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Podcast

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Podcast Library

Tallgrass Prairie

A collection of podcasts about the nature, history, and culture of Tallgrass Prairie NPres and the surrounding region.

Episodes

Spring Hill Ranch HQ Tour Stop 8: The Curing House

Transcript

Tour Stop 8: The Curing House

Mr. Jones built this structure in 1881 to cure hams and other meats which were hung from hooks in the rafters. Portholes and cupola vents allowed for air circulation, which is a requirement for proper curing. The air flow allows the salted hams to become infused with salt which has been rubbed from the outside, therefore allowing proper curing to take place.

The March 5, 1885 Chase County Leader newspaper stated that " S. F. Jones last week butchered 20 large, fat hogs for his own use. Mr. J believes keeping his family and hired help well fed, whether he lays up a cent or not." The newspaper article goes on to say that "we regret to learn that Mr. J is getting so extravagant in his old age. Him not being able to lay up a cent is a result horrifying to contemplate."

Whether or not he was able to lay up a cent is irrelevant to the fact that this large curing house could easily support the curing of 20 hams.

History and description of the curing house at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch HQ Tour Stop 9: The Outhouse

Transcript

Tour Stop 9: The Outhouse

Lovingly called "The Little Privy on the Prairie" how fitting this little outhouse is to the Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch complex. Stephen Jones did not cut corners on this building. The exterior walls are built with block limestone and the keystones have a hammered face, with tooled stone edges. The cornerstones also have tooled edges.

The interior walls are rough cut ashlar stone which are dressed at the windows. There is evidence that the interior was meant to be enclosed with either wood or wood lath and plaster. The outhouse even has curtains in the windows for that added element of privacy.

Inside you will find that it is a three-seater. The purpose is for biodegradability. Lime was used to break down solids while the other opening could be utilized until the waste was dissolved.

An outhouse was necessary as this was before indoor plumbing. The only thing that saved someone from a trip to the outhouse on a cold, snowy night, was the chamber-pot. There are many names for these little helpers, such as thunderbucket or rumblepot.

Another reason for this structure's three seats may have been to accommodate each individual member of the household at the time. Mr. and Mrs. Jones and little daughter Loutie. To answer a common question, Victorian modesty and culture only allowed the outhouse to be utilized by one member of the household at a single time. It was never occupied by all three at the same time.

Continue your self-guided tour of the grounds by following the steps up the hill to the Icehouse.

History and description of the Outhouse at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch HQ Tour Stop 10: The Icehouse

Transcript

Tour Stop 10: The Icehouse

The Icehouse and cistern were built of native limestone in 1882. Originally, the doorway was located on the north face of the building. Placing the entrance here denies sunlight from reaching the ice. Some icehouses place the entrance several feet off the ground, because cold air flows downward. An entrance reaching the bottom would allow this cold air to escape. Eventually, this icehouse's doorway was moved to the south side to support the changing needs of the ranch and was converted to a garage.

The winters were colder in the 1800s and the Cottonwood River would freeze. There was an ice cutting factory on the river and large blocks of ice were sold. They were then carried by a wagon to the icehouse for storage and place in sawdust and prairie hay for insulation. Try to imagine the blocks of ice that could be stored in this icehouse.

This gave the Jones family access to ice the year round, a luxury for the time. The old saying, "The rich man gets his ice in the summer, and the poor man gets his ice in the winter" may very well ring true in this case.

The icehouse also supported an 11,000 gallon cistern on its east side. It collected both the natural spring water on the hill, but also any runoff from ice being melted from the icehouse, by evidence shown along the east floor of the building. Today, it is being utilized for storage.

Feel free to continue your journey along the Southwind Nature Trail to the Prairie Overlook and onward to the Schoolhouse.

History and description of the icehouse at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch HQ Tour Stop 11: Prairie Overlook

Transcript

The large and imposing stone structures of the ranch are dwarfed by the vastness of the landscape. For centuries, the interplay of climate, fire, and grazing have combined to produce and sustain the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Throughout most of the tour, you have observed the influence of people on the prairie. Now consider the influence of the prairie on the people. What you are feeling as you step from the shade and comfort of the trees into the exposed openness of the overlook, is exactly what the settlers were experiencing over a century ago, when they stepped from the forests into the openness of the prairie beyond the Mississippi River.

Many people judged this almost treeless land to be worthless. The pioneers soon realized the value of the prairie's rich soil. Today, less than 4% of North America's tallgrass prairie remains. Although the Flint Hills were too rocky to plow, settlers discovered its many resources, something long known by American Indians. The Flint Hills have furnished people with edible and medicinal plants, year-round spring water, stone for tools, weapons, fences, and buildings, wind for power, rich bottomlands for farming, and lush grasses for grazing, both on which bison and, more recently, cattle could fatten.

History and description at the Prairie Overlook on the Southwind Nature Trail at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch HQ Tour Stop 12: Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse

Transcript

Tour Stop 12: The Lower Fox Creek School

The Lower Fox Creek School was built in 1882 on land donated by school's first superintendent, Stephen F. Jones. Mr. and Mrs. Jones' daughter, Loutie, attended school in this very building, going through all eight grades. This one-room school provides a setting for educating local area students until 1930 when it was abandoned and it reverted back to the ranch owner. Feel free to peek through the windows as you imagine children studying their lessons and learning the three "R"s, Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic.

History and description of Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch House Tour Stop 1: Introduction

Transcript

Welcome to the Spring Hill Ranch House at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The grand 4-level ranch house forms the centerpiece of the Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch. Completed in 1881, it stands as a beautiful example of French Second Empire Architecture, a style popular in the late 19th century. This large, stately home is also an example of great change in the American West, the transition from small ranches on the vast open range to large, enclosed ranching businesses, laying the foundations for the present-day American cattle industry.

Introduction to the Spring Hill Ranch House

Spring Hill Ranch House Tour Stop 2: Beginnings

Transcript

Historic Spring Hill Ranch House Beginnings

Born in Tennessee on November 6, 1826, Stephen F. Jones, his wife Louisa, born in Georgia on January 6, 1833, and daughter Loutie, born in 1871 as the youngest of five children, all came to Kansas in August of 1878 to start a cattle ranch in the Flint Hills, building on success found in the cattle business while living in Texas and Colorado from the 1850s through the 1870s.

The ranch house, built with native limestone, faces east, making a dramatic first impression. The French Second Empire style of architecture was very popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with many public buildings, like the Chase County Courthouse and other large homes, sharing the style. This architectural style is notable for the mansard roof enclosing the upper story, with dormers and projecting gables, as well as stone cornices, brackets, and quoins adding to the elegance of the style.

Constructing the four-level, eleven room ranch house cost $25,000 and, according to local records, took 20 men working night and day to complete the home. In fact, so much activity occurred during construction, that travelers often thought they had reached Strong City, Kansas, two miles to the south, and would try to find a room for the night.

Jones came to Kansas with $100,000 to use in building the Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch, named for the many springs he found on the property. He eventually acquired 7,000 acres of land and built 30 miles of limestone fences to enclose the ranch.

Origins of the Spring Hill Ranch House at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch House Tour Stop 3: Formal Entry, Parlors, and Interiors

Transcript

Historic Spring Hill Ranch House Formal Entry, Parlors, and Interiors

The formal entry and two parlor rooms were the most elegantly decorated areas in the entire ranch house. The large formal entry doors, ornate walnut staircase, custom built for the house, and tall foyer, add to the grand feel of the space.

The parlor furnishings were donated to the preserve in 1995. None of the original furnishings survive to the present. However, the mantelpieces in both parlors, as well as the basebords, the woodwork with faux walnut paint finish, the doors and windows and associated hardware like handles and doorknobs, and most of the plaster crown molding still survive and can be found throughout much of the house.

The parlors were used for both formal and more casual gatherings. A newspaper reporter visiting the ranch in 1882 described the house as "one of the most elegantly furnished in eastern Kansas," adding that the house is "richly furnished throughout. The floors are all laid with velvet and Brussels carpets, while large and costly mirrors and an ample supply of appropriate furniture for the various rooms convinced the visitor that rare good taste was employed in the selection."

History and description of the formal entry, parlors, and interiors of the Spring Hill Ranch House at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch House Tour Stop 4: Staircase and Original Wood Floor

Transcript

Historic Spring Hill Ranch House Staircase and Original Wood Floor

With only minor modifications, the elegant walnut staircase remains as it was when installed in the 1880s. It was custom built for this house off-site, then assembled when the house was under construction from 1880 to 1881. Each of its 98 balusters was hand carved individually. The banister consisting of seventeen separate, hand-carved pieces of walnut, was assembled with the aid of Roman numerals on the underside of each piece.

Also, please note the original pine floorboards on the staircase landing. Most of the original pine flooring was replaced in the 20th century and is now covered in oak flooring.

History and description of the walnut staircase and original wood floor at the Spring Hill Ranch House at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch House Tour Stop 5: Former Kitchen Areas

Transcript

Historic Spring Hill Ranch House Former Kitchen Areas

The former kitchen areas of the ranch house, separated from the parlors by a short set of stairs and doorway, illustrate the changes that have taken place inside the ranch house more than any other space. Later residents would transform the space by dividing it and creating the present-day utility room and bathroom

The Joneses prepared their food downstairs in the kitchen and then carried it up a short staircase and by dumbwaiter to a butler's pantry, where the food was put onto plates and served in the dining room. Later residents would modify the butler's pantry into a modern kitchen and remove the dumbwaiter.

The root cellar stored preserved fruit, vegetables and homemade foodstuffs for the Joneses in a cool, dry environment and doubled as a storm shelter. Stephen's wife, Louisa, insisted on a storm shelter she could get to quickly since she had a great fear of tornadoes and the damage they could cause.

Down the tunnel is the spring room, where the Jonses stored perishable food. Cool spring water was piped into the house from the cistern atop the hill west of the ranch house, where it was used in the kitchen, as well as diverted into this room, continually filling a shallow trough. Glass and ceramic containers of milk, cheese, and other perishable foods were immersed in this cold, spring water, helping to preserve them for longer periods. Cool air trapped in the spring room help keep foods from spoiling.

The water followed a channel around to the other side of the spring room and was piped into yet another cistern, located underground east of the spring room. From there the water was used to power a small fountain in front of the house and to irrigate gardens, an orchard, and a vineyard in the bottomland east of the ranch house.

History and description of the former kitchen areas of the Spring Hill Ranch House at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Spring Hill Ranch House Tour Stop 6: Office/Bedroom and Back Porch

Transcript

Historic Spring Hill Ranch House Office/Bedroom and Back Porch

The first use of this room was as the Spring Hill Ranch Office, complete with telephone service. People conducting ranch business would enter the office directly from the outside through the side door to the west. The back porch enclosure was added in the 1920.

Later ranch house residents would make good use of this back porch access to turn this room into a bedroom, with the quick access to the outside useful in case of any overnight emergencies on the ranch.

History and description of the office/bedroom and back porch in the Spring Hill Ranch House at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

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