8 Most Unconventional Towns In Kansas
As a middle-American state, Kansas seems like a middle-of-the-road place. However, off its highways and beyond its plains are small towns with unusual attractions. These attractions include a prairie preserve, an African-American heritage site, and a Swedish castle. These Kansas communities and landmarks go beyond convention.
Hiawatha
One of the oldest pioneer communities in Kansas, Hiawatha was founded in the 1850s. It was named Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, The Song of Hiawatha, which was itself named for Hiawatha, a warrior leader of the Iroquois alliance.
In 1914, Hiawatha held its inaugural Halloween Frolic, which runs every October 31 as the "oldest, continuous Halloween parade & frolic in the USA."
A couple of decades later, future Archie Comics co-founder John L. Goldwater worked as a reporter in Hiawatha, which became a template for Archie's town of Riverdale.
At the same time, longtime Hiawatha resident John Milburn Davis was building a lavish memorial to his deceased wife Sarah. It grew from a simple headstone to 11 marble or granite statues depicting Sarah and John in various incarnations.
Strong City
The only thing stronger than Strong City's name is its grass. Strong city is nestled in Flint Hills, a tallgrass prairie enclave among the world's most unique and endangered ecoregions. Eight-foot stalks tell of a lofty plain that once covered ~170 million acres of North America. Tallgrass prairie now occupies an area less than four percent of its former range, much within the Flint Hills, whose main sanctuary is the 11,000ish-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve just north of Strong City. If you can find your way out of the tall grass, check out the preserve's thriving bison herd and Strong City's thriving businesses like Ad Astra and the Jacalito Family Restaurant.
Colby
You may not expect a city in Kansas' northwest corner to be an art mecca, but Colby is that and more. The Prairie Museum of Art & History features thousands of exhibits. Some examples are dolls, glassware, toys, coins, stamps, clocks, and ceramics.
Colby is also home to unorthodox artwork, located off I-70. A billboard depicting Jesus of Nazareth holding a wheat sheaf is titled Wheat Jesus.
Nicodemus
Nicodemus is the "oldest and only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River." What does this mean? Nicodemus was founded in 1877 by freed slaves as a homestead, or a place to live, farm, and commune. Few people live here today, but its population peaked at roughly 700 people in the 1880s. Nicodemus remains an enduring monument to African American, westward migration.
Nicodemus is meticulously preserved as a National Historic Landmark. Enduring sites specifically include Township Hall and the Historic First Baptist Church. Learn more about these sites at the Nicodemus Visitor Center, pictured above.
Galena
Galena, Kansas, is accessible via Historic Route 66. Route 66 inspired a transport-themed Pixar movie with the working title Route 66. This unpublished film inspired the character Mater, famous today for his role in the Cars franchise. Trucks and cars designed like Cars characters are available as souvenirs at Cars on the Route, a restored Kan-O-Tex Service Station and community center. Galena Mining & Historical Museum is also a notable location.
Lucas
Colby is not the only random art haven in Kansas. There's Mullinville with its avant-garde sculptures and Lucas with its avant-garde . . . everything. Considered the "Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas," Lucas has Jim Dickerman's Open Range Zoo, S.P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden, Miller's Park, Bowl Plaza, and the World's Largest Travel Plate. You can find the plate's miniature double at the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things in downtown Lucas and another giant roadside attraction in nearby Wilson, whose Czech heritage spurred the construction of the World's Largest Czech Egg.
Wamego
"I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," is what you might say when you enter Wamego. This small city contains the Yellow Brick Road, Oz Winery, Totos Around Town, and OZ Museum. The last of those houses more than 2,000 Wizard of Oz artifacts ranging from first editions of L. Frank Baum's books to props from modern adaptations.
Lindsborg
"I have a feeling we're really not in Kansas anymore," is what you might say when you enter Lindsborg. Called "Little Sweden USA," Lindsborg blossoms with Swedish architecture and culture stemming from its roots as a Swedish-American settlement. Visitors can tour the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, Trollslända Toy Store, Öl Stuga, Höglund Dugout, and Swedish Phone Booth before they attend the biennial Svensk Hyllningsfest. They can also sample Spanish flair owing to Lindsborg's alleged place along conquistador routes, marked by the 16th-century-style Coronado Heights Castle.
Unconventional Kansas is tall, artsy, and diverse. See the extreme side of this middle-American state at the Davis Memorial in Hiawatha, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City, Wheat Jesus in Colby, Nicodemus Homecoming in Nicodemus, Cars on the Route in Galena, World's Largest Travel Plate in Lucas, Oz Museum in Wamego, and Coronado Heights Castle near Lindsborg.
