Local Attractions

Midland Railway
1515 W. High St
K.C.-area: 913-721-1211
http://www.midland-ry.org

The Midland Railway offers scenic train rides through Eastern Kansas farmland via vintage railway equipment.

Special train rides begin in April — see the events page. Normal operations start on Thursday June 17, 2010, and continue through October 30th on the days listed on our schedule page. Thomas and Friends (Thomas the Tank Engine!) visit each year in early summer. In 2010 Thomas will visit the Midland Railway on June 4, 5 & 6 and June 11, 12 & 13. 

The railway is a joint project of the Midland Railway Historical Association and the Santa Fe Trail Historical Society. The Railway Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Baker University
PO Box 65
Baldwin City, KS 66006-0065
1 (800) 873-4282

Baker is a small private university affiliated with the Methodist church. It was established in 1858 along the Santa Fe Trail and is the oldest university in Kansas. Baker’s three schools serve more than 2,000 students at various campuses: the College of Arts and Sciences at the main Baldwin campus, the School of Nursing at Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center in Topeka, and the School of Professional and Graduate Studies in Overland Park, Topeka, Wichita, and Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Historical Buildings & The Old Castle Complex
Three of Baker’s buildings are listed on the National Historical Register: Old Castle Museum, Case Hall, and Parmenter Hall. Pulliam Hall is listed on the Methodist Register. The Old Castle Complex consists of a museum, a cabin and a post office. The Kibbee cabin and Palmyra Post Office are reproductions of originals that related to Baker’s history.

Sproxton English Chapel
The Clarice L. Osborne Memorial Chapel was brought to Baker from England in 1995 and reassembled on campus. The chapel was first built in 1864 and was used by former British Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher’s father, who preached there in the 1930s as a lay minister. Osborne Chapel is open from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, and is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the weekends. The Chapel will not be open during special events or weddings. With prior notification, tours of the Clarice L. Osborne Memorial Chapel are available to visiting groups of 10 or more. Please call 785.594.4553 weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or e-mail to inquire about details for your visit. The University Minister's office is located in the lower level, along with a fellowship area for student.

Quayle Rare Bible Collection
The Quayle Rare Bible Collection, housed in Collins Library, includes more than 250 bibles from early manuscripts and early English Bibles to a collection containing presidential signatures from the past 50 years. The exhibit also features a late 17th century room from an English country manor house - the Urishay Castle Room. For current Collection hours or to schedule a tour, please e-mail quayle@bakeru.edu or call 785.594.8393.

Santa Fe Trail Ruts
Photograph courtesy Dorthea Jackson
Just three miles east of Baldwin City is the Black Jack Cabin Roadside Park which features several historical markers as well as a replica log cabin that houses serves as a museum and meeting place. Cross the footbridge to the Ivan Boyd Prairie Preserve, where visitors can view wagon ruts carved out more than a hundred years ago by thousands of wagons traveling the trade route between Missouri and Santa Fe between 1825 and 1875.

Black Jack Battlefield & Nature Park
Nearby is the Black Jack Battlefield & Nature Park and Robert Hall Pearson Park.  Tour the battlefield where John Brown, fierce opponent of slavery, led his militia against a proslavery force on June 2, 1856. This armed clash, The Battle of Black Jack, is considered by many to have been the first battle of the American Civil War. Visit their website for more information! http://www.blackjackbattlefield.org

Signal Oak
Settlers hung lanterns at night and flags by day from the top branches of the old oak tree that once sat at the top of Santa Fe Ridge, overlooking the Vinland Valley. The signals warned settlers from other communities of approaching invaders during the “Bleeding Kansas” days. The oak tree died in 1914, but a marker and plaque remain to tell visitors about a piece of Kansas history.