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LEAVENWORTH, KS (KCTV) — Leavenworth, Kansas is the very first city of Kansas. It’s filled with beautiful landscapes, history, traditions—and ghosts.
Take a tour of the city and you find buildings dating back more than 200 years. Many of the downtown businesses were built on top of a series of tunnels that once connected the town. There were even small shops housed in the underground. Some historians believe at one time, these tunnels were part of the underground railroad. Those tunnels have been mostly filled in, but some believe there’s still plenty of activity surrounding the tunnels.
Renee Lemons owns Karma Cakes Bakery. She is often working very early in the morning and sometimes, things get exciting.
“It sounds like people are actually there at night,” said Lemons. “You hear a bang, some dragging, or footsteps.”
Even older than the city is the original Fort Leavenworth.
“Fort Leavenworth was established to protect the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail and other trails in the area,” said Jeffrey Wingo, Director of Public Affairs at Fort Leavenworth. “We’re very proud of the fact that we have this rich history here.”
The oldest continuously occupied house in the state of Kansas is on the base. The first territorial governor of Kansas, Andrew Reeder, lived in the house. As did General Douglas MacArthur. Military families still live in the house and seem unconcerned about “who” might be sharing the house with them—despite the stories of hauntings.
“As you can imagine, a ghost story adds some flavor and character to a home,” said Wingo. Right now, Fort Leavenworth is temporarily closed to the public because of the coronavirus but, “When we’re open for business, I encourage the public to come up here and see these sites.”
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