Civil War weaponry. 
Going from the second floor the third floor, I climbed an elegant staircase, which was made out of marble stairs and a brass railing. The windows along the stairs were stained glass. An antique chandelier accented with stained glass as well hung from the ceiling. The third floor was unique in its own right. This floor had a Day of the Dead exhibit, James Naismith and Langston Hughes biographies, an underground railroad room and a KU basketball history display.
After walking up and down the three floors and talking with the museum employee a few things stuck out to me. First the museum needs upgrades and needs them bad. Everything is disorganized and the information on each floor does not flow well into one another. Some of the displays were falling apart. Although the presentation was poor, the information was still educational and enlightening. I learned from the underground railroad room that quilts were used to communicate with fugitive slaves. Certain patterns were thought to present instructions for the slaves. Another interesting fact was that Watkins was not looked upon by everyone as a Lawrence hero. He was critiqued for his drinking, frequent travel, and conflicting political views. When he died in 1921 he left his entire fortune to his wife, who eventually left a good portion of that money for the Lawrence community.
-Sammy Greenberg
*All Information was provided from the Watkins Community Museum of History.
Good work Sammy!