Kansas Flint Hills

There is a region of Kansas referred to as the "Flint Hills."  Some of the locals have explained that when settlers from the east first arrived and sought to clear fields for planting, they pulled countless rocks and boulders from the ground - many left from the glaciers of the last ice age. Those rocks were used to build homes, barns, and fences - many of which are still standing today.

Not sure what this was, but was certainly startling to come upon. Looks like a Knight, or maybe Don Quixote, made from lots of scrap metal welded together. A unique mailbox post!

Kansas Ghost Towns, continued

Just up the road from Voldrich, I found a couple of old, uninhabited buildings. As I snapped the photos, I wondered about the people who once lived there . . . . were they farmers? Ranchers? Did they have the prerequisite dozen children from that era? Did they take the buckboard to town to stock up on supplies at the now abandoned general store? Did they catch the train from the depot? Where did they go? What happened to them?

Kansas Ghost Town

I took to the backroads of Kansas for a weekend, looking for interesting photo ops - old barns, abandoned houses, etc. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a real, genuine ghost town in what I believe was a county called Waubansee.  If I remember correctly, the town was called Voldrich.

I couldn't tell if this was an old school or an old hotel. There is an abandoned rail line right behind the building, so maybe it was a combination hotel/depot? If I blurred my focus a little, I could almost see the hustle and bustle of people of a century ago - maybe longer. Here's another view of the same building:

Across the tracks and just up the road a bit, is what looks like it might have been an old general store once upon a time:

Hard to see in the photos, but there is a remnant of an old boardwalk in front of the building. I wonder what was the purpose of the false fronts on the second floor? A lot of the old buildings from back then had those fronts on them.