Buffalo Bill Cultural Ceneter

The Buffalo Bill Cultural Center is a Kansas community partner Travel Information Center. We have Kansas state maps, brochures, and a great gift shop featuring many Kansas made products. Come in for travel assistance, enjoy a cup of coffee, and stay for a picnic lunch. Our spacious parking lot can accommodate cars, RV’s, buses, and trucks of any size. Your four legged family members are welcome too! Outside potty station and plenty of room to exercise your pet. And, we always have a water bowl full and ready for thirsty pets just inside the lobby.

Our Story...

After four years of planning, fund-raising and artistic creation by Charlie and Pat Norton, the twice life-size monumental bronze sculpture was dedicated on Saturday, May 22, 2004 here in Oakley to commemorate the event where William F. Cody earned his life-long nickname, Buffalo Bill. The Wild West Historical Foundation, a non-profit corporation with a local seven member board of directors, was created to bring this monumental project to life. The project began back in 1995 when the contest between William Cody and William Comstock was discovered to have taken place here in Logan County. The idea was the brainchild of local bank president Lewis Evins, who convinced Kansas artist Charlie Norton to take on the project. The idea was to create a two times life-sized sculpture of Buffalo Bill mounted on his favorite buffalo running horse, Brigham, in pursuit of a buffalo. The sculpture was to be placed on a mound of dirt on the west edge of Oakley, high enough to get it well above the sky line. Thanks to dedication, hard work, support and many, many much appreciated tax deductible contributions, this project was completed just as envisioned.

With the help of a Transportation Enhancement Grant from Kansas Department of Transportation and more than $500,000 of private donations, the Wild West Historical Foundation, Inc. opened the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in Oakley, Kansas November 12, 2012. Located just south of I-70 off exit 70, on US Hwy 83 and Second Street, the 8,000 square foot cultural and visitor center provides visitors with travel and attraction information for the entire state. A 3,200 square foot multipurpose event center with state of the art audio and video equipment can accommodate meetings for just a few people to events of 250 or more. The first event at the center was the 2012 Kansas Governor’s Ringneck Classic. Governor Sam Brownback, hunters and guests took part in the event celebration ribbon cutting.