LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Every city, big or small, wants to tell people about the new and exciting things offered there so visitors will come and spend money.
But there are some cities that have enough history to sell, and they want you to know about that, too.
Leavenworth, the "first city in Kansas," is one of those cities.
During the KSHB 41 Let's Talk session in Leavenworth earlier this month, I had multiple people tell me about the Historic Wayside Tour, which highlights some of the city's most noteworthy moments.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Taylor Hemness
There are multiple kiosks in and around downtown, where visitors can scan a QR code to gain access to an audio guide about that particular location.
One stop details former President Abraham Lincoln's visit to Leavenworth before he took office.
"Stockton Hall was a public house, and so on the second floor was a meeting room, but they also had a theater in there," Mayor Holly Pittman told me. "A lot of traveling theater groups at the time would come in. But in December of 1859, Lincoln came and spoke there."
But it's another visit to the same building that makes this spot even more interesting.
"Four years later, almost to the date, John Wilkes Booth was in a theatrical touring booth [and] he performed there," Pittman said.
Booth fatally shot Lincoln in Washington, D.C. in April 1865.
Other notable locations on the tour share information about reformer and activist Susan B. Anthony and famous western showman Buffalo Bill Cody.
"We really outfitted the West," Pittman said. "So people would come here as a stopping point before they would go on to Colorado for the gold rush, or keep going on to California. So we were a huge stopping point here and a thriving community."
One of the main goals of the tour is to provide easy access to Leavenworth's history.
"We want to make it easier for people when they come to town and they want to learn about Leavenworth and the history," John Hutchinson told me.
Hutchinson is the executive director of the Richard Allen Cultural Center and Museum.
"[They can] take their phone and not just look at a picture but scan the QR code, and actually hear it, hear a voice, and be a part of it," he said.
There are 13 stops on the walking tour. There is an additional driving tour for those interested.
The tour is free, and you can find more information here.
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