Churches Tour

Some time ago I ran across this web site while perusing Facebook (http://kansastravel.org/littlestrangerchurch.htm). This Little Stranger Church and Cemetery is located in rural Leavenworth, KS. The web site had a link to another web site featuring beautiful and historic churches in Kansas (http://kansastravel.org/kansaschurches.htm). Four of them were in Leavenworth and Atchison. Chris and I decided to make a day trip of visiting these churches.

 We left home at 8:40 AM under sunny skies with a temperature of 73 degrees, a great top-down morning. We drove north on I-435 to Hwy 5, which took us north and west to Leavenworth. Our first stop was at the Little Stranger Church and Cemetery in rural Leavenworth, KS. (My Nikon shot craps so all photos today were captured with my iPhone.)

It is believed to be the oldest wood frame house of worship remaining in the state of Kansas. The first service was held on May 12, 1868. The church was active for 50 years before closing durning the global flu pandemic of 1919. The cemetery holds graves from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Our next stop was the Chapel of Veterans located on the grounds of the V.A. Medical Center in Leavenworth, KS. Due to COVID-19 the site was closed but we were able to get a photo of the church, which was built in 1893. That's Chris standing on the steps.

From Leavenworth we motored north towards Atchison, KS on Hwy 7 (73).  St. Patrick's Catholic Church has an Atchison address but is located about 5 miles south at 19384 234th Road. It is a beautiful stone church located on a hill with views east and west. The parish was established in 1859. An early wood frame church was destroyed by a tornado and this church was built in 1865.

The last two churches were located on the grounds of Benedictine College in Atchison, KS.  We parked near St. Benedict's Abbey and walked around the beautiful campus and to St. Benedict's Catholic Church.
St. Benedict's Abbey
St. Benedict's Catholic Church

 This was the only church we found open so I was able to capture a photo of the interior.

Benedictine College is a hilly campus so we were hot and sweaty when we returned to our car. The top went up and the air conditioner was turned on. We took Hwy 59 east across the Missouri River into Missouri and caught Hwy 45 southbound. At I-435 we drove south back to Shawnee, KS.

It was a great trip covering 130 miles. The car showed a high temperature of 90.

 To see all the photos taken today click on this link: PHOTOS

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