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Kingman Museum was most likely the first museum in the United States established and owned by a school district. Collections for the museum were acquired during the Civil War and became part of the Battle Creek Public Schools in 1871. For decades, the museum's first director Edward M. Brigham made various trips throughout the world to expand the collection, establishing the museum's reputation in the community and, somewhat, nationally. When the collection outgrew the "museum room" at Battle Creek Central High School, Brigham initiated plans to develop an educational campus consisting of a museum, a historical building for the Battle Creek Historical Society, a fine arts building, a hall of music, and a lecture hall. Leila Y. Post Montgomery, widow of C. W. Post (Post Cereal fame), donated seventy-two acres of land for the campus. Leila Arboretum was designed and developed by T. Clifton Shepard between 1924 and 1930. Money for a museum of natural history (the first and only building to be constructed) was donated to the Battle Creek Public Schools by Mrs. Kingman, as a memorial to her late husband Senator Albert Charles Kingman. In 1934, the collection moved into the Kingman Memorial Museum building, designed by architect A.B. Chanel, Battle Creek's most prominent architect, so the school's collections could be stored, studied, and publicly displayed. The Museum continued to collect and flourish while operated by Battle Creek Public Schools until the late 1980s, when financial considerations forced the Board of Education to withdraw much of its support. In 1989, the Museum lost accreditation by the American Association of Museums, thus greatly limiting available resources and cooperation from other museums. By 1997, most of the school district's support was lost and groups were looking for alternative housing for the collection. Subsequently, a group of concerned citizens formed the Kingman Initiative. On September 7, 2000, with the purpose of saving Kingman Museum, a new board of directors began the processes necessary to organize, attain non-profit status, acquire and preserve the Kingman Memorial Museum (including its exhibits, collections, assets and facility), ensure its permanence, and to maintain it in the Battle Creek community. On September 17, 2002, Calhoun County Probate Court transferred the public trust for Kingman Memorial Museum from Battle Creek Public Schools to Kingman Museum, Inc. On February 4, 2003, Kingman Museum re-opened to the public as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Museum opened with five staff members and a full range of programs to serve southwest Michigan communities. In January 2006, the Board of Directors of Kingman Museum, Inc. adopted a new mission to promote an appreciation and understanding of our natural world, the universe, and human cultures. On April 4, 2006, the Battle Creek Public Schools officially passed ownership of the collections to Kingman Museum, Inc. Today, Kingman Museum is concentrating its efforts on the conservation and preservation of its unique collections, the updating of its mechanical systems and infrastructure, the renovation of its galleries, bringing more programs to the community, and the reinterpretation of its collections through temporary and permanent exhibitions.