"Worlds longest hand carved wooden chain. Carved by James Porter, and given to the Baxter Springs Heritage Museum," the Traces of Kansas says.

"It is carved of Basswood and measures 1,145ft or nearly a 1/4 mile! It's as tall as a 95 story skyscraper or three and half football fields. It is listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not. Porter appeared on the Johnny Carson "Tonight Show" where he spent 22 minutes chatting with Johnny about whittling."

"Down the road—due west, of course—is Baxter Springs, Kansas, another once-booming mining town. At the Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum, I learned of more ghosts: Cherokees forced away during the Indian Removal, Union soldiers killed in a massacre, and entire neighboring towns condemned, the risk of cave-ins too great due to over-mining," the National Trust for Historic Preservation says.

"Retired English teacher and longtime museum curator Phyllis Abbott gave me a tour. I was told she’s touched literally every artifact in the collection. In one display—“a girl’s wardrobe in the ‘50s”—I complimented a gray merino sweater set with a beaded collar, declaring it cute enough for me to wear, here, now, in 2018."

"First of all, the museum itself is something to behold. For a town of 4,000, I was expecting a fairly small building whose exhibits I could walk through in less than an hour. From outward appearances, that seemed to be the case," the Visit Joplin says.

"But what I didn’t see from the parking lot is that the building extends quite a bit toward the back, plus there is a basement area, with the entire museum offering 23,000 square feet of historical information on Baxter Springs and the surrounding area. I had grossly underestimated how much time I would need there; this place requires a few hours to get through.

"That’s because there are so many decades of history packed into the 3 square miles of Baxter Springs and it requires a large facility to tell the tale of this town. Luckily for me, a friendly volunteer greeted me when I walked into the museum, handing me detailed brochures about area historical sites and attractions, then guiding me where to start exploring the museum."

"The large, two level Baxter Springs Heritage Center & Museum is one block off historic Route 66 in Baxter Springs, Kansas. 

"The museum has 13,000 square feet of displays including World War II, recreated 1870s businesses a 1926 LaFrance fire engine, and six window displays from the businesses in the 1930s. The museum's grounds also have a 1870s log cabin which was moved to the site, and a Korean War era U. S. Army tank," the Kansas Travel says.

"Features unique to the Baxter Springs Museum are displays related to the Civil War, Fort Blair, the Battle of Baxter Springs and the tri-state mining exhibit including a full size model of a lead & zinc mine. The typical visitor will probably spend about an hour, but individuals might stay much longer depending on their level of interest."

"The Baxter Springs Heritage Center & Museum, functioning under the Baxter Springs Historical Society, is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich regional history of Baxter Springs, Kansa," the Road Trippers says.

"The Baxter Springs Historical Museum is filled with exhibits depicting the various stages of the city's history from the days of the Osage Indians through the Civil War and the lead and zinc mining era. Enjoy twenty thousand square feet of climate-controlled historical exhibits for your pleasure."

"The Baxter Springs Heritage Center & Museum, functioning under the Baxter Springs Historical Society, is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich regional history of Baxter Springs, Kansas," the Museums USA says.

"In the spring of 1849 John J. Baxter, his wife and eight children moved from Missouri to 160 acres of land near Spring River. His land included a spring which flowed from the side of a hill near what is now Military Road, where he set up and operated an inn and general store which came to be known as "Baxter's place". "Baxter's place" was incorporated in 1868 and was renamed Baxter Springs in honor of it's early settler.

"In the spring of 1849 John J. Baxter, his wife and eight children moved from Missouri to 160 acres of land near Spring River. His land included a spring which flowed from the side of a hill near what is now Military Road, where he set up and operated an inn and general store which came to be known as "Baxter's place". "Baxter's place" was incorporated in 1868 and was renamed Baxter Springs in honor of it's early settler."

"The Guinness World record for the longest wooden chain measures 254.69 m (835 ft 7 in) and was made from one single piece of wood. It was created by Peter Gwerder (Switzerland) in Schwyz, Switzerland, on 12 July 2012," the Guinness World Records website says.

"The chain is composed of 1,506 wooden rings. The original spruce tree trunk which the chain is made of measured 34 meters."

"I’m so glad we stopped at this marvelous gem of a museum. Joanne greeted us with a warm smile, and helped set us up for a great visit. There is so much to see here and you need at least an hour to do it justice. I wish I had a couple of hours to spend here and hope I find myself back in this part of the country again."

"This is a must do if you are in the area. Attendants were very welcoming. The museum is so much bigger than I anticipated! And free! We did leave a donation. So many different things to see."

" There are a wide range of exhibits and various rooms throughout with both a lot of memorabilia and artifacts, yet also signs explaining what things are. There are 2 full floors; and a few small things outside. We saw everything; it took 2.5 hours. Great tour through the last 160 years of middle America."

"I was blown away by what is packed in here - twenty thousand square feet of exhibits. They are very well organized and it’s bigger then it looks from the outside!"

"Great place to hang out for hours, friendly staff, very informative about history of the area. So many interesting things to check out."