Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Podcast Library
Science:Nature
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Tour Stop 1: The Barn
The ranch where you are standing today represents a continuous ranching legacy from the 1878 Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch to the Z Bar Ranch that sold in 1986. Over the years the ranch has undergone many transformations. The buildings show remnants from its earliest beginnings as well as changes made by the ranch's many owners.
The original owners, Stephen and Louisa Jones, came to Chase County, Kansas in 1878 at the end of the Open Range Era to create a cattle feeding station for the Jones brother's Colorado cattle company. Stephen began buying land from individuals and the railroad, amassing 7,000 acres.
Both a man of opportunity and ingenuity, he built this ranch 2 miles north of the railhead at Strong City, Kansas for the shipping of his Durham, Galloway, and Hereford, and Polled Angus cattle to the Kansas City market. After the Colorado ranch sold, Jones focused on raising purebred stock and Hambeltonian race horses. Surprisingly, Jones owned the ranchland only ten years, from 1878 to 1888.
The massive 3-level limestone barn in front of you measures 110 feet by 60 feet, with ground access to each level. It housed livestock and equipment and also stored the hay and grain necessary to feed the animals throughout the winter months.
In 1882, 5,000 lbs of tin covered the roof. According to local newspapers of the time, Mr. Jones also gave the tin roof a coating of paint, although it did not describe its color. It also supports a double-headed windmill that was used to grind grain.
In the mid-1940s, four large grain bins and two cupolas were added, along with iron support beams in the barn's interior. The iron I-beams support the weight of the grain and the cupolas allowed the grain dust to escape, thereby preventing grain dust explosions.
The barn has undergone changes throughout its history, but largely remains the same.
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