Franklin, KS — Miners Hall Museum announces the continued presentation of its landmark exhibit, the Page 618 Walking Dragline which was originally introduced in 2025. Updates have been made to the exhibit and we invite the public to check out the amazing story of the dragline, John Page who created the machine, the Wilkinson Coal Company, and the men who worked on the machine. The exhibit has captured regional and national attention, prompting the museum to keep this extraordinary story on display as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the United States and as plans advance for the relocation of the dragline to its permanent home at Dragline Park.
This special exhibit honors the newest Southeast Kansas tourist attraction—the magnificent Page 618 Walking Dragline, one of only 18 ever built. When fully preserved, it will become the second—and largest—Page walking dragline on public display in the United States, standing as a powerful symbol of American ingenuity, labor, and industrial achievement.
The exhibit also features a family-friendly scavenger hunt that invites visitors to explore Miners Hall Museum’s permanent galleries while searching for local “Giants of American Grit”—the men and machines whose strength, skill, and determination shaped Southeast Kansas.
The Page 618 was generously donated by the Wendell Wilkinson family, whose roots in Southeast Kansas coal mining stretch back generations. William Wilkinson, born in Pelton Fell, England, began working in the mines at age 10 and immigrated to Kansas in 1883. In 1917, he founded the Wilkinson Coal Company south of Fleming, Kansas—an operation that would continue until 1979. Today, the Wilkinson family’s legacy is represented at Miners Hall Museum, Crawford County Historical Museum, and Big Brutus, creating a rare, three-site preservation of mining history in the region.
As part of the museum’s year-long commemoration of 250 years of American workers and innovation, Giants of American Grit places the Page 618 within a broader national story—one shaped by immigrants, laborers, engineers, and communities whose grit powered America’s growth.
The Page 618 Dragline Project is funded in part by Kansas Tourism, the Patterson Family Foundation, the John U. Parolo Education Trust, the Coleman Family Foundation, and the Mitchelson Family Foundation, whose support has made preservation and public access possible.
2026 QUARTERLY PROGRAMS
All programs are held at Miners Hall Museum and are free and open to the public.
Sunday, January 25, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Moving a Giant: Behind the Relocation of the Page 618
Derrick Tilton of Tilton & Sons Housemoving shares an inside look at the engineering, planning, and precision required to move one of America’s largest preserved industrial machines. Joined in conversation by J.T. Knoll, program moderator.
Sunday, February 15, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Putting Down Roots, Prairies & Prosperity
Presented by Carl Brenner, Program Manager for Interpretation and Resource Management at Fort Scott National Historic Site. This program explores Kansas geology, prairie ecosystems, and how natural resources shaped communities—past, present, and future.
Sunday, March 15, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Spirit of ’76 Showdown: Founding Facts & Coal Camp Acts
A lively, audience-engaged game show blending U.S. founding history, Kansas heritage, immigrant stories, and Miners Hall Museum trivia—hosted by J.T. Knoll.
Through this extended exhibit and dynamic slate of programs, Miners Hall Museum invites visitors to experience the intersection of land, labor, innovation, and patriotism—and to witness how one giant machine continues to tell America’s story.
For more information, visit the museum or follow Miners Hall Museum on social media.