Thursday, August 09, 2007

My Kansas Kronikles: Chase County Courthouse


One thing I discovered in my recent trip to Kansas was that many of the county seats, particularly in eastern and central Kansas, have gorgeous courthouses.

As to why, my guess is that at some point in the 19th century, a competition broke out to see who could come up with the best.

Although I didn't visit every county in Kansas, I'm pretty sure the prize for finest courthouse belongs to the one pictured above in Cottonwood Falls in Chase County, which heard its first case in 1873.

It's the oldest courthouse in continuous use west of the Mississippi, although that claim may be a bit of a fib: It's currently undergoing renovation and cases are being heard elsewhere.

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