This rambling, two-story brick building began in 1867 as a 3-room cottage and blacksmith shop. Today, the handsome gazebo-style porches are favorite gathering places for guests and the historic hotel ... Legend has it that while patrolling the Santa Fe Trail with his famous 7th Cavalry Regiment, George Armstrong Custer camped under the huge elm that flourished at this site. The massive trunk is all that remains of this tree that measured more than 100 feet tall and 16 feet around. Custer bought 120
Council Grove, KS LandmarksThe one-room Field School, closed at the end of the 1945-46 school year, is remarkably well preserved. It was moved from its original site 8 miles south of Council Grove to Maple Camp in 1999
Council Grove, KS Historic SchoolhousesThis tiny cave was the temporary home of an Italian hermit, Giovanni Maria Augustini, who lived here for a brief period in the spring of 1863. Later that year, the religious mystic left with a wagon train, walking the 500 miles to New Mexico.
Council Grove, KS Pioneer HistoryLike its name warns, this store was once the "last chance" for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail to buy supplies for their journey to New Mexico. Built in 1857, the limestone structure is the oldest commercial building in Council Grove and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Council Grove, KS Pioneer HistoryCouncil Grove town founder, Seth Hays, built this home in 1867. His slave, Aunt Sally, lived in the basement and cared for Hays and his adopted daughter, Kittie Robbins, until her death in 1872. Hays died a year later, February 3, 1873
Council Grove, KS Museums