DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) _ After several years of work, the Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City will open a new exhibit on Sunday that explains the importance churches and religion in the town's early history.

The exhibit, called The First Union Church Building, tells how several churches helped the town transition from an isolated outpost on the frontier to a civilized permanent city.

Karen Pankratz, curator and exhibit designer at Boot Hill Museum, said the project is a combination of the many congregations that were built by the pioneers.

The building was originally built as an oil well shack. It became a church in 1942 and served Bucklin until 1991. It was donated to the museum in 2002 and has been renovated in phases.
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