o »• Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE: (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Kansas COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ELlis INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM /- FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER DATE (Type all entries — complete applicable sections) ^// 3d. O00 1 '/Jtrfl/ COMMON: ^^— - —— f — -^_^ Fort Hays /\\ Ti-Li ^7>\ AND/OR HISTORIC: / N^> '^ ,. ^ X<\t5\ to. ^^P^^^^^^^^pl^K^^^fc STREET AND NUMBER: Frontier Historical Park H "l,«.^JvT ,@ CITY OR TOWN: \ J\ V*" x\ K\ ^0 •iv~* /^/ neiyoHav<? Vviv\ tf)\. (\y\\ ^f:S* •' '"^.fi'C> STATE CODE COUNTY: "^^TTTn^^ CODE Kan.Qflc tntf\-\ Ij9fl I ELlis 0«^ STATUS ACCESSIBLE CATEGORY OWNERSHIP (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC O District X] Building E Public Public Acquisition: ® Occupied Yes: .. [X Restricted D Site Q Structure D Private Q '" Process D Unoccupied 1-J i —i _. 1 1 Unrestricted O Object D Both \ | Being Considered |_ | Preservation work — in progress 1 — ' PRESENT USE CChec/c One or More as Appropriate) I | Agricultural | | Government [2 Park n Transportation d Comments Q Commercial CH Industrial Q Private Residence Q Other (Specitv) 1 I Educational 1 1 Mi itary • | | Religious I | Entertainment El Museum | | Scientific OWNER'S NAME: State of Kansas STREET AND NUMBER: ? State Capitol w CJTY OR TOWN: "" STAT E: CODE CO Topeka Kansas 66612 M CO •&• COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: COUNTY: Register of Deeds pcj STREET AND NUMBER: i IT ELlis County Courthouse CO CITY OR TOWN: STAT E CODE Hays Kansas 67601 £Q Tit LE OF SURVEY: ENTR Xa A Survey of Historic Sites and Structures in Kansas Tl O DATE OF SURVEY: J-V!? ( Q Federal [2] State Q County Q Local NUMBERY DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Z C\ •D Kansas State Historical Society rs C/> C in STREET AND NUMBER: -,,»_ T . -,^.. ,-, . ^v* 120 West 10th St. m O Z CITY OR TOWN: m . STAT Topeka an^as ^^ [3J.VQ * ^ (Check One) Excellent D Good Q Foir D Deteriorated Q Ruins D Unexposed (Check One) CONDITION (Check One) Altered ^ Unaltered Moved_____|g Originol Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (it known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE When Fort Hays was abandoned in 1889, there were still Standing. £11 of thelSuildings, excj^Jhj. i_ hojzs^_aadLbJ!fefiry> were of frame construction. Todayy6nly_tttreem buJ-lclJLngs remain -the blockhouse ,\/ guardhouse^ and one/frame officers' quarters^ The blo_cj£toise is a stone building hexagonjuL in shape with a 17 foot radius. It has twojfings extending north and south, each J.J feet^so^uare. The building., was, equippej ifitfili'ifle slits, but the fort was never attacked. The building was used, as a post headquarters and adjutant's quarters. Extensive restoration work has been done on the blockhouse and it presently is in excellent condition and looks much as it did when Fort Hays was an active military post. The guardhouse is also a stone building, lOOJCeet long and 2k feet wide, ff the building were furnished quarters for the Officer of the Guard, a guard room, and a prison room with three cells. The rn interior walls are unchanged, and this structure now houses a museum. rn One frame officers 1 quarters survives; it wa^jgoxgd back to the fort site in 1963 and placed on a location where research had estab­ lished that one of the officers 1 quarters Had stood. It is a two- story house with two rooms upstairs and two downstairs in the main part "of the house. The kitchen and dining room were in a one-story ell at the backj this part of the building needs to be reconstructed, TO and the rest of the building requires renovation. Arjcheological investigations have been conducted at the fort site c in recent^years "'to ascertain precise locations of the fort's main n structures. These will be marked so visitors may better visualize the H original appearance of the fort. A part of the former military reservation administered by the O Kansas State Historical Society is set aside as a picnic area, and •z. in another section there is a small herd of buffalo. Form 10-300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Dec. 1968) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Kansas NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Ellis INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NFS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER D/* TE (Continuation Sheet) (Number all entries) "Old Fort Hays," St. Louis Globe, March 12, 1901. Story of the Early Life of Fort Hays and Hays City (Hays, Old Fort Rays Memorial Association, 1959). Winter, Maureen, editor, Indians to Industry' A History of Hays and Ellis County (Hays, n. p., 19^77^~" PERIOD (Check One or Afore as Appropriate) Q Pre-Columbian! CD 16th Century Q 18th Century 20th Century C3 15th Century D 17th Century jjjjj} 19th Century SPECIFIC DATElS> (If Applicable and Known) 186?-18«9 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal { j Education O Political || Urban Planning Q Prehistoric [ j Engineering CD Religion/Phi- Q Other (Specify) £3 Historic j | Industry losophy ( 1 Agriculture ( I Invention [ | Science [ | Architecture || Landscape [ | Sculpture D Art Architecture j | Social/Human­ I | Commerce |~~| Literature itarian | | Communications {£] Military n Theater | | Conservation D Music | | Transportation STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Fort Hays was one of three posts (Barker, Hays, and Wallace) established after the Civil War to protect the Smoky Hill trail. It was originally established October 11, 186^, as Camp Fletcher, some lit miles southeast of ^ays. ^le name was ordered changed to Fort_Hajs on Ncvgmb^rr 17, 186J? After a flood virtually destroyed the fort in June,v*L867, it was relocate.4 .at a more favorable site, now just south of the city of Hays. Never a large post, its strength range d from £6? in August, U 1867, to 12 in February, 1879. Uuring mucn of its existence both ID inf ai^ryliiaSrilav^lry were stationed there. Indian uprisings from 186T to 1870 kept the fort active in patrol and scouting activities. / With the comliag»J5f the railroad Fort Hays was turned into a ^quartermaster depot to supply other forts in the West and Southwest. uo Since the Indian menace had declined by the middle 1870' s, post commanders recommended that Fort Hays be ab^andoned. No action was taken for 15> years 5 finally the last troops moved out November 8, LLI The Department of the Interior then acquired the military res­ HI ervation. It was given to the state of Kansas in 1900 to establish oo a branch of the State Normal School, an experimental station to be operated by the State Agricultural College, and a public park. Frontier Historical Park with the three original fort buildings is presently operated as a historic site^Bluseum by the Kansas State Historical Society. Old Fort Hays is an attractive, well-maintained example of a frontier fort on the Gentral Plains. / *%, UY<\ V; Blackmar, Frank ¥., Kansas, A Cyclopedia of State History (Chicago, Standard Publishing Co., 1912% Connelley, William E., A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans (Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co., 191^). Hart, Herbert M., Old Forts of the Southwest (Seattle, Superior Publishing Co., 196U). Kansas State Historical Society, "Fort Hays" (Topeka, State Printer, n. d.). LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY ' 3 DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY ————————— . ————————————————————————— ———————————————————————— |- OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE Deae«es Mmytes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NE 38 o 52 - 03 - 99 o 19 ! UU "• SE 38 o 51 - 33 - 99 * 19 • Ui • sw 38 o 51 . 33 . 99 o 20 - 53 - APPROXIMATE A CR E AG E O F NOMIN ATED PROPERTY: 177 /*^f 7? ^ ^ &/t\ ^\^ \ cn |LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE ok-2jDUNTY B&^PX'1'*''^ V" \ rn STATE: CODE COUNTY Uj U&f "^/V F CODE fe 7 ^ , ' pj m STATE: CODE COUNTY: \A ~^M/7'>> '' XP^ CODE \o^ ^ w^ ,/Cv' STATE: CODE COUNTY: \/ /rj--p^_ : __- ?-"V \S5,/ CODE ^^J^L-.:-^-^" STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE NAME AND TITLE: Richard D. Pankratz, Planner n ORGANIZATION DATE H Kansas State Historical Society August lii, 1970 STREET AND NUMBER: 120 West 10th St. CITY OR TOWN: STATE CODE Topeka Kansas 66612 ^J ^^^^MM^^l^l^^^^ii^l^llsi^iSiJ As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na­ I hereby certify that this property is included in the tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion National Register. ^^^ in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation level of significance of this nomination is: National J><1 State Q Local Q *JAN 2 5 1971 Date Name r\'V\ A£ fr - V VVV^v€-\^ ATTEST: *\jA Nyle H. Miller Title Executive Secretary, Kansas State Historical Society, and State Keeper of fhe National Re^ster ' Liaison Officer for Kansas Date ••UK **2 7* iQ7nW/U Date October 12, 1970 ~ 92,91 < ^aw­ tar ea ter t MV1J 'ED STATES T OF THE INTERIOR 3JCAL SURVEY —i-.^~,-4.':t.;? "^.A 7.V'i "••?-."^.Ei^!> •••'. ?f.i.'^.,r,H;:^>y^;s*;^"'^ff!^ •••-'^:iv^^^^^^^:j«:«^^r^"^;iv^!fi^j^^;fHt • ^ •> ',$."*'---*:..• -' ^- I - rr^»--\?t ^" *u •>*V;<V>^^-^^T^B^^V^^."-.' >• r : .-^F ,-.A,,v.'^: '{ \- \ :/i ^:\^^^^^^^^v^d-'----^-' —— V, -..-.-v _^~.r-..» Av ^^4_-.v_..Jt._.-._ ..., ^^^^.^. ^. ..x,.?-,-^-..-^^ ,,-,.i5-xi,.^-. r\ —\. Y\ ^\\ .w^«<-••••' v;-^. \nx-•"'*•'>•"AX'i-u.:-/^s^5i'^:^;^'> ^>-^KJ^^i^t'M^^' 'v>i:K=: \'• V • A.v^^T^^^-ry;:ffiS^^^,,:^;-"V --.'^ 1*0*- N .1' A v/isihiiJigti^ scB-^ . Ji-,^ /.S^/A•*<-«%••..;' •, x;"r -/Vv-"\ -o~» ••-.