(KAIR)--The long-in-the-works Black Business District Museum in Atchison is scheduled for its formal grand opening this weekend.

According to the Atchison County Historical Society, a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin Saturday morning, October 3, at 10:00.

The museum highlights a once nearly forgotten part of Atchison’s history: the thriving Black business district that operated on the city’s north side.

Preserving that history has long been a goal of the historical society and its volunteers. A major step came in 2024, when the City of Atchison transferred properties connected to the former business district for the project.

Atchison artist and genealogist Patty Boldridge has been instrumental in researching and preserving the history of more than 100 Black-owned businesses identified in Atchison.

Boldridge said the effort began when she learned the remaining buildings could be demolished.

“My cousin Angela called me and she said, ‘You’ve got to be at the City Commission meeting tonight,’” Boldridge said. “That’s when we found out that they were going to possibly demolish the buildings and that they were the last of those businesses to be standing. So many had already been torn down.”

Following that meeting, Boldridge and her sister, Sonja Boldridge, began researching the businesses that once operated in the district.

“We started digging into just those buildings, and in the process were able to find out that there were all these different Black-owned businesses in Atchison,” Boldridge said. “We have uncovered over 100 Black-owned businesses. I believe the earliest was 1876.”

Boldridge said the business district began to change following desegregation.

The museum is housed in a structure dating to 1920 at 1118 North Seventh Street. The community received an early look at the attraction in June during Atchison’s annual Juneteenth celebration at nearby LFM Park.