Following our somewhat sneaky US-77 under 5 o’clock grand darkness in the morning was quite a workout. So when I finally reached Marysville, Kansas, an exciting town known for its Pony Express Home Station No. 1, I wasn’t expecting any trivial challenge from US-77 at all. I missed the turn. O-kay-O-kay. I said it. I drove straight-ahead like a brave young squirrel on the Pony Express Highway. I drove pass Home, Kansas with its welcome banner “There is no place like home” putting a big smile on my face. Twenty minutes later, I was in the outskirt of Seneca, Kansas, asking a nice lady and a police officer in the gas station for directions. “Don’t miss the turn,” she said with a big smile. “You will also need to make a left turn in Waterville!” Good tips. I waved goodbye and drove back to Marysville.

What I was saying was basically that I was not in a happy-jolly-cheery mood when I stopped in Marysville for fresh air. But even under this not-your-grandma’s-one-hundred-percent-gleeful condition, the Koester House Museum still managed to wow me with its elegant structure and an impressive collection of white bronze sculptures in the museum yard. With two grand cast iron lions diligently guarded the front gate, I felt that I should take my shot as quickly as possible before they noticed my lowly-humbly presence.

The Koester House Museum, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was built by Charles F. Koester in 1860 who served as the treasurer of Marshall County. Koester was later involved in the family banking business known as the Exchange Bank & Schmidt & Koester. The entire block developed by the Koester family, known as the “Koester Block,” was given to the city of Marysville in 1977 by the Koester heirs. The house right next to the Koester House Museum was built for Charles Koester’s son in 1906 and was currently operating as the Las Cabanas Mexican Restaurant.