Charles Curtis House Museum

A Topeka native, Charles Curtis lived in Topeka much of his life and served as vice president of the United States under Herbert Hoover (1929-1933). He is the only Native American to have served as vice president of the U.S. He was a great grandson of a Kanza Indian Chief. Curtis was born January 25, 1860 to Captain and Mrs. Oren Curtis. His mother was of Native American ancestry. His mother died when Charles was three years of age, and he was raised by his mother's people on the Kaw Reservation.

Curtis served in the U. S. House of Representatives for sixteen years from 1893 to 1907. He was elected Senator in 1906 and served from 1907-1913, and again from 1915 to 1929. When Charles Curtis was selected by President Herbert Hoover to serve as his Vice President, Curtis became the first Native American to hold the office, the first Vice President to come from west of the Mississippi, and the first Vice President from the state of Kansas. The statesman was honored in 2001 when the state of Kansas built the Charles Curtis State Office Building. It is located at the corner of 10th Street and Jackson, southeast of the Kansas Capitol. Other sites of interest to visitors are the Charles Curtis Greenway on North Topeka Blvd. and the Curtis Burial Plot in Topeka Cemetery, also on 10th Street.

The home, now privately owned, is listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places and the Topeka Landmarks Register.

Tours of the home are available Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and by appointment. Admission is $5.00 per person; children under 12 are admitted free when accompanied by a parent. A tour takes approximately 45 minutes.

Charles Curtis House Museum
www.charlescurtishousemuseum.com
1101 SW Topeka Blvd.
Topeka, Kansas 66612
785-357-1371 or 785-597-5380