The site has grown smaller and smaller over the years as parts and pieces have been sold, mostly to satisfy outstanding tax burdens. Today this location is an amazing collection of buildings, along with a large botanical garden. We were greeted by this lovely Hibiscus flower at the entrance.
Then we wandered into the historical section, where an old wooden windmill slowly creaked in a gentle breeze.
From there into the general store, which has been restored with original shelving and fixtures. Where once tobacco, sugar, and flour filled the shelves, now artifacts from the period are on display. The docent, a gentle and humorous lady of eighty-three years kept us interested as we toured the store.
The Ward and Meade families were wealthy for the time, providing much needed supplies, repairs, and services to the many travelers on the Oregon Trail. The Ward family began life in the area in a log cabin, having returned to the area from a disappointing journey to Oregon. Eventually, through hard work, luck, and a good business sense, they were able to build "The Mansion".
As time passed, the mansion passed to the Meade family through marriage. The Meade's were quite the socialites, and virtually created the social scene in what was by now a very young town of Topeka.
The Botanical Garden is located just adjacent to the mansion.
We were greeted by a profusion of flowers and trees, well kept, but just reaching the end of their season, it being nearly the end of August in the midwest.
Several Koi Ponds dot the garden. Mary checked out the largest pond, a series of three smaller ponds interconnected, and of course, inhabited by colorful fish.
After enjoying a wonderful tour of the historical buildings that have been collected here, we stopped for a glass of refreshment in the Drug Store. Back in the day, medicines were ofttimes hard to swallow, particularly for children, so a drink was prepared that incorporated large amounts of sugar, soda water, and lemon lime flavoring to mask the taste. We all thought that it was wonderful, even if it didn't have any medicine in it!
On the way back to the rv park, we stopped for lunch at a pizza parlor voted number one in the city for years running. The reputation was deserved! A vegetarian pizza fit the lunch bill precisely, and even left us with enough for lunch tomorrow!
We've thoroughly enjoyed our short stay in Topeka, at the Deer Creek Valley RV Park. The park was built by the owner of a large road construction firm, and it definitely shows in the workmanship. Concrete roads and sites, with well kept grass lawns between widely spaced sites; all surrounded by woodlands kept at bay by a brown colored chain link fence and late night gates. While the cell signal on the ATT network is shaky, and the wifi definitely slows when a large number of people are using it, the overall impression of the park is five star! We will miss it as we continue on our journey.
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