Timeline

1890-	WGM, Sister Lillian A. Wiggs challenged members at the Grand Chapter session of the Order of the Eastern Star to create a safe place for those in need in Kansas.
1895-	The united efforts of the Grand Lodge (Kansas Masons) and the Order of the Eastern Star members result in the purchase of the Col. Robert E. Lawrence residence called “Maplewood”. This fifteen acre estate located at Seneca and Maple streets in Wichita was purchased for $21,000.
Sept. 10 1896-	5,000 Wichitans gather to watch the parade and ceremony as Kansas Masonic Home is dedicated to ‘serving those aged people and children in need’.
Sept. 10 1906-	The Eastern Star Chapel is dedicated. Envisioned as a ‘place to safeguard the spiritual health of young children and elderly’, this historic and beautiful chapel remains a cherished and vital part of KMH today.
1913-	A building for ladies is completed.
Dec. 21 1916-	Five residents perish in fire that destroys the original Kansas Masonic Home. Wichitans rally to take in the newly homeless. The Isolation Cottage and Eastern Star Chapel are undamaged.
1918-	Edward L. Tilton, noted New York architect is commissioned to design the new Kansas Masonic Home.
Feb. 19 1919-	The new Kansas Masonic Home is dedicated. Hundreds of visitors toured the building during an open house.
May 19 1919-	The girls' dormitory is dedicated.
1923-	A new addition to the hospital is completed.
1924-	There are 59 men, 39 women, 53 boys and 57 girls living at KMH. 15 boys are Boy Scouts, 15 girls are Campfire Girls. All of the school age children attend public school and receive music lessons at KMH.
May 2 1927-	A thirty foot monument to mark the graves of former KMH residents is dedicated at Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita.
1931-	The West Wing (Martinson Street) is completed. 140 adults and 127 children call KMH Home.
1940-	A total of 323 residents now live at KMH: 147 men, 129 women, 29 boys and 18 girls. 291 patients are admitted to the Infirmary during the year. The age of applicants to the home is becoming much older as social service organizations to benefit children begin to be developed.
1945-	To this date, KMH has provided care and comfort for approximately 1,600 young and elderly residents.
Sept. 8 1946-	The fiftieth anniversary of Kansas Masonic Home is celebrated with an open house and celebration attended by more than 2,000.
1949-	A Wurlitzer electronic organ is installed in the chapel. There are 255 residents, including 16 children, living in the Kansas Masonic Home.
1953-	Of the 257 residents of KMH, only seven are children, and they are all in high school. (Five of the seven are National Honor Society scholars and all attend Wichita East High School. It is the policy of KMH to provide funds for high school graduates to attend college, if they choose.)
1956-	A new infirmary is completed.
1959-	For the first time in the sixty years of existence of Kansas Masonic Home, there is not one child in residence. There are more than 300 residents with an average age of 85. Senior care is the greatest need and the focus of the staff, board of directors and supporters. 25 nurses live on campus in the former girls’ dormitory (located north of the chapel).
1962-	245 women and 80 men are residents of KMH. The grounds include 13 major buildings, 1,300 meals are served daily and two beauty/barber shops operate on campus.
Aug. 9 1975-	Kansas Masonic Home hosts a 2-day children's reunion for those that grew up at KMH. The group is featured in the Wichita Eagle.
Jan. 15 1981-	The new Health Care Center opens. "It was considered the best in geriatric medicine for skilled nursing care and residential housing in the state of Kansas." ~ Anna Mae Bradshaw, Historian for the Grand Chapter of Kansas, O.E.S.
July 1985-	Kansas Masonic Home opens to the public. For the first time in the 90 year history, Masonic or Eastern Star heritage or nomination is not required for residency, and the campus begins accepting private pay residents.
Sept. 10 1989-	The Health Care Center is dedicated as "S. Allan Daugherty Medical Pavilion". Daugherty served as KMH Administrator from 1958 to 1978; the longest tenure in the history of KMH.
March 13 1994-	The Thomas C. Raum Masonic Towers independent living apartments open on the west side of the campus.
Sept. 20 1998-	The Kenneth L. Caldwell Assisted Living Manor is opened.
2009-	KMH initiates a complete philosophy of care overhaul. Staff members begin “Culture Change” training and focus on ‘person first’ care; collaborating with residents and expert consultants to de-institutionalize processes and offer residents more independence and personal choice in their manner of living.
March 2010-	Staff and residents join together to tear down the nurses’ stations in the Health Care Pavilion. The demolition is the first physical change towards making KMH truly home for residents.
August 2010-	KMH earns the coveted "PEAK" Award from the Kansas Department on Aging. PEAK stands for Promoting Excellent Alternatives in Kansas Nursing Homes.