Rolling
southwest from Lebo Kansas, my next goal was to check out the Flint Hills
National Wildlife Refuge near Hartford Kansas.
There
were 2 issues with my goal to visit the wildlife refuge… One is that there
isn’t much to see unless you get out and hike or boat through the refuge. The second problem was that this area had
been deluged with heavy rain and the Neosho River was way over its banks! (To learn about the Refuge, go to
Consequently,
we continued on into the town of Hartford in Lyon County Kansas. This town was founded back in 1857 and it
currently has a population of around 370.
Some of the founders were from Hartford Connecticut, hence the town’s
name. While the City Hall shown above
isn’t listed in the National Register of Historic Places, it was built in 1889
and it was originally called the “Union Hall”.
Our
planned next stop was the city of Emporia Kansas. As we headed north on KS Hwy. 99 we passed
the Emporia Municipal Airport. I had to
stop to take a picture of this F-4 Phantom on static display at the
entrance. It seems like an eternity ago
but I once worked for McDonnell-Douglas in St. Louis Missouri and I love
planes!
In any
case, this was about as close to Emporia as we got! The overflowing Neosho River blocked our way
and we were forced to detour around the mess.
The detour we had to take was mostly dirt and mud…and it was narrow and
very slow. Consequently, we ran short on
time and decided to skip Emporia. It was
too bad as I had listed a possible 16 historical sites in town for us to search
out… Maybe next time!
So the
next stop in our exploratory tour of east central Kansas was the former Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot at 102 West Topeka Street in Strong
City. This depot has been nicely
maintained. As a matter of fact, it was
undergoing a restoration project during the time we stopped by and it will be
finished by year’s end.
The original depot was a wooden building built
in 1872, then burned in 1902 and replaced in 1903 by another wooden building. From 1887 to 1938, a six stall engine
roundhouse in town employed many workers. The depot closed in 1938 and for the
last 70 years has served as Santa Fe offices and railroad storage. After several years of negotiation the new
owner, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, donated the building to Strong
City in 2006.
Strong
City is named after William Barstow Strong, the Vice President and General
Manager of the Santa Fe Railway System in 1881. The town was originally named Cottonwood
City. It thrived due to the railroad. Strong City’s population is roughly 450. In 1913 this one-story, pressed brick depot
was built in the mission style, trimmed in native limestone and decorative
brick with a tile roof.
The
restoration plan called for repairing the roof and replacing the clay tile
roofing material as well as replacing the flat roofs at the east and west ends
of the building. The exterior of the depot was also scheduled
to undergo repairs to windows, doors, gutters, downspouts and the brick masonry.
The interior of the building is to be
restored to the original rooms that were in the original depot’s floor plan.
Can you
see what's coming down the tracks?
BNSF diesel
locomotive #4748 was flying when it blew by me at the head of a fast
freight! This locomotive, model GE C44-9W, is a 4,400 HP
diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems of Erie, Pennsylvania. Over 2,200 of these locomotives were built
with the last one being produced in 2004.
The Burlington
Northern Santa Fe Railway, (BNSF), is the second-largest freight railroad
network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Burlington Northern has 48,000 employees,
32,500 miles of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. The railroad has 3 transcontinental routes
that provide high-speed links between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles in
2010, more than any other North American railroad.
This is
Broadway Avenue in Cottonwood Falls… Love the wide old brick street! In my mind I can see cattle being driven
through the center of town… Cottonwood Falls is just a little south of Strong
City. With a population of about 900
residents, it’s the largest city as well as the County Seat for Chase County
Kansas.
The
first non-Native American settlement in the area of Cottonwood Falls was in
1854 when an Indian trader founded a cattle ranch on the Cottonwood River close
to the mouth of Diamond Spring Creek.
The eye-catching
and impressive Chase County Courthouse in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas was built in
1873. It is the oldest operating
courthouse in Kansas and the 2nd oldest still in operation west of
the Mississippi River. This 142 year old
courthouse was constructed from local limestone. Its interior 3-story winding staircase was
constructed from local walnut trees. The
architectural style has been described as Second Empire or Italian Renaissance
Revival and Italianate. The good news is
that this building has recently undergone a $2.4 million renovation and restoration…
Factoid:
· In 1931, Transcontinental and Western Air
Flight 599 crashed 10 miles south of Cottonwood Falls near the community of
Bazaar. All 8 passengers were killed,
including legendary Notre Dame University football coach Knute Rockne.
This
photo captures 2 of Cottonwood Falls’ buildings that are listed in the National Register
of Historic Places. The Cartter Building
at 303 Broadway is at the left with the unattractive wooden storefront. The old Chase County National Bank (301
Broadway) is on the corner. As you can
see, the latter is now the home of the Chase County Historical Society.
The
Cartter Building was constructed in 1888 for Dr. William H. Cartter, a rancher,
stockman and investor. It was designed
to house Smith and Cartter’s Grocery Store.
The second floor was leased to the Mason’s and Odd Fellow’s as a lodge
room. Over 500 people flocked to
Cottonwood Falls for the opening of the building and there was a huge party!
The
Chase County National Bank was built in 1882.
The 2 rooms in the front of the first floor were used by the bank with a
room to the rear being used by an insurance company. Professional offices were located on the
second floor and there was a barber shop in the basement. The bank failed and went into receivership in
1928. The shareholders took a financial
bath! They had to pay out $250 for every
$100 share they owned…
The
Chase County Historical Society and museum occupies both of the buildings at 301 – 303 Broadway. One recent addition to their collection is a
1932 Rockne Studebaker, which was donated by the Wayne Rockne family. This historical society appears to be very
active. To learn more, just go to http://www.chasecountyhistoricalmuseum.com/.
That’s
about it for now. Just click on any of
the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by and joining us on our tour of East Central Kansas!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
I like the shot of Cottonwood Falls with the courthouse at the end of the street.
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