Herington

Herington is a fair-sized town for central Kansas, with over 2,000 residents. We came here because of a fairly cheap hotel where we could stay after our friend's musical in Marion. The next morning, we explored.

On the edge of town, the kids noticed a number of "box houses," which were actually mobile homes. We also saw a number of other houses, mostly modest, aging, and pretty well-maintained. 

We saw one house with LOTS of bikes in the yard, to which I remarked, "Wow, those people must love bikes."

"Or hate them," Magen replied.

The downtown is pretty lively, with Ralph and Izzy's Coffee Shop, the old Dilley Bros. Baking Co. building which has been turned into Pike's Body Shop, and several other businesses. The town has a swimming pool that was built in 1937, as well as a really nice park, a pond, and some fairgrounds. There's a historical society near the fairgrounds.

Broadway is an aptly named street that has a grassy median between the lanes. Probably the broadest way we've seen in a Kansas town. Also on Broadway, we saw a Carnegie library in excellent shape, as well as an old, rundown Masonic Lodge and an equally decrepit Presbyterian church. 

Just down Broadway from those buildings, we saw a lovely mural on the side of a combination Family Dollar / Dollar Tree store. It struck me as a strangely perfect metaphor for the complicated histories and futures of little towns like this one.

Though the modern town was founded in 1887, this is also the place where Father Juan de Padilla was killed in 1542 by Wichita Indians, who apparently did not enjoy being proselytized very much. There's a memorial to him in Father Padilla Memorial Park, near the swimming pool.

In addition to a medical center and a number of shops, Herington has a lake and a reservoir, for those who love the life aquatic. It is also the western terminus of the Flint Hills Trail.

Wilsey

In Wilsey, we saw that they are very proud of their Boys State Champions Basketball Team, 1961.

The town has a city hall, the Elm Creek Township library, and some empty old buildings on Main Street. We took a picture at the corner of Main and Fifth in honor of this Lubalin song.

There's also a nice park with a gazebo in town, as well as the Neot Ephratah Academy, which seems to be some kind of Bible school. It had a sign out front thanking President Trump for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. It also is flying both the Israeli and the Christian flag. 

Diamond Springs

Diamond Springs is a ghost town and is now located on private property. We did see a historical marker commemorating it, as well as an old cemetery. 

In the surrounding fields, we saw wheat, hay fields, and a wooden-post fence with cattle inside. Meadowlarks flitted from post to post in the May sunshine. We also noticed lots of turkey vultures riding the thermals above the fields.

We noticed a really pretty house with a sign out front: Wm. Atkinson and Sons. I couldn't find much about Mr. Atkinson, except in this interesting article about the town of Burdick, which suggests he may have had some questionable business practices.

Most of the land in this area is fenced in and bears signs announcing that it is the property of "Diamond Creek Ranch - No Trespassing."

Burdick

We saw some collapsing houses and silos in the area surrounding town. Others farms had weathered farmhouses, worn by wind and time. 

The town sign says:

Burdick
Est. 1887
Friendly Town
Pop. growing

Just down the road is another sign announcing that the town is part of Morris County’s Meth Watch program.

Downtown are an antique store, a meat locker, and a brand new post office. The homes in town are generally very well maintained.

There’s a Park next to the American Legion. Across the road is the old high school, where the roof is off and chickens roam the once hallowed halls of learning.

I got some pictures of the purple flowers that are so common throughout the region. They were blooming everywhere on the beautiful early summer day that we drove through.

Delevan

On the way to Delevan, we found an industrial park, including a corporate farm, a stone quarry, a regional airport, and “Hodgdon: The Gunpowder People.”

In the town itself, we saw a fire station, a few really nice homes, and others with junk in the yard. Still others were ruined altogether. 

One nice sign of remaining community in this all-but-ghost of a town was the Grandview Township Community Center. With that said, the town cemetery almost certainly contains more people than the rest of the town put together.

Latimer

Latimer was surrounded by unplanted farmland. In the area, we saw many older, abandoned-looking farms, but also some that are still maintained. There's not much in town - more abandoned buildings. 

Among other sights, we found an old schoolhouse with a park, a Lutheran church, and a decrepit grain elevator. Like so many other small Kansas towns, this one felt like it was nearing the end of a long, slow slide into decay.

White City

White City is surrounded by prosperous farms, as well as a few poorly-aging homesteads. The town is rich in modest, well-maintained homes and lawns.

One of our favorite things about this town was the fact that there are two museums downtown, one in a one-room schoolhouse and the other in an old railroad car across the street. They are run by twin sisters, and they are only open on the second Saturday of the month. 

Dwight

There were lots of children around in Dwight. Like many small Kansas towns, it had some really cute houses and others in varying states of decay. We saw: 

• An old church that had been converted into a home
• Many old stores boarded up downtown
• Historic school building
• United Methodist Church
• City building
• Community center
• Bank
• Railroad (a Union Pacific train came through town while we were there)
• Grain silos
• Closed bar
• Closed cafe
• Library
• "Trading Post" for sharing pantry goods

Myrick noticed that the City Office has a two-story facade, while the building itself is only one story tall. He promptly called them "A bunch of cheaters!"

Overall, Dwight seemed like a really resourceful community of folks who are working hard and adapting to keep their town alive.

Council Grove

Micah's Musings:

Council Grove was a lot of fun. Mom shopped at the flea market while the boys and I saw a covered wagon, crossed the Neosho River, and went further down Main Street to explore the Guardian of the Grove, the Madonna of the Trail, and the Post Office Oak.

Then, we went back and rejoined Mom to explore more of the town and try (read: fail) to obtain more tourist information. Then, the boys and I went down the Neosho Riverwalk while Mom looked around at the Apothecary.

One of the saddest parts of this town, to me, were the constant reminders of the United States' willingness to take advantage of the Indians who were in the way of "progress." For example, the U.S. government paid the Osage Indians $800 to allow traders to bring wagonloads of trade goods on the Santa Fe trail. Even in 19th-century currency, this was a pittance compared to the profits the traders gained from the arrangement. Then, despite prior treaties, squatters filled the land, eventually forcing all the Indians in the area to vacate on the Trail of Tears down to Oklahoma. Lesson: never negotiate with the Government if you're an Indian.

We had lunch at the Trail Days Cafe, which was good but took a LONG time. It's a little Mom & Pop place, except Mom is currently recovering from cancer, so Pop took a while to get things ready. Several good things about this place:

• Reasonable prices
• Friendly, knowledgeable, hospitable host
• Kids' play area
• It's a museum!
• Tons to look at, read, and explore while you wait
• Enormous cookies