My Town

It's Wednesday -- when we all go outdoors and share our favorites. Visit Susan at A Southern Day Dreamer to see what else is in the great outdoors this Wednesday.

I want to share my little town. It's on the prairie of Southeast Kansas and as Kansas towns go, it's a very old town for the fort was founded in 1842 -- and the fort led to the town. (History lesson: Kansas didn't become a State until 1862 and settlement wasn't prevalent until after the civil war.)

We are fortunate that the Fort is still there -- now it's a National Historic Site. Part is restoration but most is reconstruction. But there are many rules regarding National Historic Sites and so the restoration is authentic.
These are the officers quarters. It is a fort without a stockade because it is located on a bluff. The fort was abandoned by the government in 1853 and during the civil war one of the buildings was a union hotel while another was a confederate hotel. There were soldiers stationed here during the war.
Main Street which grew from the fort and this is what you see when you leave the fort. A quaint town with many local merchants selling everything from country decor to antiques to books to boutique clothes and Brighton jewelry.
A showpiece of the town is Gunn Park given to the city by Mr. Gunn to be forever used as a park. With two lakes and lots of shelter houses, it's a great place to walk Ollie and feed the ducks and geese. (A favorite past time) Mr. Gunn's son lived at Linderhof for a couple of years (as a renter -- not a buyer) and in the garden is one of the old fountains from Gunn Park -- now used to hold my sundial.
This isn't Arlington -- it our National Cemetery -- the first one. (Gettysburg is 2, Arlington is 3). In order that the cemetery would continue to accept burials, husband Jim and I donated to the fund which purchased additional acres. It gave us great pride to make sure that our veterans would continue to have a burial place in southeast Kansas.

And if you're ever in Southeast Kansas, stop by and see my town. If you stop by our chamber, you can see all on an hour tour -- past the Fort, into the park, down Main Street, and past our historic Victorian homes and historic churches. You learn the history of the town. The fact that the bricks at the Indy 500 "Brickyard" are our bricks. The trolley driver getting a kick out of telling people that those folks living within 2 miles of the cemetery can't be buried there. Many of the riders are aghast at how unfair that is and then with a gleam in his eye -- he tells them you have to be dead first!
The Trolley -- a fixture around town is named Dolly. It goes past Linderhof and if I'm outside, I always waive.

Our little town is Fort Scott -- named after General Winfield Scott. Who was so "insulted" by this small outpost in the middle of nowhere being named after him never came to visit. Another city named after him was Scottsdale, Arizona. I wonder if he would have liked that better?