-by Greg Hoots- No single structure is more iconic and fundamental to ranching heritage than the hay barn. Many of the earliest barns in the Wabaunsee County were log structures, but by […]
Two Barns in Wabaunsee County
A Day in History: February 4, 1921, Fire Destroys R. C. Day Garage in Eskridge
On Friday evening, February 4, 1921, the Ford dealership belonging to Robert Day in Eskridge, Kansas burned to the ground in a blaze which destroyed seventeen vehicles and threatened the downtown business […]
Gas Station Bandits Strike Eskridge
-by Greg Hoots The year was 1931. The Great Depression had changed the face of America. Hardworking folks who had never experienced unemployment, hunger, homelessness, and the inability to feed their families […]
Profiles of Courage: John Dover Page and Ellen Forte Page
-by Greg Hoots- Editor’s note: I’ve had the great fortune to become acquainted with some of the descendants of John and Ellen Page, formerly of Topeka, Kansas, and I have to say […]
Wabaunsee Outlook: Transient Camp #5 Newsletter, April 21, 1935
The Kansas Emergency Relief Committee operated four transient camps in Kansas between 1933 and 1935, all of which were lake construction projects. The Lake Wabaunsee camp was constructed in December of 1933, […]
Wabaunsee Outlook: Transient Camp #5 Newsletter, March, 1935
The Kansas Emergency Relief Committee operated four transient camps in Kansas between 1933 and 1935, all of which were lake construction projects. The Lake Wabaunsee camp was constructed in December of 1933, […]
Bulldogging With Cleo Schultz
-by Greg Hoots- Cleo Schultz was born and raised in the Volland, Kansas community, and he spent his adult life ranching in Wabaunsee County. But there was a time when this dedicated […]
With Malice Aforethought: The Joseph Pusch Murder
-by Greg Hoots- Introduction In the spring of 1934 the most heinous, violent murder in the history of Wabaunsee County occurred in the rural hills southeast of the county seat of Alma, […]
Photo Friday: Alma, Kansas Business District, 1965
This 1965 view of the historic business district in Alma, Kansas looks north at the intersection of Missouri and 3rd Streets. Every building in this photo is still standing today, except one, […]
Depot Memories
Wabaunsee County, Kansas was late to get on the railroad bandwagon. While the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) made an offer to place a line through the county in the […]
