7 Small Towns in Kansas Filled With History, Mystery, and Unique Attractions

Kansas is often associated with wide-open prairies, quiet countryside, and scenic drives, but the state also has several small towns with fascinating stories and unusual attractions. From a town celebrating the world of The Wizard of Oz to communities known for historic mansions, unusual rock formations, and colorful folk art, Kansas offers plenty of interesting places for travelers to explore.

For visitors looking beyond major cities, these seven Kansas towns offer a mix of history, outdoor recreation, cultural attractions, and memorable roadside stops. Whether you’re planning a weekend road trip or a longer vacation, each destination has something different to discover.

Quick Guide

Wamego

Wamego is one of the most imaginative towns in Kansas, as it’s the closest one can get to the magical land of Oz. The green and yellow Oz Museum contains a yellow brick road and artifacts from the original 1939 Wizard of Oz film and the props from the Broadway musical Wicked. By strolling through Wamego, one can find several Toto sculptures, made in honor of Dorothy’s dog.

Two of these Totos can be found on the Yellow Brick Road along with 6 hand-painted murals. Other than the Wizard of Oz, Wamego offers a small section of the historic Oregon Trail from where pioneers crossed from the Midwest all the way to the Pacific Northwest. Guests can enjoy a 3-day weekend at the Victory Inn Bed & Breakfast.

Marquette

Marquette provides access to some of the best natural views in the state, both in terms of hillside vistas and unusual rock formations. The Kanopolis State Park provides more than 30 miles of trails through hills and bluffs in the Smoky Hills section of Kansas. Hikers can descend Horsethief Canyon or explore the Faris Caves, which were a place of refuge for early settlers. Near Kanopolis is the small yet intriguing Mushroom Rock State Park. At 5 acres, it protects rock formations that look like giant stone mushrooms.

Oakley

Oakley is a central destination between Denver, Colorado, and Topeka, Kansas, which stands tall in the prairie with the Monument Rocks National Landmark. These are Niobrara chalk formations that are up to 50 feet tall. They were created during the late Cretaceous Period when an interior seaway reached up from the Gulf of Mexico. Another place to see chalk outcroppings is at the Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park. It earned its name after the Israelite city of Jerusalem.

Abilene

Abilene was the boyhood home of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He rose to the presidency in 1953 with his I Like Ike campaign, which built on his popularity for leading Allied Forces to victory in the Normandy campaign of World War II. The Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home offers a full picture of this president, from his family’s involvement with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, his military campaigns, and major events during his presidency such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Korean War.

Abilene has many other historic wonders, such as the Seelye Mansion, a 1905 Georgian-style mansion filled with furniture from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, providing a mixture of the old and the modern (for its time). The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad goes out for rides on an open-air car and dinner train in a century-old steam locomotive. For places to stay, Abilene offers the Abilene’s Victorian Inn Bed & Breakfast nestled in an 1887 home of a family friend of Eisenhower.

Atchison

Atchison is a community built on unsolved mysteries. For example, to this day no one knows what happened to its most famous resident: Amelia Earhart. This aviator was born here in 1897 and went on to break records by flying by herself across the Atlantic Ocean. However, she disappeared while attempting to fly over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 and was never found. Atchison today maintains her Birthplace Museum and the last surviving Lockheed Electra 10-E, identical to her final aircraft, at the Hangar Museum located within the Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport.

Another mystery in Atchison is whether several of its historic buildings are haunted by its former residents. One of the most popular is the McInteer Villa, an 1889 Queen Anne-style mansion allegedly haunted by several spectres. A trolley tour of the town also visits several other allegedly haunted structures such as the Sallie House, allegedly haunted by a girl who died there in the 20th century. These houses also offer standard tours for those who aren’t believers or fans of the paranormal. Or one can rent a room to stay at the McInteer Villa or the historic Saint George Hotel.

Lindsborg

Since the 19th century, the Midwest has drawn in large groups of immigrants from Scandinavia. Those people have left their mark on many places in the Midwest, especially in the Kansas community of Lindsborg. Swedish immigrants came here in 1869 under the leadership of Pastor Olof Olsson. The town celebrates its Swedish heritage in many ways. First is the Old Mill Museum & Swedish Heritage Museum. On the grounds of this museum is a Swedish pavilion building which was used for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Lindsborg also preserves the first place of worship of the original settlers at the Bethany Lutheran Church. The most fun walking tour of Lindsborg is to go looking for the Wild Dala horses. These are sculptures of horses painted in an array of dazzling colors, originating in Sweden. Speaking of bright colors, one can stay in a pink Queen Anne-style home at the Rosberg House, built in 1885.

Lucas

Lucas is the best town in Kansas for unusual roadside attractions. It hosts a large grassroots arts community, consisting of mostly retired residents who aim to create offbeat artistic installations using simple materials. This tradition began in 1907 when Civil War veteran S.P. Dinsmoor created the Garden of Eden, an outdoor sculpture garden portraying biblical scenes and Populist political allegory.

In addition to the garden, one can visit his Cabin Home or check out the Grassroots Art Center, which focuses on some of the best folk art in the region. One can explore several other outdoor installations in Lucas such as Miller’s Park, which hosts Roy & Clara’s Rock Sculpture Garden, or the Deeble Sculpture Garden & Garden of Isis. For places to stay in this art town, there are the Horseshoe Lodge and Garden View Lodge.

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The Mysteries Of Kansas

These towns all have mysteries of their own to investigate. In Lucas, one can investigate the origins and inspirations of grassroots folk art, while in Atchison, one can go on paranormal or historic investigations to discover the people who lived in these historic mansions and homes. One can find natural adventures in Marquette or the heritage of Swedish immigrants in Lindsborg. All of these destinations provide a mixture of B&Bs, cabins, and chain hotels to ensure one can check in for a comfy bed after a day of investigating Kansas mysteries.