Lane County: History and Landscape

Lane County lies in the physiographic regions of the High Plains and Smoky Hills. Visitors can explore exhibits on early history and historic architecture, as well as a Playa Lakes landscape with waterfowl. In Dighton, buildings and local amenities add to the picture. You can shape your trip around cultural history, landscape, or a mix of both.

Exhibits on County History

The permanent exhibit at the Lane County Historical Society & Museum presents the county’s early history, as well as grain, cattle, and oil production. The Arle and Josephine Boltz Indian Artifact Collection on display also includes artifacts from Lane County. Another exhibit recreates a scene from around 1920, with a country store and post office.

A sod house replica also tells a specific story: it was made from a photograph of an early Lane County home built by the N. R. Owens family. The exhibit also explains the role of windmills, barbed-wire fences, and railroads in the region’s early development. On the museum grounds, a sod excavation houses the exhibit on the Lane County Bachelor. During the cattle-drive era, Texas Longhorn cattle were driven through Lane County—another part of the region’s history.

Architecture and Local Memorials

Built in 1931, the Lane County Courthouse is made of yellow brick with limestone trim and is designed in the Modern Eclecticism style. Two limestone bas-reliefs beside the main entrance depict the town’s cultural heritage. In the courtroom, a large sod house painting by local artist Mary A. Bosley, created for the state centennial in 1961, is on display.

Built in 1908, the Dighton Opera House has an L-shaped floor plan that wraps around the former Old Bank Gallery. At Lane County Community High School, carved bison bas-reliefs flank the entrance, alongside striking geometric ornaments in bright red and blue. The limestone stadium at Lane County Community High School was a WPA project in 1937. Together, these examples show different aspects of regional architecture, from the design of public buildings to the reliefs and ornaments at the school.

Playa Lakes: Landscape and Deep Time

A Playa Lakes site in Lane County is home to the county’s largest playa, a 136-acre depression. The Playa Lakes are used by ducks and other waterfowl. More than 10,000 years ago, members of the Clovis culture hunted mammoths, camels, prehistoric horses, and other game at this site. Here, a distinctive landform and its use by waterfowl sit alongside a hunting history reaching far back in time.

Dighton and Practical Information

Dighton’s municipal swimming pool is located in City Park. Dighton Bowl & Diner combines bowling with hot food served daily. If you’d like to include it in your plans, check ahead. A distinctive roadside attraction is the iconic fiberglass Sinclair dinosaur on the west side of Healy Oil Co.

To reach the Grain Bin Scale House, travel west from Dighton on K-96, then south via Eagle and west on Road 130. Check road conditions before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Dighton, Finney, Scott County, Riley County, Wyandotte County, Decatur County, Stevens County, Neosho County.

For the broader travel overview: Kansas.