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Kansas tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills is now preserved at Spring Hill Ranch, near Strong City as a national preserve.

The house was built of limestone in 1881 by a local banker.

The barn has three levels and is one of the largest barns in the state.

Inside the barn are many different colors and textures--and it smells as a barn should smell.

North of Strong City one can still see an occassional depression made by the many wagons rolling over the Santa Fe Trail.

Over thirty miles of imestone walls were built by hired hands. Hands earned 25 cents per day building wall.

A one-room school on the property, Lower Fox Creek School, is also registered as an historic landmark.

Today, most walls have been replaced by barbed wire fences. This fence has a horseshoe incorporated in its construction.

Cottonwood Falls is in the heart of the Flint Hills. The Cottonwood Courthouse sits on the town square.

Prairie grasses make good feed for cattle and the Flint Hills are ranching country.

See Spring Hill Ranch Barn from an airplane
Learn more about the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve from the National Park Service