The small railroad town goes big on ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
There ’s a bright yellowchildren ’s string that loops around theCity Parkof Wamego , Kansas , population just under 5,000 . Called the “ Spirit of Wamego , ” since 1954 ( replaced in 2009 ) it ’s been run a span hours day by day , giving free ride during the season of mid - April to mid - October .
More than just a fun activity for those under four foot , the train — complete with minor - sized depot — is a nod to Wamego ’s past : In 1863 the township was found to be a stop along the Kansas Pacific Railroad , later Union Pacific . migrator looking for Modern beginnings saw an opportunity in the expansion of the rails westward , and up sprung a can - do Ithiel Town . Within a decade , there were shop , 28 businesses , a railroad place and roundhouse ( locomotor storing and servicing post ) .
Today , you may see end of the settler ’ pioneer spirit : TheBeecher Bible and Rifle Churchon the outskirt of town began as a coterie of abolitionists from up North . That wizard City Park , home to a tulip fete every April , also housesSchonhoff Dutch Mill , used to grind food grain until the 1880s . There ’s also aHistoric Museum with an Old Prairie Village , and in business district Wamego is theColumbian Theater , built in 1893 and inspired by the treasure in Chicago ’s World ’s Columbian Exposition ( the world ’s carnival named for Christopher Columbus ) .
The water tower foretells whimsical things.|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
A few door down on Jackson Avenue you ’ll rule a nod to another bit of Kansas account , Hollywood - style . Wamego is also home base to theOz Museum , the largest public collection ofWizard of Ozmemorabilia in the creation ( include one 8 - foot Tin Man ) . Its gravitative pulling to holidaymaker is so strong there ’s now also aYellow Brick Roadthey can travel on , and Oz - themed administration . So grab a Methedrine of Flying Monkey Zinfandel from theOz Winery , and stay a while .
Take a trip to Emerald City
In the former 2000s , the Columbian Theater expose an exhibit ofWizard of Ozmemorabilia have by former Wamego resident Todd Macin . About 12,000 mass make out through to take a gander , an consuming turnout to what was then a township of just 4,000 . It was such a bang that they resolve to afford anOz Museumjust a few doors down . Today you’re able to claver the emerald green building , covered in sinister flying monkeys and housing over 2,000 historical and pop polish items . you’re able to even get your very own tornado inside . Or at least , a tornado motorcar . That ’s in the talent shop .
Besides the museum , Wamego has go all in on Oz , with a Yellow Brick Road , an Oz Winery , a eating house namedToto ’s TacOZ , paint statues ofToto around town , andOZtoberfestin the fall , accomplished with lookalike contest . May the honorable Toto win .
The Oz Museum Is Your One-Stop Shop for Movie Memorabilia
There’s no place like Wamego, Kansas.
Travel back in time in City Park
Wamego ’s City Park — home of the fry ’s gear — is also a one - stop shop for the neighborhood ’s history . Besides the 1870sSchonhoff Dutch Mill , formerly used to grind cereal and now on the National Register of Historic Places , there ’s theWamego Historical Society & Museum , in a reproduction of the first city hall , with display including the first Wamego plugboard and items from the Ames House Hotel , one of the first hotel in Kansas . The adjustment rule book include names like Cornelius Vanderbilt , John Jacob Astor , and P. T. Barnum .
The adjoiningPrairie Town Villagecould double over as a flick set , with structure from the 1800s including the domain ’s first jail . That ’s by the Transportation building , housing a 1950 Chrysler Coupe . Wamego is the birthplace of Walter P. Chrysler , founding father of the Chrysler Corporation ; his sire put to work on the Kansas Pacific Railroad .
When you ’re done , quit by the down - homeFriendship Houserestaurant , purveyor of soup , sandwiches , and a all-inclusive variety of from - scratch baked good , inspire by the food grain - grinding Dutch Mill across the ballpark . Go for a Ceylon cinnamon curlicue , snickerdoodle , or , in a pleasant twist , a pick of bierocks . Or show up on Tuesdays for a surprisal dessert .
You’ll meet a Toto or two around town. This one is apparently about to take a trip.|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
See where Kansas bled
In 1854 , the Kansas - Nebraska Act was passed , allowing would - be Kansans to adjudicate for themselves whether they would be a complimentary or striver country when entering the Union . Some enterprising citizens of Connecticut came down to help sway the vote to the side of abolishment . know what they were up against , they toted rifle and bibles provided with aid from preacher Henry Ward Beecher of Brooklyn . They founded theBeecher Bible and Rifle Churchin Wabaunsee , in a time of warfare between pro- and anti - slavery factions known today as Bleeding Kansas . Kansas eventually enter as a free country and the church building still stick out today , bid Sunday service .
Battles were fought on the ( now endanger ) tallgrass prairie of Kansas . See one good example atMount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park , earlier part of a farm that was on the Underground Railroad and whose owner , Captain William Mitchell , was a loss leader of local Free - state reserves , the Wabaunsee Prairie Guards . The park is dedicated to his memory , as well as the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony .
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Rifle: A Church Steeped in Abolitionist History
Don’t mess with Kansas’s Beecher Bible and Rifle Church.
Traverse the Oregon Trail
From the Yellow Brick Road to the Oregon Trail , Wamego contains multitudes . The westbound expansion path passed just a few Admiralty mile north of town . move part of the road on Oregon Trail Road and make a pit stop at theCholera Cemetery , where travelers who buckle under to the disease are entomb . The silos inOregon Trail Nature Park
feature of speech scenes of Kansas paint by local artist Cynthia Martin . Plus a lake , picnic table , and panoramic view of the Kansas River Valley .
At theWamego Historical Museumyou’ll find a crown of thorns - part of one of the limbs of the famous Louis Vieux Elm , named for a member of the local Potawatomi tribe who operated a bridge on the Oregon Trail . The elm tree was locate along the Oregon Trail and has the distinction of being massive , once certified as the largest American elm in the US before it was destroy by vandalism and lightning .
Why yes, this is an 8-foot Tin Man. He’s waiting for you in the Oz Museum.|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
Introduce yourself to some bison
Bison once roamed the Kansas land freely , feasting on a buffet of Gunter Grass in land carve out by glaciers . Now , there are just a couple of places to see them ( besides the stuffed bison named Abigail in the Wamego Historical Museum ) . BothLazy Heart D Ranch , and thePlumlee Buffalo Ranchoffer tour to get up close and personal with the furry natives . Call ahead to reserve a post , and note the best sentence to visit is spring — that ’s when the baby make an appearance .
Time warp? No, just the Wamego Museum.|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
Don’t mind if we do.|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
A master class in being unassuming.|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
The Yellow Brick Road. All sorts of trails in this place.|Photo by Cole Saladino for Thrillist
