Buried Loot
Ralph Fleagle, who was part of the infamous bank-robbing Fleagle Gang buried loot in Kansas. Legend has it that a cache of $100,000 is buried on Ralph Fleagle’s Ranch and has yet to be found.
A Really Big Pool
Garden City Kansas was once home to the world’s largest hand dug swimming pool. Conceived in 1921 by Garden City mayor H. O. Trinkle, the pool was larger than a football field and had a surface area of 72,600 square feet. It could hold 2.6 million gallons of water. Initially, Garden City citizens were concerned over the cost of construction. To remedy this, the pool was turned into a hometown project, with every resident encouraged to contribute labor, money, or building materials. Thus, the Big Pool was dug and lined with concrete by the people of Garden City. On its dedication ceremony on July 18, 1922, hundreds of people dove into the water in unison to inaugurate Garden City’s first summer swim season. The Big Pool was truly one-of-a-kind; on various occasions, elephants from the neighboring zoo in Finnup Park played and swam in the pool and boats pulled water skiers across the immense water surface.
The Local Zoo Initially Had Just Two Skunks
Construction of the zoo started on April 25, 1927, by the city and the local chapter of the Izaak Walton League, with two skunks brought in by Lee Richardson, who was Chief of Police and Park and founder and Zoo Superintendent at the time, The zoo was formally named for Lee Richardson in 1950, just a year before he died.
Joe Exotic (Tiger King)
Joe Exotic (Tiger King) was born Joseph Allen Schreibvogel in Garden City, Kansas, on March 5, 1963, to parents Francis and Shirley Schreibvogel. The Schreibvogels had four other children: Tamara, Pamela, Yarri, and Garold “G.W.” Wayne.
First Standup Waterslide
Garden Rapids is home to a 50-Meter competition pool featuring the nation’s first SlipStream Standup Waterslide and two of the first municipally-owned FlyTyme Launch Slides, alongside other body and tube slides, a leisure pool with a large lazy river and interactive play structure, and a separate toddler wading pool and splash ground.
Golf is Our Jam ⛳️
Inside Golf rated the 30 best municipal golf courses in America and Buffalo Dunes was ranked number 8. It was also ranked number 2 on Golfweek’s Best Courses.
… As Are Bison 🦬
Sandsage Bison Range Wildlife Area preserves 3,760 acres of remnant Sandsage Prairie and is also home to the oldest publicly owned bison herd in Kansas. Bison have been a part of this unique property since the 1920’s.
Finney County Wasn’t Always Finney County
Finney County was organized on 10/01/1884 by William and James Fulton, John Stevens and Charles Jones. Originally named “Sequoyah” the county was later changed to honor Kansas Lieutenant Governor Finney of Woodson County.
Capote’s True Crime Masterpiece
In Cold Blood, is a nonfiction novel by American writer Truman Capote that tells the story of the Clutter Murders. The Clutters lived in Finney County. It was first published as a four-part series in The New Yorker, beginning with the September 25, 1965, issue. The piece was an immediate sensation, particularly in Kansas, where the usual number of New York copies sold out immediately. It was later turned into a book and published in 1966.
If You Thought Your Cat’s Hairballs Were Bad…
Garden City is home to the world’s largest hairball found in a cow’s stomach. Removed from the stomach of a cow that was processed in a nearby packing house, this mammoth trichobezoar was nearly 40 inches in circumference and was said to have weighed 55 pounds when first removed. Though smaller and drier now, it’s still a very impressive sight. Visitors of the Finney County Historical Society are free to lightly touch the ball (it feels like a velvet basketball) but signage politely reminds them not to pick it up.
