Cottonwood Falls, Kansas

The Emma Chase Cafe also has bison burgers....which sound good to me! I'll have to try one the next time.

The Chase Country Courthouse is another "to see" attraction in this small town. Having outgrown their log-cabin courthouse and jail, the people of Chase County, at a special election in 1871, thirteen years after the county's formation and with a population of about 600, voted to approve the $40,000 bond levy to build a new jail and courthouse. Isaac Alexander donated the 2 1/2 acres of land for the building. The brochure about the courthouse says that the workers worked six days a week for two years building the building, a Louis XIII period French Renaissance Chateau. It has been in continual use as a courthouse since then, the oldest in Kansas and in the midwest still being used as a courthouse. The jail was still in use until the 1970's, when new state laws closed it. The building is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and the Kansas Historical Site Register. "Unmatched in durability and design, the Courthouse remains a living tribute to its builders and the Flint Hills pioneers who dreamed of a Courthouse which would stand a century." (from: the Chase County Courthouse brochure)

Here are a few "signs of the times" from Cottonwood Falls, Kansas...........

Well, I have more Flint Hills area words/photos to come, but think I will stop here for now. But will say one more time: go visit Cottonwood Falls, and the Flint Hills areas around it - it's worth the visit!

40th Anniversary Retreat at Cottonwood Falls, Kansas

Thanks to our kids/spouses, we had a little get-away from our routine for our 40th anniversary last week. We were given an over-night stay/dinner at a "fancy" hotel...........I was surprised, as only my husband knew where we were going. He chose Cottonwood Falls, Kansas - a small town where we had stopped a couple of times before. We'd eaten lunch at the "fancy" hotel - and deemed it "wonderful" - the lunch AND the hotel. :) The hotel rooms were a bit beyond our reach, so we were quite happy to have a chance, thanks to family, to stay in it for a night. It is the Grand Central Hotel; beautiful. It first opened in 1884 and was re-opened in 1995, with all of its glory restored, with a western theme. Not "cute-sy", just beautiful! And I give the restaurant GREAT ratings. The food is delicious.........the steaks are DIVINE! Yum! If you have the opportunity to visit Cottonwood Falls, and to stay at the Grand Central Hotel, DO. And, by all means, eat at the restaurant. You won't regret it, I'm sure.

Cottonwood Falls is a charming little town, part of the Flint Hills area of Kansas. It IS a very small town ..... so city-lovers, be prepared. But if you appreciate history and small-town visits, as we do, you will love visiting there. There are a couple of art galleries, antique places, the historical old courthouse - the "Chase County Courthouse" (with a magnificent spiral wood staircase!). And there is "Emma's Cafe"..... where I ate a most delicious elk-burger (elk were native to Kansas; this elk meat is raised and processed in the Flint Hills, the brochure tells me), with a side of fried squash "round". So good (and the blueberry pie wasn't bad, either - my husband and I shared it)! "Emma's Cafe", in Cottonwood Falls, is fairly well known. I've read about it in the Wichita Eagle newspaper. Besides the taste of the cafe's food - it is well-known for having it's Friday night music sessions. In nice weather, people bring lawn chairs, as it is held outside. Inclement weather brings it inside. I'm told that it is held every Friday throughout the whole year; I hope we can take it in sometime!