Historic Downtown Fort Scott Walking Tour

Historic Downtown Fort Scott Walking Tour has many great places to experience!

TREMONT HOTEL / SLEEP INN

The Tremont Hotel closed its doors in 1910, and was later torn down. Now, more than 100 years later a new hotel stands in its place with a new trolley out front. Sadly not every piece of history can be saved, but in Fort Scott we continue to honor our past while embracing our future.

FORT SCOTT BRICKS

At the turn of the twentieth century, Fort Scott was home to three brick factories. These businesses produced 10,000 bricks weekly. Fort Scott bricks were used in the construction of the Indianapolis Speedway, the Panama Canal and many roads in Kansas, Missouri and Texas. Today you can see these bricks in over 14 miles of our city streets and many of our beautiful homes.

THE MO, KS & TX RAILROAD FREIGHT DEPOT

After the Civil War, Fort Scott was a premier city of the frontier, and one of the largest cities in eastern Kansas. On three different occasions, between 1870 and 1900, Fort Scott was in competition with Kansas City to become the largest railroad center west of the Mississippi. This is Fort Scott’s last remaining depot, originally built in 1870 near the Marmaton River, it was later moved from the floodplain to its current location in 1997.

THE COURTLAND HOTEL & SPA

The Ohio Block/Hornaday-Howard Building was a former railroad hotel, turned historic inn, built in 1906. The original owner of the hotel placed a schooner ship on the roof after he fell in love with it during the annual Christmas Parade. Though the ship was eventually removed, the hotel still offers all the charm of the early 1900s.

LIBERTY THEATRE

The theatre once occupied what was originally built as a commercial structure,. In 1919 it opened for its first show as a single screen theater with a balcony. The Liberty has now been fully restored and is used for live entertainment and special events.

THE LOWELL MILKEN CENTER FOR UNSUNG HEROES

In 2005 a fire blazed through our historic downtown, destroying several century-old buildings. The Lowell Milken Center, which was previously located across the street was looking for a new facility, and this site became the perfect location for the growing museum. Now, more than 10 years later, people from all 50 states and 96 foreign countries have visited the Hall of Unsung Heroes.

 

Check out more of the Historic Downtown Walking Tour!