Chase County, Kansas // 5 more ghost towns!

My 3rd video from Chase County explores around the central and southern part of the county. The biggest "town" in this video is Elmdale, which has an incredible amount of old buildings and places to see for a population of 40! I also try to find Homestead, Wonsevu, Rural, and Thurman. And what does Jim Carrey have to do with Chase County? Find out in this video :) Chase County is always fun to visit - I've really enjoyed going all over the beautiful areas in the county!
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0:00 Elmdale
2:56 Lloyd Christmas
3:51 Homestead
6:49 Wonsevu
9:05 Rural
9:31 Thurman
11:44 Final Thoughts/Outtakes
Music
Easy Breezy - Silent Partner
Twilight Train - Dan Lebowitz
Natural Light - Chris Haugen

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Watch the previous video about Chase County here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYGzln6PZtKfsMU

[@jerrysullivan8424]

Do you mean that you do not know who Lloyd Christmas was? everybody from Kansas knows Lloyd. :)

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

@@jerrysullivan8424 I knew who he was just didn't know he was from Kansas haha!

[@carolmiller9753]

Thank you for your Chase County, KS, 3 videos!! My mother, Sylvia, grew up in Elmdale, Kansas, back in the 30's-1955 when she married my dad and moved away. My Uncle Bummie and Aunt Mariah ran "Bummies" until maybe 15 years ago. My grandfather, George T Dawson ran the bank that is shown in the video next to Bummies. I always loved going back to Elmdale when I was a child. After my "Grandpa" died, Bertha, my "Grandma", moved to Cottonwood Falls...Thank you for having a segment on Cottonwood Falls. I have always wanted to make that road trip from east to west coast along Highway 50 after my grandma told me that it went coast to coast. AND, my mom's family house was across the street from the stone elementary school shown in the video after the red brick high school. She had 8 in her graduating class. She told us about being chased to the neighbor's house by the 1951 flood...her family then built a 2nd story on their house.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Awesome comment! Thank you for watching and sharing! I’m exited to explore US50 this summer!

[@mrmagadew]

Bummie made the best chocolate malts ever!

[@midwestghosttown]

Elmdale - what a fascinating "living Ghost Town" - I love the history of the town - and how they still embrace the past and are still willing to hang in there for the town. There are a bunch of these towns still in existence around the country - I know we talked about this after my Kansas video - and I'm really glad you uploaded this one! Thank you for sharing - I appreciate what you do!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Yeah it’s a good one! Lots to see. Hopefully it can survive for more decades to come! Thank you!

[@midwestghosttown]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy I agree.

[@gh2687]

Thanks for the video. I grew up in this area. Im glad you didn't get a ruined tire. The flint rock can be sharp and slice tires. We went through alot of tires back in the day. Sad to see but people likd me left for job's. The cottonwood river has destroyed towns in its path including elmdale, it was a government buyout after the flood. Our bus would stop at bummie's in elmdale after school for treats.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I was definitely worried about the tires but I got lucky! Sad story about the towns. Glad there are still some things to see for us tourists!

[@mrmagadew]

That’s why I moved away too 😢

[@OdySlim]

This video has been approved for audiences of all ages :-)) I love the way you present your videos. Great Job BTW the stonehenge was incredable... Regards from Ody Slim

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you Ody Slim! Yeah it was very cool I agree!

[@colingeorgeh]

Another great video. I love driving highway 177 in the fall in Chase County. The flint hills are very beautiful with the red hue tall grasses.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

That’s a great drive - I always try to take it if I have time. Thank you very much!

[@aliceevans3357]

I enjoyed exploring Chase County, very pretty area. I'm glad you got a drone shot for Walk In Peace Ranch. Interesting, has a Center Of The Universe vibe. They probably don't want knotheads destroying, partying and mercy knows what else up there. It would have been interesting to talk to the artist about it. Love seeing the old playground equipment. I'm old enough to remember playing on those, oh those slides got hot! Excited to see where your exploring takes you next. Safe travels and GOD bless

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you very much for the thoughtful comment! I agree about the ranch. Would easily get messed up by knuckleheads.

[@rebelliousrebel420]

The Walk in Peace Ranch is like an air BnB but like a resort thing, the place across the road is the Ranch.. those are the walking trails

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Good to know! I couldn’t find anything online about it! Thanks!

[@inphotonoctem]

Is it possible to spend time on the hill? It would be an awesome location for my night photography!

[@rebelliousrebel420]

@inphotonoctem think so but have to ask the owners or staff.. haven't been there in years

[@janfeuerborn2707]

Really enjoyed this! Especially loved the drone’s trip over the Ranch!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Very beautiful area where that ranch was! Thank you!

[@HaveKayaksWillTravel]

Great video. Walk in peace. I like it. ✌️

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thanks!!

[@stevehilliard1495]

That dog has some grand champion ears😂. Very interesting video as always, God bless

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Haha yes he looked ready! And thanks as always for watching!

[@travis303]

driven past Elmdale must be 100 times and never paid any attention to it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention now. I need to stop one day now. Really cool buildings!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Definitely worth a quick stop next time for sure!

[@PaulP1982]

Lloyd Christmas' childhood home 😂 also for us here in the Netherlands, one of our favourite movies when we were kids. Really cool Chase County video! Cheers from Rotterdam

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you! Great that movie crosses over to the Netherlands too!

[@jasonroark4244]

Awesome video. I’ve been through that tunnel and across that cattle guard delivering cattle to the flint hills many times.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Very cool tunnel I had no idea was there!

[@KenBurtner]

Thanks agin for a good trip. Ken

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thanks for watching!

[@peterselten500]

Hi john thanks for the tour some nice old buildings in that town . Cheers mate🇦🇺

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you very much!! Yeah Elmdale is very interesting to visit!

[@geneballay9590]

Very interesting. Thank you for the work, and then sharing.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Absolutely!!

[@francisbarlow9904]

Great video John, I thoroughly enjoyed it, proper ghost towns. I wonder what it is like to live in a small dying town. Thanks John.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you! I think it’s usually very peaceful and people are friendly neighbors.

[@ricsmith2185]

Great video John!

[@pamelacrowe4971]

Thanks for sharing. Great video.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you!!

[@juliogonzales5441]

Great 👍 video 👍....thanks 👍

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Awesome - thank you so much!

[@sueelliott3206]

Awesome video! TFS

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you!!! 😊

[@bigwheelsturning]

I can remember the '51 flood. A lot of people got flooded out. We ran a little store, and everything was sold out before dad could borrow Grandpas truck and make a run to the wholesalers. Most of the roads were shut down and the regular delivery's could not be made.

[@rossbryan6102]

RATHER SURPRISING THAT THERE WAS THAT MANY TOWNS IN CHASE COUNTY!! THE 177 DRIVE IS A FAVORITE OF MINE!!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Because it was harder to travel to bigger cities, I think it was important for the rural farmers to have somewhere closer to go and get supplies. It’s one of the best drives in Kansas!

[@bertholini2810]

My wife says you look like a criminal with that beard.... but then she says I look like a criminal with my beard. The stones in the ground (last place in the video) look really neat, I would like to see that. Very nice video, be good, be safe !

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

😂 I’m just trying to cover up as much of my face as possible. Maybe I’ll wear a ski mask in the next video 😜

[@bertholini2810]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy lol

[@ronfullerton3162]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy I am sure no one would notice you walking around sporting a ski mask! No one in little towns notice a stranger anyhow! Ha ha ha

[@bethbartlett5692]

​@@TravelwithaWiseguy This struck me as so funny. The Comment and reply! lol ahhhhhhh Small Town humor.

[@jerryrichardson8029]

Another great video !!! Interesting little towns with intriguing history. We should activate our google and wikipedia search tools to discover the reason for the naming of Wonsevu. Other than maybe someone's name. But very good video anyway. Please forgive my slackness in commenting lately. Wood cutting time here in Alaska where I am, trying to get my wood pile stocked for the coming winter season.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

You’re definitely forgiven! And yeah I couldn’t find out why Wonsevu. I’d love to know. Thanks for taking the time to watch!

[@tinman7130]

Worked on a ranch one summer, indeed you had to walk in a piece and then chase all over the county for wandering steers. This has become quite challenge for you hasn't it, I mean a new and different animal every episode . Still waiting for those lions, tigers and bears. Oh and that honey badger, oh my!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Yes just wait until I go to Africa and become friends with giraffes, cheetahs, and elephants!!

[@rosiemcnaughton9933]

I googled Walk in Peace Ranch and one of the entries said the following,"The Walk in Peace Ranch will offer retreats and workshops, themed weekends and chances for family or personal getaways, say owners Lollar and Brack. The place has already hosted a Native American drum building retreat and a fall equinox celebration." This was dated Oct. 2012 so may not be the case today, but thought it was a very interesting place. It's also interesting to note that most of the cemeteries in these ghost town areas still seem to be well cared for. Nice to see.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Interesting. Thanks for the info!

[@papabear562]

Hey Coach, I did some more research, and I found the approximate locations for Bill's Creek, Birley, Cahola, Elba, Elk, Fox Creek, Lida, Middle Creek, Morgan, Silver Creek, Union and Woodhill. I couldn't find any maps that had Diamond Centre (though I find a Diamond Creek and Cemetery), Fruitland or Plumb. I went back pretty far too. At least the mid 1800's. As before with Greeley County, the locations probably aren't exact given the age of the maps online, but I'm confident they're pretty close.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Awesome!

[@robertodebeers2551]

It's important, I think, to mention that these "towns" were supported by rural farm populations spread out in a 15 to 20 mile circle around the post office and store, so the population numbers of a town aren't necessarily the population of the whole area.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Good point. Hard to know exactly how close they were to these “towns” - these population numbers I list are from some Kansas Historical Society books written many years ago.

[@gorrdd]

John, All those non existent towns by defunct post offices makes me think that most of what used to be in the area, has no more trace of their existence. Very bizarre... We always tend to assume that something would be left over... some trace. But as you have demonstrated, that isn't always the case. Gord

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Very well said!

[@kaymerry369]

Chase County ,Ka really does represents peaceful and quiet areas of a back county road. The history markers were so neat. I wonder if The Walk on Peace Ranch might be a place for a meditation gatherings? Something like a meditation park setting you can visit . They have setting benches walking pathway. It sure mind challenging & neat. Drone's shots were great . Wish you had taken a slide of faith on the slide. HA!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I agree! I’m glad I did these series of videos. So much fun out there to be had! I might have broken the slide 😂😂

[@ronfullerton3162]

I thought about suggesting Peace Ranch as a UFO loading and unloading site. But I do not want to be responsible for a mass of "true believers" rushing in and taking over the area I wondered if it maybe a gathering place for a gathering of people of a social, community, or association background. Just a possibility I thought of. Another great video that is entertaining and informative at the same time. Be watching for Sunday's edition.

[@kaymerry369]

Yes Chase County was beautiful and provides interesting video. 😊

[@grumpycyclist3319]

Would be good to find out more about the walk in peace ranch for sure.

[@rebelliousrebel420]

The Walk in Peace Ranch is like an air BnB but like a resort thing, the place across the road is the Ranch.. those are the walking trails

[@allenschmitz9644]

Peace Ranch, locked up for your safety, nice you have a drone to show us just how forever nothingness can look like.

[@gregelliott5016]

Elmdale is supposed to be working on getting a public restroom in for tourists. I guess the walk in peace ranch is a nature preserve

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Nice! Do they get a lot of tourists?

[@gregelliott5016]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy I guess they get cyclists and people like you that pass through. And I guess they do a chili cook off in November

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

@@gregelliott5016 That's great!

[@davidbandler]

The Walk In Peace Ranch is just an eco-minded tourism trap. They've got a maze, some sculptures, and what you saw is a "Starhenge" that aligns with the spring equinox, I believe. It's a lot of art done by artist Steve Murillo, mostly a White man's interpretation of Native Americans culture. What is more interesting is that the Peace Ranch, that you missed, is not far away from there is the 1931 plane crash that killed Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thanks for the info! I’ve tried to go to the plane crash site and thought it was on private property. Would love to visit next time I’m up that way!

[@davidbandler]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy That's a problem in Kansas is that so many ghost town sites and interesting stuff is locked away behind fences on private property. It gets worse the more you get up this way towards KC and North of I-70. We've got some interesting living ghost towns worth seeing up here in the top-half if you ever wander North.

[@travis303]

I didn't know you could do that. How do you add a random place on Google maps? I wonder if the people who live in that house know about that and wonder "why are so many people driving by our house in the middle of nowhere?"

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I was having the same convo with a friend. I have no idea how to do that 😂

[@papabear562]

You know it's really terrible that many of the ghost towns lie in flood prone areas. I bet there would be more to see if the towns weren't abandoned and the structures were either torn down, left to decay or overtaken by nature. However I like that the existence of these cities can be recorded and preserved in this manner.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Well said. I’m glad they are still there to explore and learn about!

[@travis303]

I wish stagecoaches were still a thing. I'd love to ride one one time just to see what it was like

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Such a romantic old western thought! I’ve heard places that do it at festivals and such. I know they do some on the Oregon Trail too.

[@michaeldesilvio221]

I would love to live in these ghost towns.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Would be an interesting life!

[@TheScottab]

I have been down that slide it is a fun one. Not as good as the one at the old school in Cedar Point.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Braver than me 😂

[@claytonabbott]

A great book -Ghost Towns of Kansas by Daniel Fitzgerald

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Yep! I have multiple of his books!

[@buckyc.9069]

Have ya read "PrairyEarth" by William"LeastHeat"Moon? You can gat a lotta background on Chase Co.from that.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I haven’t but a lot of people have suggested it!

[@travis303]

Wonder when the last kid slid down that slide or went up and down on that teeter-totter was.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

It looked in good condition- but I wasn’t gonna try it out 😂😂

[@LorraineKlumpe]

I am from Chase County and grew up in the Toledo Township area. I attended 1st grade at Toledo until Saffordville became no longer the high school but the grade school. Then I attended Saffordville through 8th grade. Saffordville was a thriving town with many businesses. I would bet they had a post office at one time. The flood of 1951 wiped it out. By the way, you mispronounced Clements. Both short e's if you know phonics rules. I wish you would do something on Saffordville, Toledo and Plymouth.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

You must’ve missed the previous video where I profiled Saffordville and Toledo … kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYGzln6PZtKfsMUsi=_Rio81ZWJTaXtSpx

[@gdroege44]

I find pictures of the walk in peace ranch but no explanation. 🤔

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Same! Someone said in another comment it was an airBnB type thing.

[@timetravel6]

Did the mayor of Wonsevu, Dale S. talk to you but didn't want to be filmed?? Keep on filming good sir

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I definitely didn’t see the mayor or anyone else that day! 😂

[@timetravel6]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy off topic...as a track coach at WSU, what are your thoughts on Aria Pearce? Absolutely amazing to watch a 14 year old compete against D1 collegiate athletes and hold her own!!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

@@timetravel6 Really incredible! Will be interested to see the development in the coming years. There have been phenoms who do great and some that struggle as they get older. But incredible at the moment for sure!

[@bethbartlett5692]

That hill at "Walk in Peace" favors a "Mound", and the name sounds Native American.

[@lifewithjosef]

0:35 I love the older pour concrete, I endlessly mention it on my content. There's a mini Stonehenge in Rolla MO Timestamped at 20:35 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bX6vmZl7ZdyXY9E As always...

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I agree - very cool! I’ve been to the one in Rolla as well. When I did RT66 a couple years ago. Pretty cool!

[@apryldillon1979]

Have u been to Skull, Kansas

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Do you mean Stull? If so yes I have.

[@apryldillon1979]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy yes Stull is what I meant. Thank you

[@halhegwer3487]

You were to start at Hymer. But you didn’t! I know there is little left, but ??? Hymer was to be named after an early settler Trugott HEGWER but poor handwriting resulted in Hymer. The Hegwer/Boenitz cemetery is a few miles north. L. H. Hegwer Gggrandson of Karl Benjamin HEGWER, buried there

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Hymer was at the end of the video before this one.

[@halhegwer3487]

Thank you. I found it!