ABANDONMENT
The Ephemeral Nature of Human Endeavors
HOKANSON HOMESTEAD
The Remains of a Homestead on a Reclaimed Prairie
May 9, 2003
The Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, located near Manhattan, Kansas, is
jointly owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University. It is
former ranchland which has been reclaimed and is now used as a research area
to study the natural tallgrass prairie environment.
Most of the area is closed to the public, but there are seven miles of hiking
trails. A few abandoned buildings, the remains of a 19th Century homestead,
are located near one of the trails. These picturesque buildings are in
excellent condition, and under the stewardship of the present owners they are
likely to remain in good shape.
For more information on the Konza Prairie, including information for visitors,
see Kansas State University's Konza Prairie
website. The prairie is conveniently located near Interstate 70 and is a
nice place to take a break while driving across Kansas.
These are pictures I took of the homestead buildings in October 2000.
All contents of this site, unless otherwise noted, Copyright 2002-2008
Heather Harrison. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to accredited
educational institutions to copy and use this material as desired, in whole or
in part, provided that proper credit is given.