10 Of The Most Eccentric Towns In Kansas

Known for flatlands and even flatter towns, Kansas is not everyone's idea of an eccentric destination. But Kansan towns are only flat from a distance. Inside, or just outside, such settlements are an array of full-bodied oddities ranging from a Dutch-style mill centering a Dutch-style tulip festival to a 13.5-ton ball of twine flanked by twine-themed paintings to the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things. Behold 10 of the most eccentric towns in Kansas.

Wamego

You might expect to find Wizard of Oz-inspired attractions in Kansas, but perhaps not in the small city of Wamego — and not so many. Wamego houses about 5,000 people and over 2,000 "Oz-ifacts," most of which occupy the OZ Museum. Other Oz-some oddities abound at the Oz Winery, where you can buy bottles of Drunken Munchkin, and along the Yellow Brick Road, where you can admire Oz murals and find the Totos Around Town. If exh-Oz-sted, rest under the Old Dutch Mill at Wamego City Park, which explodes with color during spring's Tulip Festival.

Oakley

Though home to Annie Oakley Park and the Annie Oakley Motel, Oakley was not named for that Wild West sharpshooter. Instead, it was named for founder David D. Hoag's mother, Eliza Oakley Gardner Hoag. Further muddying the etymological waters are multiple attractions dedicated to Annie Oakley's boss, Buffalo Bill. After seeing the Buffalo Bill Bronze Sculpture outside the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center, admire other offbeat art at the Fick Fossil & History Museum. Then, travel south to see nature's artworks, such as Monument Rocks and Castle Rock, which combine as one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas.

Abilene

The Eight Wonders of Kansas were picked by the Kansas Sampler Foundation. There are eight overall wonders; more are separated into categories like architecture, cuisine, and customs. When all was said and done, Abilene cleaned house. Two of its houses, the Lebold Mansion and Seelye Mansion, are among the Eight Wonders of Kansas Architecture; its Brookville Hotel (now Legacy Kansas) was named, thanks to its famous fried chicken, one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Cuisine; riding a carousel (Abilene's 1901 C.W. Parker Carousel) is one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Customs (racing greyhounds, as represented by Abilene's Greyhound Hall of Fame, was a finalist); and its Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum joined Oakley's Rocks as some of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Overall. How is that for wonderful?

Cawker City

A finalist for the Eight Wonders of Kansas Overall, Cawker City's top attraction is a giant ball of twine. Officially the largest community-built ball of sisal twine, it grew from a tiny tangle of thread in 1953 to the 13.5-ton behemoth that now draws tons of tourists. More twine is added each year during the Twine-A-Thon, which also features food, crafts, games, live music, and unique competitions like the Livestock Kissing Contest. The Ball of Twine is displayed year-round alongside famous paintings with a twiney twist in the windows of neighboring buildings.

Strong City

Stephen King and Joe Hill's In the Tall Grass is a reality outside Strong City (though thankfully without the supernatural horror). Several-foot stalks surround this super-small settlement, especially in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, which protects significant remains of the once-extensive tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Given its geographic importance (less than 4% of the original prairie remains), the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve combines with the encompassing Flint Hills as another of the Eight Wonders of Kansas. Rest and refuel at the Ad Astra Cantina & Steakhouse or the Jacalito Mexican Restaurant.

Greensburg

Speaking of Strong City, Greensburg is one of the strongest cities in Kansas. In 2007, an EF5 tornado (the first to earn such a rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale) destroyed 95% of the community. Yet Greensburg rebounded in a big, unique way, becoming a true "green city" with energy-efficient infrastructure, which is exhibited at The Big Well Museum & Visitor Information Center. Above what the Kansas Sampler Foundation proclaims as the world's largest hand-dug well (despite that disputed claim, it is another Overall Wonder of Kansas), the center replaced one lost to the tornado in 2007. Thankfully, the world's largest pallasite meteorite was not lost in the damage, so you can see that 1,000-pound rock on display alongside the 109-foot well.

Hiawatha

One of the last places you would expect to find an Ancient Greek-style necropolis is rural Kansas. However, in Hiawatha's Mount Hope Cemetery stands the Davis Memorial, a collection of marble statues depicting a deceased wife and the husband responsible for this offbeat tribute. "Tribute" might be a strong word since John Davis's motives have been heavily scrutinized. Some say he sunk money into the memorial to cheat his wife's family out of an inheritance and the town out of basic necessities during the Great Depression. Regardless, decades after John's death and entombment beside his wife, the Davis Memorial recoups its cost as Hiawatha's top tourist attraction.

Lindsborg

Dubbed "Little Sweden USA," Lindsborg has a smorgasbord of Scandinavian sights, many of which are official Kansas Wonders. Its display of traditional wooden "Dala" horses was named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Customs, while its production of said horses, courtesy of Hemslojd, Inc., was named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Commerce. Moreover, its Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery, which celebrates the titular Swedish painter, is one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Art.

A non-Swedish Lindsborg Wonder is Coronado Heights, which comprises a sandstone bluff and Spanish-style castle that marks the supposed site of 16th-century Spanish exploration.

Galena

Believe it or not, the Ozarks cover a small slice of stereotypically flat Kansas. One of the only settlements in this extreme southeastern section is Galena. Besides notable geography, especially in nearby Schermerhorn Park, Galena boasts a notable road, Route 66, and notable road features via Cars on the Route. At that restored Kan-O-Tex service station sit googly-eyed vehicles that look straight out of Pixar's Cars, which is no coincidence. When the film's working title was Route 66, animators took a scouting trip along the namesake route and, while passing through Galena, spotted an old tow truck that informed the character Mater. Proto-Mater is the highlight of Cars On The Route.

Lucas

As the "Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas," Lucas is a veritable oddporium. Among its handcrafted oddities are Jim Dickerman's Open Range Zoo, which involves dozens of scrap-metal sculptures erected in the Lucas area; Bowl Plaza, a toilet-shaped public restroom; and the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things, which houses tiny replicas of giant roadside attractions. But far and away, Lucas's farthest-out feature is S.P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden, a temple of bizarre statues built by the titular eccentric before his death in 1932, upon which he joined the temple as its oddest attraction. You can view his near-century-old corpse through a glass coffin.

You might feel like you are not in Kansas anymore after visiting these 10 towns. Rather than flat fields and annoying wind, you can find Ozark formations, several-foot grasses, several-foot grassroots sculptures, Swedish staples, Pixar-worthy vehicles, a giant ball of twine, a see-through mausoleum, and a big well/meteorite combo that was Kryptonite to the first ever EF5 tornado. See those and other eccentric wonders in Kansas's smallest settlements.