Seneca, KS – What a great small town

When we arrived in Seneca we only knew about  a big hand-dug well, a noteworthy library and the County Historical Museum.

Well, we spent most of the day there and those were just a few of the noteworthy items in town.   We were able to park the motorhome on the street and begin our exploration.

Just across the street from where we parked,  was the city building which also included the Fire Museum, advertising its 1922 Stutz fire engine.  The museum is only open by appointment but as we were asking for information another couple came in who had called for an appointment.  We were able to piggy back on theirs and here are some pictures.  Wow, what a rig. 

Note the miles on the odometer:  0251.5  We asked if those were original and ‘Jim’ thought it was possible, but didn’t really know.

They did a nice restoration job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This tells all about the restoration.  Click on it and then you might still have to enlarge it for reading.  It is worth the trouble.

 

This was our tour guide.  He was pretty quiet until we asked a few questions.  Then he told us he was a retired firefighter and had helped with the restoration. 

The Seneca Fire Department was organized first in 1884 as a Hook & Ladder Company.  The first fire chief was John Gilchrist.  Equipment was horse drawn. 

In July of 1889 a Holloway chemical “squirter” was purchased.  It had two tanks with a capacity of fifty gallons of water each.  It was fueled by vitriol.

 

In November of 1890 the name of the department became Seneca Volunteer Fire Department.  The first Thanksgiving Ball was held that year. 

In March of 1922 the Stutz Model K Engine designed by Henry Stutz was purchased for $6,650.  The truck weighed 8,500 lbs. with a 58 h.p. engine.  The pump was capable of 400 lbs of pressure. 

In 1925 a Packard was purchased for use as a country fire truck.  In 1979 a jaws of life was acquired. 

The present organization is 28 firemen.  With 11 officers, and 7 firefighters including 1 chief and 2 assistant chiefs.

 

Gary wondered why I wanted him to take a picture of the library.  Then he realized what he was shooting was just the new addition. 

 You really can’t get a prospective, the way they connected them.  The great thing was they preserved the 1867 stone church.  They made that part of the library into a meeting room.

 All the beautiful stained glass windows were preserved too.

 

 

This was a great town for walking.  The Library was just kitty corner from the Fire Museum, then across the street was the post office.  Inside it is a mural of “Men and Wheat” which was painted in the 1940’s by Joe Jones as part of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Section on Fine Arts project.

Walking on down the street we noticed these toad stools along the side walk. 

Here’s a real project home for someone.  It looks like they have started but have a long way to go.  A house with real potential.  If you follow our footsteps someday, it may be a real beauty.

 

As we walked down the street, around the corner and up several blocks we came to the Hand Dug Well.  It is in the Seneca City Park, dug in 1895.  It measures 34 feet across and 65 feet deep.  This is the world’s widest hand dug well.  In 1990, after extensive renovation of the well house, the well was opened for viewing by tourists.  (by Appt. only)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The tank was parked near the well.  If we had that tank in Sedalia (previous blog)we wouldn’t have needed to be winched out of our parking place. 

We had asked at City Hall for a recommendation for a place to have lunch.  Lori’s was the recommendation so we continued up the street turning right on Hwy 36. 

 

While we were having lunch a young lady came around and asked us if everything was ok.  It was the owner, Lori.  It was her day off but she had been called in to assist with a problem they were having with the Credit Card Machine.  The entire place was spotless, including the windows and window sills. 

 We thought the little signs were cute.  The food was great and here is a look at the pie.  We only ordered one piece to share.  Usually they just serve it on a plate with 2 forks or spoons.  This place went above and beyond.  They split it and served it as you can see.  It was peach.

We made our way from there back to the Motorhome and this time turned left, headed for the Pony Express Museum.  On our way there we saw this lovely building but there was no indication what it had been.  At the museum we asked about it.  We were told that it had been a Bank, recently they had reopened the building and it is now an ice cream parlor.  Here you can see the inside.  When we talked with the proprietor she said the counters, soda fountains & stools had been donated to the historical society.  They didn’t have a place to display them so they were on permanent loan to the ice cream shop.

Note the stained glass windows.  When we talked to the owner about the restoration she said the window on the right was all there, in pieces.  She took it to someone for repair in a box.  They had an old picture of it so she was able to restore it too.

Sometimes when you have the time to ask you learn lots of things.  The Bank owner had committed suicide following the crash of the stock market.   We didn’t think to ask what had happened between the Bank and the Ice Cream Parlor.

 A couple of other buildings along the street were very well cared for.  I guess as we get older we start appreciating old things.

 

The final segment of our Seneca trip was the Pony Express Museum.  Even though they don’t have an original building they had a great collection.

The FIRST RUN OF THE PONY EXPRESS was on April 3, 1860…and it’s last run was in November 1861.  Neither of us remembered that it had lasted only a year and a half!!  It had such an impact on the nation, that we both had the sense that it had lasted for many years.  Seneca was the very first “home station” west of St Joseph, which is the Eastern starting point of the run.  The home station is the place where the riders were able to get some rest, they were located about every 12 hours across the ‘run’.  Rider Stations were located about each 2 hours ride to allow the riders “two minutes to change horses and take care of personal needs”.  So by the time riders reached Seneca they had changed horses several times.  Another thing that we hadn’t been clear about, the riders didn’t ride the whole route, they went back and forth between the Home Stations.  Makes sense, but neither of us had stopped to think about the logistics.  They hired little guys, so the horses didn’t get tired so quick.  Some of these riders were real characters.  One was Johnnie Frey.  Young women would wait for him along the trail with cookies and cakes which he would snatch from their hands as he rode by.  It occurred to them to put a hole in the center so he could stick them on his fingers – thus was born the well known doughnut!  Well, that’s what it says in the brochure!

 

The Mochila is a leather saddle covered with four cantinas or bags(the box-like structures on the leather cover).  The mochila is placed over the saddle by the rider and held in place only by his body weight as he rides.  Three of the bags are locked, and keys are only available at the destinations, i.e. Forts.  Riders don’t have the keys, safer that way I guess.  The fourth bag is where the rider puts mail he picks up or will drop off at the relay stations. 

The Pony Express Oath (click to magnify)

 

The stables are a reconstruction made by Eagle Scout Kelly Jones.  The horses used by the riders were stalled in stables similar to this.  Horses ridden by the riders were chosen for the terrain over which they rode.  The height seemed a little short but the the guide said an Eagle Scout had researched it and this is the way they believe they really were. 

 

 

In the corner of this room was:

Not there when the pony express went through.

The following pictures were items from the museum.

 

 

This beautiful bed is from the Smith Hotel.  The bedspread is a very intricate  popcorn design and made by Mrs. Smith. It was in first class condition. 

This wall hanging, they believe, is made from the family member’s hair.  The method is unfamiliar to me but looks to be a very difficult project.

 

 

 

Photo of Seneca in 1901

This reads:

Here Hangs Melville Baughn, who “Went to the Devil” after the Pony Express disbanded in 1861.  He took up with a band of horse thieves and robbers running in the eastern Kansas-Western Missouri area.  He was hung on the Courthouse lawn in 1868 for the murder of Jesse S. Dennis, a posse member, sent to bring in Baughn on charges of horse theft.  Baughn’s was the only LEGAL execution in Nemaha County.

 

The signs say “Jail 1858”  “This is an original and the oldest cowboy jail in America”

 

This final picture shows a display of arrowheads.  I do have a question for anyone with experience in this field, especially my son-in-law John. The light colored one toward the center of the display – what is its purpose?

We thought this was a terrific mid-west town!  Friendly folks, interesting things.  Glad we could visit.

Happy Trails