Woolbert's Stockade Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Woolbert's Stockade Hotel |
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|---|---|
| Washington, Kansas. | |
| Coordinates | 39°48′58″N 97°03′04″W / 39.8162°N 97.0510°W |
| Type | fortified structure used as a community place of refuge |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | E. Woolbert, Sr. |
| Site history | |
| Built | September 1860 |
| In use | 1860 to ca. 1865 |
| Materials | wood |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
E. Woolbert, Sr. |
Imagine a building that was both a hotel and a fort! That's exactly what Woolbert's Stockade Hotel was in the early days of Washington, Kansas. Built in 1860, it offered a safe place for settlers. It also served as the town's first hotel and even its post office.
Building a Safe Place
In the spring of 1860, a group called the Washington Town Company started the town of Washington, Kansas. They built a log cabin to be their main office. This cabin was known as the Washington Company House. Its logs stood upright, making it look like a stockade, which is a fence made of strong posts. This design helped protect people when there were conflicts with Native American groups who didn't want settlers moving into their lands.
Later that year, in September 1860, one of the town's founders, E. Woolbert, Sr., built a second stockade building. This new building was named Woolbert's Stockade Hotel. It was also designed to be a safe place during times of trouble. Its walls were built in the same stockade style and were six inches thick!
Life at the Stockade Hotel
Besides being a strong fort, Woolbert's Stockade Hotel was very important to the new town. It was Washington's very first hotel, offering a place for travelers to stay. It also served as the town's post office, where people could send and receive letters.
The stockade buildings might have been used for protection around 1864 or 1865. In the summer of 1864, some settlers living between Washington and Clay Center, Kansas left their homes. They found safety in a fort made of wagons in Clay Center. During this time, some Native American groups were active in the area. However, the town of Washington itself was not abandoned. The people in Washington County and two other counties asked the military for help. No soldiers were sent, but the military did provide some guns and ammunition for defense.
The Hotel's Later Years
The Stockade Hotel's time as a hotel and post office likely ended in 1865. That's when Mr. Woolbert sold the building. In 1868, the building was sold again, this time to the county government. It became the Washington County Courthouse and was called the Old Stockade Courthouse.
However, its time as a courthouse was short. On March 31, 1870, the building caught fire and burned down. All the county records inside were lost. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
