Kiowa County: History, Art and Nature

Kiowa County offers cultural and historical destinations, public art, a lake and geological attractions around Haviland. If you are looking for a hotel in Kiowa County, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your trip. Options include Greensburg’s cultural sites, the Fromme-Birney Round Barn, M.T. Liggett’s street art and the Brenham meteorites. Check the location and amenities of any specific hotel offer separately.

History and Culture in Greensburg

The Big Well is a distinctive piece of local history. Completed in 1888, it is 109 feet deep and 32 feet wide. It served as Greensburg’s water supply until 1932. It opened as a tourist attraction in 1939, when visitors could descend to the bottom. If you plan to visit the Big Well, check the latest visitor information in advance.

Several other cultural sites are located in downtown Greensburg. The 5.4.7 Arts Center is next to the Big Well Museum and its park. It offers classes, exhibitions and performances. Its architecture includes solar panels and a green roof; the building was the first LEED Platinum building in Kansas. This brings both artistic activities and distinctive architectural features into focus in one place.

The Kiowa County Historical Museum presents the county’s history through artifacts, exhibits and programs. Exhibits there include large photographic cutouts of Donald “Cannonball” Green and Sheriff Mable Chase. A restored soda fountain in the museum serves ice cream and soda drinks. Check before your visit to see whether this offering is available.

The Cannonball Stage Line Highway Marker is also in Greensburg: it stands at a pull-off on the eastern edge of town, on U.S. 54. For exploring on foot or by bicycle, Greensburg’s Green Tours offers a self-guided tour.

Architecture and Art Along the Roads

The Fromme-Birney Round Barn in Mullinville was built in 1912 to house 28 draft horses. It has a 16-sided floor plan and is 50 feet tall and 70 feet wide. These measurements help give a concrete sense of the barn’s shape. Because of its architectural significance, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located 3.5 miles south and 1.75 miles west of Mullinville. Confirm local visitor arrangements before traveling there.

The M.T. Liggett Art Environment includes a roadside property of more than 70 acres. M.T. Liggett’s sculptures also line pasture fences along U.S. Highway 400 and Kansas Highway 54. This means the art is not limited to a single building, but can also be seen along these two roads. The historic marker, the Round Barn and Liggett’s works each highlight a different subject: transportation history, agricultural architecture and sculpture.

Nature, Geology and Activities

Kiowa State Fishing Lake lies northwest of Greensburg. The lake covers 21 acres on a 43-acre site. There is an ADA-accessible boat ramp. The figures distinguish the size of the lake from that of the entire site; the ramp is a specific facility, not a statement about the accessibility of the rest of the area.

The Brenham meteorites are another point of interest around Haviland. They are a rare type of stony-iron meteorite and formed the world’s largest strewn field of this kind. The Brenham meteorite fall also formed the Haviland Meteorite Crater. It is one of only three craters in the United States whose authenticity has been confirmed by the presence of meteorites. This geological history is quite different from Greensburg’s architectural and artistic highlights.

The Heart of America Science Resource Center in Haviland offers field trips. In stone-carving workshops, participants can shape and polish a stone in less than an hour. The Twilight Theatre & Community Auditorium in Greensburg was designed as a multipurpose space for live events. It also shows current movies; check the schedule in advance.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Greensburg, Ness County, Dickinson County, Ellis County, Thomas County, Cloud County, Sumner County, Atchison.

For the main travel overview: Kansas.