October 30, 2011
Castleton, Kansas is west of Wichita along the North Fork Ninesscah River.
Kansas
The last days of October and the trees are changing color.
Castleton, Kansas. This is how the town was described in the Kansas Cyclopedia of 1912:
Castleton, a town of Reno county, is a station on the Hutchinson & Blackwell division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 14 miles south of Hutchinson. It has a bank, a grain elevator, a hotel, a money order postoffice with one rural route, express and telegraph offices, telephone connections, a good local trade and ships large quantities of grain and live stock. The population was 275 in 1910.
Interestingly, the last census data shows the town to have virtually the same population one hundred years later at 256. It still has a grain elevator, but nothing of those other things expected of a thriving town.
Evidently, this was the right-of-way for the railroad. It has been gone many years.
None of the roads in town are paved; horses make sense.
Crossing over the Ninesscah River.
I filled the tank in Pretty Prairie. These kids (and their dog) are waiting on big sister to come out of the store.
It's surprising to come across a church still being used. This is Lerado, Kansas.
The church and this building (possibly once the school) are the only buildings left of Lerado.
Penalosa, Kansas
Perhaps a little late (most fields are now entirely green) but the winter wheat is coming up.
Kingman, Kansas.
There's a pretty good Mexican restaurant on Main Street in Kingman that I've stopped at a number of times before. This was some sort of chicken and onion and mushroom and cheese creation--actually, quite good.
