Eskridge, Kansas
Last Sunday, Harland and I took a short daytrip to the Flint Hills. This area of Kansas with its pristine native prairie with blooming wildflowers beckons to us this time every year, we just can’t stay away. So we left from our home in northeast Kansas Sunday morning, and by noon we had reached Eskridge where we stopped for lunch at the Coffee Cup Cafe.
The Coffee Cup is a small-town restaurant with a blue and white tile floor and mis-matched tables and chairs where the all the locals hang out. For everyone who walks in the door, someone yells out, “Hey, how you doin’?” The special that day was a fried chicken dinner with all the trimmings, served buffet style. Harland and I grabbed our plates and loaded them up with homemade fried chicken, REAL mashed potatoes with REAL gravy, and slow-cooked baked beans .
After lunch we waddled out to our truck to continue our journey to the Flint Hills. But first we took a few shots of downtown Eskridge.
This display in front of an empty building caught our eye….
..a bit of small town humor.
But what caught our eye even more was an old red brick bank building built in 1906.
From the grass in the sidewalk and the dirty windows we could tell that the bank was no longer in business. So we peeked in the windows.
OH. MY. WORD. Check out the teller counter…..and the tin stenciled ceiling…and the tile floor.. and the faded, but original wallpaper.
This place is a time capsule. Except for the new heating ductwork hanging from the ceiling there on the left, it looks like no updates/changes have been made whatsoever since the day the bank opened.
Wow…. what a gem.
When I got home I did a little research on the internet and found the building’s 1982 application for admittance to the National Register of Historic Places.
The bank was built by 2 brothers, John and George Waugh in 1906, and was in operation until 1959. As of 1982, the building was still owned by the Waughs with one of them operating a law office out of the old bank area. The application has a wealth of information about the architectural details of the inside and outside of the building, plus a little bit of history about the Waughs and what the bank was like in its heyday.
Well worth a look if you like history. You can read the application for yourself by clicking HERE.
After admiring the old bank, we hopped into our truck to continue our journey into the Flint Hills.
——> Stay tuned for the next episode of our Sunday drive.
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You have found a gem with this bank. I love history and so I went to your link and read the description of the building. Then I had to go back and look at the pictures again. You are right — it is a time capsule of a turn of the last century bank. Thanks so much for posting this. It made my day.
Wow! That bank is so neat! Looks like something right out of the wild west…I can almost picture the dust flying in town as the stage coach pulls in, etc…
I want that chicken! Have a good trip, be safe. Love the bank building, I would love to turn it into a house.
The bank teller stand reminds me of photographs of our tiny hamlet in 1930 before the bank closed. The safe is still there. Enjoyed the trip.
How great that it is all still there! I love old buildings of this era and so many were chopped up. Thanks for sharing.
Redneck windchime indeed! Too funny. Love the old bank building. What a find indeed and your photos are great, even through the window. Thanks for sharing!
I really like your photos of the cafe sign and the inside of that beautiful bank. They are a real time capsule of America! That meal makes me hungry! xx
I don’t love very many old buildings (not my thing!), but I do love that one! Wow, that corner entrance design is awesome, and the whole teller window scene is like walking back in time. I feel badly that it’s just all sitting there deteriorating, though!
I love taking trips with you both and seeing parts of Kansas I otherwise never get to see. Someone told me there was a place in Kansas like the Badlands, withgreat valleys and cliffs. Have you heard of this?
Thanks so much for the pictures. I live in Wagoner, Ok, but my mother grew up in the Eskridge, Ks area. I can remember when my grandmother ran the old central office (telephone office) in Eskridge. Every couple years, I make a visit to Kansas and my cousins and I take a road trip around Eskridge, Dover, Chalk, Keene, Bushong and Council Grove. Not much left in some of those places, but we still like to drive in that area.
Your pictures do bring back some memories. Thanks again
It’s magnificent! What a find…can’t wait to read about the rest of your trip. <3
My grandmother was 4 years old when this was built. It’s beautiful! Hard to believe so much time has gone by…
oh gosh that bank is awsome.. great history
I grew up in Eskridge and walked by this bank everyday. There used to be a post office in the rear of the building until they built a new one. The Waugh FAMILY was strong for the town. Have many friends buried in Eskridge. CEMETERY.
I grew up in Eskridge and remember when the Waugh Bank merged with the Eskridge State Bank. The Eskridge State Bank was operated by the Taylor family, which was also a leading family in it’s time. A few Waughs still live in the oommunity. The City Park in Eskridge, with it’s turn of the century band stand, was donated to the City of Eskridge by the Waughs.