Kansas childhood homes

One way to get to know someone is the see where they ate, slept and went about their daily routine. The Kansas Explorers Club has compiled this list of home tours to help interpret the lives of famous Kansans.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Abilene (1890-1969)
Step inside the childhood home of a U.S. president and U.S. Army general. It’s open for tours daily at Fourth and South Buckeye streets. The nearby museum has displays about his life from boyhood to president. Phone: (785) 263-4751.

Amelia Earhart, Atchison (1897-1937)
The birthplace museum of this famous and record-setting aviatrix. One can imagine the tomboy Amelia loving this spot on the bluffs of the Missouri River. Admission fee. Phone: (913) 367-4217.

Walter Chrysler, Ellis (1875-1940)
This boyhood home and museum is at 102 W. 10th St. Admission fee. Find out how an Ellis boy who peddled milk door-to-door went on to become the founder of the Chrysler Corporation. The museum includes a 1924 Chrysler car. Phone: (785) 726-3636.

Carry A. Nation, Medicine Lodge (1846-1911)
The home of the temperance crusader who used a hatchet, rocks and a sledgehammer to make her point is located just west of the Stockade Museum on U.S. 160. Phone: (620) 886-3553.

William Allen White, Emporia (1868-1944)
One of the most well-known and respected American journalists, White became famous as the voice of Main Street and as the small-town philosopher. His home at 927 Exchange is a Tudor-style home called Red Rocks because of the red sandstone on the first-floor exterior. Terraces and gardens are outside. Phone: (620) 342-4800.

Charles Curtis, Topeka (1860-1939)
Curtis was the first U.S. vice president of Native American ancestry. He served under Herbert Hoover. His beautifully restored house at 11th Street and Topeka Boulevard is open for tours by appointment. The house is an exquisitely restored home with Moorish domes, ornamental plaster and an irregular shape. Phone: (800) 235-1030.

Susanna Salter, Argonia (1860-1961)
In 1887, Argonia men were angry that Salter and other women supported mayoral candidates who were against drinking. They thought it would embarrass her if she became a candidate and garnered just a few votes. In the end, she received two-thirds of the votes and became the first woman mayor in the United States. The home at Osage and Garfield is open by appointment. Phone: (620) 435-6171 or 6438.

Dr. Brewster Higley, Athol (1823-1909)
This is where Brewster Higley wrote the words to My Western Home, now known as Home on the Range. His restored cabin is located one mile west of Athol (west of Smith Center), eight miles north, and 3/4-mile west. From the junction of U.S. 36 near Athol, travel north for eight miles on State Route 8, then one mile west at marked turnoff.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Independence (1867-1957)
A replica of the house near where Laura lived as a child for a brief time can be seen 13 miles southwest of Independence off U.S. 75. Laura is famous for her books about the prairie, including Little House on the Prairie.

John Brown, Osawatomie (1800-1859)
The Adair Cabin, the house of Brown’s half-sister, Florella, and her husband, Rev. Samuel Adair, is now a state historic site. A log cabin set within a stone pavilion, it stands on the site of the Battle of Osawatomie. John Brown was a zealot abolitionist and is featured in the famous mural in the Kansas state capitol.

The Kansas Explorers Club
www.explorekansas.org