Museums

We finally got going this morning after I cut my hair and we both went to the shower house for showers. We usually shower in our own shower here in the RV but the shower house was very clean and they had a lot of water pressure, which is what I love in a shower. This RV doesn’t have as much pressure as the big RV and I miss it.

Anyway, Ron had been looking at area places to see and found these URLs. http://www.ellsworthcounty.net/ http://myellsworth.com/echs/ So we headed for Kanopolis.

There we met the President of the County Historical Society taking his turn as volunteer guide. He took us all over the old Fort building (see picture) and told us lots of stories about the exhibits. When we heard the noon whistle blow we asked for his recommendation for a place to eat. He suggested KC’s in Ellsworth, a neighboring town. He said we would probably see him there, as that was where he was headed.

We are glad we followed his recommendation as we were seated at a long table with some of his friends and had a great conversation along with a yummy lunch.

We then went to the museum in Ellsworth and were shown around by a very nice lady. The house had beautiful furnishings and a lot of things I remember from my childhood. You know you are getting old when you see your childhood tools in a museum.

I took the rest of this blog from the website so you can get a feel for the area. I highly recommend a couple days at this COE park and at least one trip to both of the museums.

Museum sits on the South side of what was once the Main Streets of Ellsworth. North Main and South Main with the Union Pacific railroad running down the center.

The Hodgden House was built in 1873 by Perry Hodgden, one of the first settlers of Ellsworth. The house is made of native stone and stands next to a stone livery which one of the last liveries in Kansas still standing on a main street. Other buildings and features of the museum:

· Hodgden House built in 1873

· Blackwolf school built in 1912

· Stone Livery built in 1887 by Robert Martin

· 1st Baptist Church built in 1887

· 2nd Baptist Church built in 1886

· Rare wooden Union Pacific Caboose

· Morton Building housing a general store, hospital display and antique farm equipment

· Terra Cotta Union Pacific Depot built 1900

· 1873 Jail

What is now the city of Kanopolis had its beginnings in 1864 when Lt. Allen Ellsworth and a company of men established Fort Ellsworth about a mile and a half south of the guard house museum. In November 1866 Fort Ellsworth was abandoned and Fort Harker established. Besides the native stone guardhouse there remain in Kanopolis three other fort buildings.

The Jr. Officers quarters and the Commanding Officers quarters are maintained by the historical society and open to the public. The third building, another Jr. Officers quarters, is a private residence. All fort buildings were built in 1867

· Original Guard House

· Jr. Officers Quarters

· Commanding Officers Quarters

· Kanopolis Union Pacific depot

I will be adding some pictures to this entry - but not until we get a faster Internet connection. This took me over half an hour to load - - and I had pre-written it in Word. Internet Aircard is S L O W!!!

Jun 4, 2010

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