News & Events

Mid-America News
Show Calendar
State Event Calendars

Regular Features

The Antique Detective
Antique Detective Q&A
Common Sense Antiques
Refurnished Thoughts
Traveling with Ken
Good Eye
Books for Collectors

Directories & Classifieds

The Finder: Unique Shops
Lodgings Directory
Museum Directory
  Aviation Museums
Wineries in the Heartland

Classifieds
Web Links

Archived Features

Antiquing in Colorado
Dealer Profile Archive
Editor's Notebook
Heirloom Recipes
Helpful Hints
   for Collectors
Is This An Antique?
Past Cover Features
Reflecting History

2005 Best Of Winners
Destinations 2006

Discovery Mid-America September 2009

‘Last Chance for Beans, Bacon and Whiskey’

Back in the days when the Santa Fe Trail was a vital trade route between the “civilized” eastern U.S. and the riches of Mexico, Council Grove, KS was an important stopover at the edge of civilization. For trade caravans and other travelers heading to Santa Fe, it was the “last chance” to stock up on supplies and get needed information about weather and Indian activity on the rest of the route.

Council Grove was the only trading post between Independence, MO and Santa Fe. To the southwest was the most hazardous part of the 900-mile trail; the threat of running out of water and pasturage for oxen on the high plains was the worst fear, followed closely by the danger of Apache and Comanche attacks.

The Kaw Mission Historic Site (photos by Ken Weyand)

Seth Hays, a grandson of Daniel Boone, came to the area in 1847 to trade with the Kaw (Kansa) tribe, which had settled on a reservation established the year before. Other settlers followed, attracted by the large grove of oak trees, one of which had been the site of a treaty signed in 1825 between Osage and U.S. agents. A decade later Hays opened a restaurant, the Hays House, which is still going strong. A year later, in 1858, the town of Council Grove was incorporated.

I drove to Council Grove on Old Highway 56, tracing the original Santa Fe Trail through Olathe, Baldwin City and Burlingame. Just east of Baldwin City is Black Jack Park, a preserved area of 18 acres of virgin prairie where ruts are still visible from Santa Fe Trail wagons.

As the two-lane highway spools westward, the landscape changes. The Flint Hills give travelers a taste of high plains vistas still ahead, and the wide main streets of towns take on a look of the Old West.

Council Grove has some two-dozen historical sites, with half of them on the National Register of Historic Places. Although the original “Council Oak” has died, the stump remains, under a protective canopy. A similar structure protects the remains of the giant “Custer Elm,” where the Indian fighter camped with his cavalry regiment.

Restoration is still in progress on the “Post Office Oak,” that once had a cache in its base that trail travelers used to leave messages. The large tree died in 1999, and the rotting stump was taken down in 2008. The town has the preserved stump in storage, waiting for a protective canopy.

Visitors to Council Grove can see preserved stone buildings dating to the early days of the Trail. All are on the National Historic Register.

The Hays Home was built in 1867 and occupied by Hays until his death in 1873. Although a bachelor all his life, Hays adopted a five-year-old orphan girl the same day he recorded the deed to the house.

Original Council Oak, now a stump, protected by canopy

The Last Chance Store, built in 1857, is the oldest commercial building in town. Its motto: “Last Chance for Beans, Bacon and Whiskey.”

The Kaw Mission State Historic Site is a two-story stone school built in 1851 by Methodist Episcopal missionaries. Inside are historic photos depicting the Kaw culture and Council Grove artifacts. (The site is currently open Wednesday thru Saturday only.)

The Terwilliger House, built in 1861, was the last residence travelers saw as their oxen plodded towards Santa Fe. Today, it houses a bakery café.

Other stone buildings on Council Grove’s Main Street were built after the Trail’s heyday, but are outstanding nevertheless. The most prominent is the Farmers and Drovers Bank, built in 1892, and still used as a bank. It features Romanesque arches over stained glass windows and a Byzantine dome.

At the site of the Post Office Oak is a stone building built in 1864 by Francis Xavier Hebrank, a German immigrant, and one of the town’s earliest settlers. Hebrank operated a brewery in the basement and according to historical records, “business was brisk.” Today the house is occupied by a museum run by the Morris County Historical Society, which keeps the house open on Sundays and by appointment.

I talked with Phyllis Metzger, a volunteer, who was eager to share local history.

“My husband is the great-great grandson of Hebrank,” Metzger said. “We were in the military and traveled all over. When he retired, we knew we wanted to live in Council Grove. It isn’t a growing town, but it has a wonderful history and it’s full of friendly people.”

Last Chance Store on West Main

Metzger was proud of the town in other ways as well. “The Hays House is said to be the oldest continuously operating restaurant west of the Mississippi,” she said. “And we still have a daily newspaper, the Council Grove Republican.”

Not bad for a town of 2,300 or so. But how’s tourism doing in today’s economy?

“We’re down some,” she said. “But we still get a busload about every week. They tend to come from shorter distances, but often we see travelers from other states. Many history buffs trace the Santa Fe Trail on Old Highway 56.”

For more details, got to www.councilgrove.com or call 1-800-732-9211.

Ken Weyand can be contacted at kweyand1@kc.rr.com.

> Traveling with Ken Archive — past columns

Sur la Cote d'AzurArt Print
Broders, Roger
Buy at AllPosters.com