Kansas Ghost Towns Part 12 // Johnson County // Morse, Bonita, Lanesfield
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- The Kansas Ghost Town tour continues in Johnson County, which is in the northeast part of the state. I found all of these towns while exploring The Oregon Trail. Morse has been overrun by the Kansas City suburbs. Bonita is all but gone, except for an awesome general store. And Lanesfield only has one building left, but it's very historic!
T-shirt: Penn's Store (Gravel Switch, KY)
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0:00 Morse
2:22 Bonita
4:02 Lanesfield
Music
Tenderness - Bensound.com
Coming Home - Dan Lebowitz
I majored in History in college and my fascination for it has been with me ever since. I love Kansas and it's history is one of the most interesting of any State in the Union. Outlaws, civil war battles, settlers, many of whom stayed there while others pressed on further West and much more. Thank you for the videos and I hope you make enough money to justify all your time and effort. I'm sure many people appreciate what you're doing.
Thank you! I came to appreciating history a bit later but now and addicted 😂
This is so cool seeing places literally 5 minutes from my house
It's pretty remarkable when you provide old photos of places and buildings (like you did in Bonita and the general store and Lanesfield with the school), and when you track down old towns like Morse and Lanesfield where almost nothing exists from the days when it was created. Great video.
I always love finding those old photos and looking around at all the other things that were next to the building that are gone!
Love that you found that old photo of the Bonita general store so you can see it when it was in operation compared to today. Love seeing the ghosts of the past.
Yeah that was pretty cool! Basically the only thing left!
I drove past Morse and Bonita everyday on the way to work.
Holy crap! Quivira Rd. goes through Morse?... Lived here for 20 years and never heard of it :-)
Haha yeah it used to be the only thing there believe it or not!
There use to be a sign that said “historic Morse village/township” but when they widened Quivira a few years back I don’t think they ever replaced it. Morse village, Morse church… I’m kind of surprised there are people here that didn’t know this. Then again, I’ve lived here over 40 years and I remember when Morse village neighborhood was isolated and there was nothing past Blackmon until you got to 69Hwy which we always called Stanley and people look at me funny when I say Stanley still.
The little bar on the other side of the tracks is a gentleman's club.
Gotcha! Obviously I didn’t take too close of a look haha.
@@TravelwithaWiseguy it's called Bonita Flats. It's been there for over 30 yrs
So cool to see all of these small towns in Kansas! Please keep traveling n show us more!
Thank you very much! That’s my plan! 😊
I live near Johnson County, so I'll have to visit some of these places
Thanks
You definitely picked some great music to go with your videos!
Thank you very much!
I lived in Johnson county for 5 years. I didn't know any of this. There are many other small towns that have been swallowed up by the suburbs.
Interesting that you lived there and wasn’t aware. Same for me in some of the places I grew up. Kind of sad but it is what it is I guess.
This group of Kansas towns held some very interesting history. Buildings were unique as the old general stores in communities were gathering places men folks around the stoves. What tales were told.😊
I bet there were some stories told!! 😊
The old Train Depot at Morse is still standing. It was moved to The Ag Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs.
Thanks for the info!
That depot is from Morris KS along the Santa Fe west of Kansas City, different community
There was a Frisco railroad spur that ran past Bonita to Spring Hill, there should still be tracks
Fun to look for an find old tracks like that!
When you hit the county, might look up Pfeiffer Kansas. It's become a ghost town, but has a church that has been repeatedly voted the most beautiful. The pictures you will find will show why I say the trip is worth it.
Thanks for the suggestion! Always looking for new cool old places 😊
The Ole Grain Mill
Nice video! Love the old building and history. TFS
Saw this yesterday, and today, I found myself about a mile away from Morse. Made a little detour to have a look. I'm certain I've passed those buildings before. Good to know a little more history about the area!
That’s awesome! Always fun to find those little hidden gems!
Nice visit! I see someone listed the old railroad in Morse as the KCC&S, also known as the "Leaky Roof." Another similar community west of Morse was Stanley. The two towns are alike in that you have to look for the small cluster of old stores among the modern buildings swallowing them up!
Thanks again! Leaky Roof is hilarious 😂
I’m so glad I found your video. Every time we drive from 179th to College Blvd on Quivera, I’d tell my husband it used to be a town. The false front buildings tipped me off. I’ve seen similar in Nebraska and Iowa. I tried to find what town it used to be, but I had no luck.
Nice! That whole area used to look way different and it was definitely a small town!
The false front buildings always give the old construction away. They always catch my eye, I’m just drawn to them. I’d love to know if the old feed store in Bonita still has its original wood flooring. If it does, it would have so much character I imagine.
I’m curious about that too. Would be very interesting to see inside!
There might still be people alive who attended that school in Lanefield
I would think so! Beautiful old school building!
Cool towns. Loved the school. Looks in good shape still. I have family in Olathe. I’ll have to visit Morse since it’s so close to there.
Yes the school in Lanesfield is very impressive! It’s easy to miss Morse as it just sits innocently within the surrounding town/city.
Thanks for the info on Morse. Next time I go up that way I’ll have to drive slow so I don’t miss it. Those towns were all neat. Love the meaning of Bonita.
Fun little day trip!
THE TOWN OF MORSE HAD THE KANSAS CITY, CLINTON AND SPRINGFIELD RAILROAD RUNNING THROUGH IT!
THE RAILROAD ORIGINATED AT CEDAR JUNCTION KS , EAST OF DESOTO KS WENT THROUGH OLATHE, THEN TO MORSE.
AFTER MORSE ENTERED MISSOURI AND ENDED IN SPRINGFIELD, MO!
IT WAS LATER SWALLOWED UP BY THE FRISCO, AND SHORTLY LATER ABANDONED!
ADDENDUM!
THE TOWN NEAR LANESFIELD, WAS MC CAMISH!
Thank you!
@@TravelwithaWiseguy LOL YOU WERE RUNNING AROUND MY BACK, FRONT , AND SIDE YARDS!
MY FIRST MEMORIES OF TRAVEL
WAS IN THE STANLEY, STILLWELL,
MORSE, AND BONITA AREA!
MY DAD DELIVERED THE KANSAS CITY TIMES (MORNING) AND THE KANSAS CITY STAR,(EVENING)
NEWSPAPERS.
THIS WAS IN THE LATTER DAYS OF WW2, WITH ALL THE TIRE AND GASOLINE RATIONING!
AT THIS TIME I BECAME” POTTY BROKE” , AND I RODE THIS PAPER DELIVERY ROUTE, QUITE OFTEN!
IT WAS WITH SOME CONCERN ON MY PART AS WHILE DAD DROVE THE ROUTE, HE STEERED OUR
1935 OR 1940 FORD CARS WITH HIS KNEES, WHILE WRAPPING THE PAPERS WITH STRING, RATHER THAN RUBBER BANDS, DUE TO RUBBER RATIONING!
ABOUT A BLOCK WEST OF OLD 69 HIGHWAY AND 179TH STREET,
THERE WAS A NATURAL SPRING
WITH PLENTIFUL WATER WHERE WE WOULD STOP FOR A DRINK!
THIS EARLY DAY TRAVEL WAS NO DOUBT THE BEGINNINGS OF MY OWN WANDERLUST AND TRAVELS!
WISH I HAD KNOWN WHEN YOU WERE CLOSE BY!!
THE TOWN OF MORRIS AND MORSE IS AT TIMES CONFUSED!
THERE IS AN TOWN NAMED MORRIS TO THE NORTH IN WYANDOTTE COUNTY ON THE SANTA FE MAINLINE!
IT WAS PRIMARILY AN LOADING AND UNLOADING FACILITY FOR ANIMALS BEING TRANSPORTED BY RAIL TO THE KANSAS CITY SLAUGHTER HOUSES.
IT WAS ALSO AN ANIMAL “REST STOP” AS THERE WAS AN FEDERAL RULE AGAINST KEEPING ANIMALS ABOARD MORE THAN 28 HOURS!
WHEN DONE AN MINIMUM REST PERIOD WAS 5 HOURS.
THIS ALSO INCLUDES TRUCK TRANSPORT.
Lived in this area all my life, corrupt government ruins lives. It's HELL.
I was gonna tell you that Bonita Flats is a strip club, but you already know that by now. Thanks for the videos.
Yeah a few people have said that! Good to know!
You cover Wilberton?
I have definitely looked into it but haven’t visited yet. I drove near there when I was in the OK panhandle. Looks interesting!
Out of your travels what part of the us do you like best? I like out west but am stuck in NE Texas lol.
I love out west! Every time I go to Arizona I find cool places to visit. But almost the entire west is super interesting for me!
Bonita flats strip club also Tangos strip club across the tracks. I would not call it a restaurant or eat anything they serve if u know what i mean.
We all know what kind of "bar" is there in Bonita!
😂😂
Can you really consider these ghost towns? I mean, they are still lived in, they just has been absorbed into other towns but they aren’t empty. I live a few blocks from the old Morse village.
Ghost town has multiple definitions. It doesn’t always mean totally empty. Sometime it refers to a community that’s a shadow of its former self.
Since when does johnson county have ghost towns.
Here’s a sites listing dozens of them in Johnson County! legendsofkansas.com/johnson-county-extinct-towns/