Ellinwood Underground Tour

Ellinwood, Kansas

For a bit of weird and unusual in Kansas try the Ellinwood Underground Tour.

Eons ago, well, maybe not eons, but close, there were tunnels running beneath the sidewalks of the two-block Ellinwood business district. Two blocks was kind of a small business district so as the town expanded they went down to the basements. Shops thrived down there, especially during prohibition. At one time there were 11 saloons in the underground! That’s a lot of bars in such a small space!

Tunnels connected the shops and there was even a tunnel under Main Street so the ladies could cross without wading through the mud.

Pretty handy!

By the 1940s, folks were leaving Ellinwood for greener pastures. The underground businesses closed up. Walls were put up in the walkways, separating the buildings.

Forty years later the tunnels were rediscovered by a woman when she inherited the Dick building. (That's it to the left.)

When she was little, she wasn’t allowed down in the basement - the Ellinwood underground was off limits! But now she’s older she can do what she wants. She can go down into that forbidden realm and do some major exploring.

Imagine her absolute delight when she found some of the shops still had all their stuff in them, like the barbershop to the right.

She was in exploring heaven! And she decided to share the tunnels with other people.

Then along came the city and decided to replace the sidewalks in 1982. They filled most of the tunnels with sand.

So sad.

All those wonderful underground tunnels disappeared.

But do not despair. Three sections were kept open. One of these sections is open to tours.

Yes!

You can tour the old shops beneath the Dick building which housed a harness maker, barber and bathhouse. And, yep, these businesses were some of the ones who conveniently left their furnishings behind when they closed up shop.

And be sure to check out the bullet holes in wall of the barbershop!

So go on, go underground in Kansas. After all, if a tornado hits right then you’re sure to be safe in the tunnels!

The Ellinwood Underground guided tour lasts 1 hour. Tours are open daily 10-4 during the week and on Sunday from 12-4. Ages 9 and under - $2.00, 10+ and adults - $5.00. Tours depart from the antique store in the old Wolf Hotel (which, by the way is haunted - ask the tour guide about the ghosts).

Photos courtesy kansastravel.org.

The Wolf Hotel (above)is at the N.W. corner of Main & Santa Fe, U.S. 56 at the stoplight. For more information call 620-564-2400.

Here's another underground tour of a town beneath the streets.

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