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Mystery Photo Solved: The Jones' Family Outhouse At Tallgrass Prairie

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By Kurt Repanshek - July 1st, 2022

The unique outhouse at Spring Hill Ranch at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve/Kurt Repanshek

Stephen F. Jones in 1878 established the Spring Hill Ranch that today is preserved within Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas. He spent lavishly on his 11-room Second Empire limestone mansion, and since indoor plumbing didn't exist at the time, he saw that a proper outhouse -- one made from limestone -- was built not far from the mansion's back door.

As the National Park Service explains it, the outhouse was pretty unique, as not only did it boast limestone walls, but it was a three-holer, and one of those "holes" was smaller than the other two.

"It is obvious that the Jones' made allowances for their youngest daughter, Loutie, even in the design of the outhouse," a placard explains today.

The placard describing the outhouse/Kurt Repanshek

The outhouse at Spring Hill Ranch/Kurt Repanshek

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