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Kansas
Images from Kansas
Farm house, Dickinson County Kansas.
Slate #44, Jan. 2008.
Barn in field of gold & snow
East of U.S. Route 75, South of Birmingham, Jackson County, Kansas. Feb. 5th, 2008
The old Gano grain elevator on US Route 50/56, Ardell, Edwards County, Kansas. I was told that a drifter froze to death inside and another took his own life.
Slate 53, Jan. 27th, 2008.
The hallway between the a gym & possibly a shop class, is filled with tumble weeds in what use to be Shields School, in Shields, Kansas.
Aug 6th, 2014.
Birds have made a next in the grill of an old Plymouth on the Elmer-Fegusen Farm
South of Monument Rock, Gove County, Kansas. Jan. 27th, 2008.
A rock fence separates a field from a dirt road. The fence, like many others in Kansas, is made from stones found in the local area.
Ottawa County, somewhere between Ada & Minneapolis, Ottawa County, Kansas
Jan. 26th, 2008
Town pride is alive and well in southwest Kansas. Many local businesses not only celebrate local high school sports, some even name their business after them, like the Hornets Nest in Dighton.
Inside a more modern, yet still abandoned tin building sits an old wagon. I have to wonder if this was the vehicle of the family that first settled this farm. Aug. 6th, 2014.
Hay bails lay untouched next to a home in Lane County Kansas.
Aug 6th, 2014.
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Kansas. The Sunflower State
Also known as the Wheat State, it is by far one of my favorite states to photograph.
I love traveling here partially because I feel there is something special about the state and its history. I feel the same pull to go there, a lot of early settlers must have felt on their way to start their own farms. It's in the middle of the country and truly has an American feel about it. Heck, even Superman was attracted to this state.
Sadly it's also a favorite because it is so easy to find farms and towns that are all but empty. According to Wikipedia, 89% of towns in Kansas have a population smaller than 3,000 residents and there are over 6,000 ghost towns. Ghost towns as in towns that at some point had a commercial, or population center but now are either abandoned, or sparely populated. (The List). Watch the video below of a drive through one such town.
Like most states with a large agriculture base, modernization and large scale, or corporate farming decreased the number of farmers needed and hence the jobs that supported a community of farmers. The situation in Kansas may be more extreme than other states, but still a possible sign of things still to come.
A Drive Through A Town Without A Name
Lost Americana is about telling the stories of the people who live in rural America.
•Have you lived in the same rural area since the 1970/80s?
•Were you the last class to graduate from a rural school before it closed its doors forever?
•Do you know of a small town (under 2,000 people) that is a shell of it's former self?
•Do you just what to give us some feedback on the topics we cover?
Well, don't be shy, go to the "Connect" page and drop us a line. Also don't be afraid to reach out to me via social media.
