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KANSAS SCHOOLHOUSES
(Schoolhouses of Southeast Kansas)
Kansas
Some are vacant
some are museums and
at least one is now a stable.
Text and photos by John
Troesser
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Equine
Alumni near Elk City
Photo
May 2005 |
| May
is a great time to visit Kansas. The Catalpa trees are busy dropping
a flurry of blossoms and the Clematis vines (think of them as friendly
triffids) are entwining anything that stands still. The irises are
still in bloom while the daylillies are busy gathering their strength
for their long days in the sun. But if you can't make it in May, don't
despair. Kansas is a year-round sort of place.You can inventory the
towns with brick streets, count the grain elevators, survey the stone
bridges around Arkansas City or tour the downtowns of a dozen county
seats. And there's always Big Brutus - the huge electric "steam" shovel
that sits (heavily) between Cherryvale and Parsons. That old villian
isn't going anywhere. |
| Another
attraction for the quiet tourist is the array of one-room schoolhouses
scattered over the countryside (which, by the way, isn't flat). Some
of these orphan buildings are in ruins - while a few have been adopted
and restored. Their seemingly odd locations remind you that they were
built where needed - not necessarily on a highway or a bus route.
Kids walked, rode or bicycled to school. |
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Why is this horse laughing?
Photo
May 2005 |
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Color-coordinated
Photo May 2005 |
| Here
we present a handful of these handsome and mostly simple buildings
- all found on a single loop not far from the Kansas/ Oklahoma State
Line. The trip originates in Coffeyville and heads west through Elk
City, Moline, Grenola, and Burden, ending in Wellington and then down
to Arkansas City, and back to Coffeyville via Sedan, and Cedar Vale.
next
page |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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