History and description of the ranch house at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Tour Stop 7: The Ranch House

When Stephen and Louisa Jones first moved to Chase county, Kansas, they bought 160 acres to the east of where you are standing now. On that land in the bottomland, Mr. Jones had a small A-frame house built for his family to live in.

Soon after that he began purchasing land and in 1880 he started construction of the large limestone ranch house before you. By late 1881, it was complete. Mr. Jones named his ranch the Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch, for the natural springs found on the hill west of the house. This house was built on a hillside with a 2 1/2 story exposure on the upper level and 3 stories on the lower level.

The architecture represents a blending of Renaissance influence and Plains Vernacular. It is in the Second Empire style of 19th century architecture with a mansard roof enclosing the upper story with dormers and projecting mansard gables, cornices, brackets, and stone quoins at the corners of the house.

The builder was contractor David Reddiger of Strong City, who also worked on the Chase County Courthouse. The two buildings bear a striking resemblance. On a clear day, the ranch can be seen from the oval window in the very top of the courthouse.

The cost of the Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch was $40,000, $25,000 for the house and $15,000 for the barn and outbuildings. According to local newspapers, it took "twenty men working around the clock to complete the home. There was so much activity during the construction, that travelers often thought they had reached Strong City and tried to put up for the night."

The 1883 Kansas Picture Book describes the interior of the home as "all the principle apartments are supplied with soft and spring water, floors are laid with Brussels and velvet carpets, while large and costly and mirrors and the selection of appropriate furniture for the various rooms, witness the good taste, no less than the wealth, of the proprietor."

The front yard was terraced and a fountain was supplied with water piped down the hill and through the home from the springs located on the hill behind the Icehouse. Their youngest daughter, Loutie Jones, used the fountain as a "resort for goldfish" when she lived in the home. Today, the spring that supplied the home is no longer running and its once-full capacity has since been capped.

The Spring Hill Ranch House was obviously a grand showpiece for the Jones family. But circumstances would lead them to sell the ranch after only living in this magnificent house for 5 1/2 years. In 1886, they moved to Kansas City so that Loutie could further her education. At this time, Chase county had only grades 1 through 8, which was very common for the time period. In 1888, Stephen sold the ranch to friend and business associate and also neighbor, Barney Lantry, for $95,000. The home remains today a testament to hard work and ingenuity.