A bunkhouse, a bed and breakfast and a church at Stoehr Cemetery are among the sites that will be open for the annual Holiday Homes Tour between 1 and 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, at locations around Chase County.
Tickets for the tour are $5 each and may be purchased at the Chamber office, the Emma Chase Cafe, and Exchange National Bank, all in Cottonwood Falls, and the Cottonwood Valley Bank, Strong City and Cedar Point.
Miller Ranch House
WHERE: south of Elmdale on U.S. Highway 50
A Scottish immigrant, George McNee, bought a claim of 160 acres along Middle Creek during the summer of 1860. McNee eventually increased his holdings to 760 acres, which he divided into five farms. In 1891, he built a three-story stone house on Middle Creek.
When he died in 1899, his sister, Mary, and her husband inherited the house. Mary had married George’s best friend, Archabald Miller. The property stayed in the hands of Miller family members until 2001, when Janice Miller sold the property to Joan and Jim Donahue, who currently operate it as Clover Cliff Bed and Breakfast.
The restored house features four bedrooms on the second floor and antique-filled rooms with hardwood floors that combine to give visitors a glimpse of life in the past on the Kansas prairie.
Elmdale Christian Church
WHERE: at Stoehr Cemetery, north of Highway 50 at Elmdale
The church is the first Holiday Homes tour site to be included for two consecutive years.
“So many visitors as well as the presenters at the site enjoyed visiting the beautiful old church so much that (it) is on the tour again this year,” said Deb Zeiner of the Chase County Chamber of Commerce.
Church activities in the Elmdale community began in the early-tomid-1800s, with services held in the homes of early settlers and conducted by itinerant preachers.
Later, they were held in a log school house a mile west of Elmdale, and subsequently on the upper floor of a business in downtown Elmdale, according to information provided by Zeinger.
In 1881, Joshua Shipman made an offering of $100 to begin construction of a church. The cornerstone of the Elmdale Congregation Church was laid in 1883, and area carpenter Jonathan Wood designed the building and supervised construction.
The church was transferred in the late 1890s to the Trustees of the Congregational Church, and later resumed being a Christian Church. That church disbanded in 1999, and the Elmdale Cemetery Association bought the building and moved it one mile west of Elmdale to the Stoehr Cemetery, where it now sits on a hill overlooking Elmdale.
During World War I, the Red Cross used the church as a headquarters, where women rolled bandages, knitted socks and scarves, and made other apparel for the soldiers.
Re-enactors will perform during the tour to give participants a glimpse into the church’s historic past.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
WHERE: three miles north of Strong City on Highway 177
National Park Service rangers will guide tourists through the Spring Hill Ranch on the national preserve. The massive 1881 limestone ranch house will hold typical late-1800s holiday decorations made from natural berries, pods, wildflowers and buck brush. Costumed characters will visit with participants and express thoughts of the joyous holiday season, Zeiner said. Cookies and hot cider will be served.
Millstream Resort Motel
WHERE: on the bank of the Cottonwood River in Cottonwood Falls
In the 1940s, Jesse “Slim” Long bought land along the Cottonwood River where an old mill once had stood. He built a small stone cabin by the river, and rented it to fishermen. For years, he did nothing else to the property.
By the mid-1950s, Long had begun building The Millstream Motel. The eight units and office with living quarters were constructed from materials the frugal and creative Long made or scavenged locally, Zeiner said.
The outside of the building held limestone that at one time had been used as sidewalks in Cottonwood Falls. Floors throughout were made from oak whisky barrels; door handles were made from cow horns.
Long also had built the furniture that once sat inside the motel and office.
Current owners, Richard and Sharon Clute, have restored and redecorated the building.
“Slim must have had great pride in his work,” Sharon Clute said. “You can witness his meticulous work in his phenomenal wood floors and man-made wooden doors.”
The Bunkhouse at the Flying W Ranch
WHERE: south of Clements and the Clements Stone Arch Bridge
A small notice in a 1906 issue of the Chase County Leader announced that a new house had been completed at Clements for Oscar Duehn. That house, nestled in a valley along the Cottonwood River, became part of the Flying W Ranch. The Flying W is a 10,000-acre working cattle ranch that offers guest ranch services to people who want to experience the Flint Hills and cowboy culture.
This year, ranch owners Josh and Gwen Hoy and their partner Newt Dodge added a certified kitchen near the original ranch headquarters, and expanded the bunkhouse to include a conference center.
Zeiner suggested that tour participants also stop at the Clements Stone Arch Bridge while they are in the Flying W area.
More information may be had by calling Zeiner at 273-8469.