Frankfort. Attractions 1-8.
Established in
1867 on the first railroad through the county. On Highways
9 and 99. Contacts: Joe Ann Kurtz, 785-292-4274; Sharon
Owen, 785-292-4266
1. Frame schoolhouse. The first school building in
Frankfort, used from 1870 until 1880. Moved to the city
park in recent years and now houses a small museum. Open
on request; call 785-292-4336 or Frankfort contacts. 2nd
and Oak Streets.
2. Native limestone jail, built in the 1880s. National
Register of Historic Places. 1st and Locust Streets.
3. Historic Grade School. Built in 1903 of brick trimmed
with native limestone. Used for classes until 1998.
National Register of Historic Places. Private property.
4th and Locust Streets.
4-6. Other limestone structures of interest include
several downtown buildings; Annunciation Catholic Church
(1909) 5th and Maple Street; and the Presbyterian Church
(1904) and Manse, 6th and Kansas Avenue.
7. Civil War Soldier’s Monument, dedicated in 1895.
Frankfort Cemetery. South side of West 10th Street (Tumbleweed Road).
8. Memorial bronze crucifixion, erected by a couple who
lost three adult children in the flu epidemic of 1918. Mt.
Calvary Cemetery. On 21st Road ½ mi north of Tumbleweed
Road.
9. Nottingham post office marker. This early post office
operated out of a farmhouse from 1857 until 1869, when the
post office was moved to the new town of Frankfort. On
23rd Road a few yards south of Utah Road.
10. Pratt steel truss bridge. Good example of the most
common type of bridge construction in the early 1900’s. On
the National Register of Historic Places. The steel
trusses were shipped in by rail and the piers and bridge
floor were constructed locally. Private property. On
Sunflower Road ¾ mi west of 21st Road.
11. Town of Winifred, established in 1909 along a new railroad
connecting Topeka and Marysville. The Winifred Baptist Church still holds services. Winifred State Bank
(1911) was later used as a post office. Private property.
Drive-by only. At Pheasant and 18th Roads.
12. Clear Fork Creek Preserve - shooting park. Call
785-292-4706 for hours. On 18th Road between Sunflower and
Tumbleweed Roads.
13. Arched stone bridge. On Wildcat Road east of 15th
Road.
14. Antioch Cemetery. Laid out in 1867 by a local farmer
after a death occurred in a westbound wagon train camping
nearby. On 15th Terrace 1 mi south of Yonder Road.
15. Bigelow marker. This town, founded in 1881, was noted
for its stone quarries. Along with Barrett 
and
Irving, it was razed about 1960 to make way for the
reservoir of the Tuttle Creek Dam. The dam is near
Manhattan, 40 miles to the south. The town sites have
rarely been under water. At Zenith and 17th Roads.
16. Twin Mounds, site used by both Native Americans and
westward-bound pioneers. Private property. Contact:
William Jones, 785-292-4539. Visible from 17th Road south
of Yoeman Road.
17. Vermillion River Lower Crossing marker. Indicates the
point where wagons on the Oregon Trail crossed the Black
Vermillion River. A toll bridge was operated here in the
1850s by a Frenchman, Louis Tremble. On Yoeman Road ½ mile
west of 18th Road.
18. Anderson limestone barn, three stories, built about
1901. Private property. Contact: William Jones,
785-292-4539. On Yoeman Road at 18th Terrace.
19. Osborn barn. Andrew Osborn built this two-level
limestone barn about 1870 for his race horses. The race
track was across the road. Private property; drive-by
only. On Yoeman Road between 19th and 20th Roads.
20. Barrett School. Barrett, the first county school district,
was organized in 1858. This building (1870) is on the
National Register of Historic Places. Private property.
Contact: William Jones, 785-292-4539. On 20th Road between
Wildcat and Yonder Roads.
21. Barrett marker. One of the earliest towns in the
county, Barrett had the first sawmill in the area. At 19th
Terrace and Wildcat Road.
Take Yonder Road, Highway 99, and Bobcat Road to Lillis.
Optional detour to two stone
arched bridges:
22. East on Yonder Rd. from 23rd Rd. about 1 ½ miles.
NOTE: Yonder Road is not passable when wet.
23. Take 26th Road to Zenith, then west about ½ mile.
NOTE: Zenith Road is not passable when wet.
Town of Lillis, established in 1906, a town with a rich Irish
heritage. Attractions 24 and 25. Its location also makes it a good
train-watching site. Contact: Pat and Ed Brady,
785-396-4396.
24. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Cemetery. Lillis. The
limestone church was built between 1912 and 1916. The
first cemetery burial was in 1866. On 27th Road between
Bobcat and Cyclone Lanes.
25.
Lillis high school gymnasium. Built 1936-1938, and
dedicated as a memorial to 21 Lillis community men who
served in World War I. This building was a WPA project. In
the 1930s Depression, locally abundant limestone was used
in many projects under a federal program, the Works
Progress Administration (WPA) to provide work for the
unemployed. After a windstorm took off the roof in 1997,
local citizens raised money to restore it. On Register of
Historic Kansas Places. On 28th Road north of Bobcat Lane.
26. Seventy-five School. This rural school held its last
classes in 1951. At 29th Terrace (K-88) and Valley Road.
27. Town of Vermillion, established in 1869. The depot, built in
the same year, is the oldest existing depot in the county
and possibly in the state. It has been preserved by local
effort and is now a museum. On East 2nd Street. The
structure next door, built in 1885 as a hotel, now houses
the town library and city hall - 102 Main Street. The
Curtis House at 408 Elm is private property - drive-by
only. Contact: Dorothy Tilley, 785-382-6256.
28. Town of Vliets, established in 1887. The school marker has an
engraving of the town’s two-story schoolhouse. Southwest
corner of 26th and Tumbleweed Roads.
