SELF–GUIDED
Historical Tours
A NEW PROJECT
An exciting new project for the Platte County Historical Society began with the kick-off of the Self-Guided Historical Downtown Tour of Columbus in August of 2022. The vision championed by the Columbus Morning Rotary Club culminated in the additional collaboration of the Platte County Historical Society and the Columbus Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to develop the web-based narratives and corresponding QR code links. The QR codes were printed on metal signs now mounted on downtown light poles. Those strolling the downtown streets can scan the QR codes with their smart phones to get an impromptu glimpse of the past lives of prominent downtown Columbus historical structures.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
The Platte County Historical Society does not want to stop at the approximately 20 tour buildings catalogued thus far. Your Board of Directors are setting their sights on establishing similar tours and information for buildings across Platte County including historic rural churches and other points of interest as well as historic downtown buildings. The help of volunteers and historians across the county will be enlisted. Plans are to expand the Columbus Tour as well. Not only does the web-based information serve to facilitate self-guided tours, but also as a reference resource to be used by schools, organizations, and individuals.
READY TO TOUR?
Eleven bright blue metal signs mounted on streetlight poles are located at various street corners in and around Frankfurt Square. These signs are labeled “Self-Guided Historic Tour.” Scan the unique QR codes on each sign with a smart phone to access the history of the buildings immediately adjacent to the location of each sign. In some cases, history is shared of buildings no longer standing and pictures of how all the buildings once looked are included.
