"Dead House in the Woods"

Clockwise from left to right: "Dead House in the Woods" "Departed Doorway" "Perished Parlor" & "Hell's Kitchen"

A few months ago my wife and I were in North Central Kansas visiting my son. We decided to go for a drive so he could show us some of the countryside when we came across an old farmstead. Naturally we stopped so I could take some source photos for my art. Little did we know that the homestead enveloped such history. 

The original farmstead dugout and barn were built by Enoch Philbrick in 1880. Enoch built the barn as sort of a fortress with gun windows and all, a bit paranoid I would say, the barn was built approximately 15 years after the civil war, and the threat of native american indians had diminished by that time. 

The new house was built and barn remodeled by Anna Bolton around 1901-05. In the years to follow, the barn hosted many area barn dances and community events. The well with tower adjacent the property served as the Mitchell County community well for many years and the Bolton’s rationed water to area residents during the dust bowl due to it being one of the only active sources of clean water.

The farmstead was abandoned in 1959 following the untimely death of Anna Bolton’s husband, due to a fatal accident while installing a neighbor's cistern.
Although there have been at least 3 owners of the property since 1959, the farmstead has stood vacant since Anna Bolton and her family had moved.

The artwork I created from my source photos are now on exhibit at the Manhattan Arts Center in Manhattan, KS. They will be on display and available for purchase thru February 28th. 

I would like to thank the Mitchell County Historical Society & Museum for helping me obtain the history behind the property.  

Rodney L Hoover