Kirk's Smoky Hill River Bottom

Farm Description

Kirk's Smoky Hill River Bottom is a great dryland farm with tremendous hunting opportunities.

The property has the Smoky Hill River brushing its northwest corner and has Oak Creek running through it from the north to the south just before entering the Smoky Hill River.

White Tailed deer and Rio Grande turkeys are definitely abundant on this property.

If you are looking for a great little hunting property with income, this one's for you.

Land

78 total acres more or less with 68 acres more or less deeded.

68 acres tillable, with the remainder in trees and stream.

Improvements

There are some remnants of an old homesite on the property.

Recreation

Kirk's Smoky Hill River Bottom offers tremendous recreational and hunting opportunities.

White-Tailed deer and Rio Grande turkeys are in abundance on this property as well as the chance to hunt upland birds, dove, waterfowl, varmints and small game.

The river and treed creek bottoms along with the cropland create the perfect habitat for a wide variety of wildlife on this property.

Agriculture

The highly productive tillable acres are generally planted to wheat, corn or soybeans.

The farmland is currently under a crop share lease with the tenant.

Water/Mineral Rights & Natural Resources

All if any appurtenant water rights associated with this property will transfer to the Buyer at Closing.

All if any mineral rights currently owned by the Seller on this property will transfer to the Buyer at Closing.

General Operations

This is a typical dryland farm with tremendous hunting potential.

Region & Climate

Weather Highlights

Summer High the July high is around 92 degrees

Winter Low the January low is 18

Rain averages 28 inches of rain a year

Snow averages 16 inches of snow a year

Ellsworth, KS has a mild climate with warm summers and cold winters. The average temperature in the summer months is around 77 degrees Fahrenheit while in the winter it can dip down to an average of 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Precipitation in Ellsworth, KS is moderate with most of it coming from rain and snowfall during the colder months. On average, there are approximately 53 inches of precipitation annually, making it ideal for those who enjoy outdoor activities year-round.

Ellsworth, Kansas gets 28 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year.

Ellsworth averages 16 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

On average, there are 229 sunny days per year in Ellsworth. The US average is 205 sunny days.

Ellsworth gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 71 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least.01 inches on the ground to measure.

Information from is a city in and the county seat of Ellsworth County, Kansas. Known as a cow town in the 1870S, when the Kansas Pacific Railroad operated a stockyard here for shipping cattle to eastern markets, today it serves as the trading center of the rural county.

Once called The Wickedest Cattletown in Kansas, the city is named for Fort Ellsworth, which was built in 1864. Due to speculation on imminent railroad construction, the population of Ellsworth boomed to over two thousand by the time it was incorporated in 1867. It has since been said, Abilene, the first, Dodge City, the last, but Ellsworth the wickedest.

Ellsworth was a bustling cattle town for a time during the late 1860S, when the Kansas Pacific Railroad had a stop and stockyards there. Cattle were driven up from Texas to this point and then shipped to major markets. Often cowboys had the run of the town. In 1875 Kansas Pacific closed its cattle pens, moving to another location. The cattle trade dwindled to almost nothing by the mid-1880s.

During the late 1860S into the 1870S, Ellsworth was known for being one of the wickedest cattle towns, the scene of numerous killings following shootouts between drunken cowboys. The town sported numerous saloons, brothels and gambling halls, with prostitution being rampant. 6 Wild Bill Hickok ran for Ellsworth County Sheriff in 1868 but was defeated by veteran Union Army soldier E. W. Kingsbury. Kingsbury was an effective lawman, but relied on local marshals to patrol the town, as he also had to police the county. Violence in Ellsworth was commonplace among the cowboys and people associated with them. 7 Ellsworth marshal Will Semans was shot and killed on September 26, 1869, while attempting to disarm a rowdy man in a dance hall. For a time during this period, two small-time outlaws known only as Craig and Johnson began bullying people around the community, often committing armed robbery. After Semans' murder, they operated openly. Before long, citizens formed a vigilance squad and captured both men, hanging them in a lynching near the Smoky Hill River. Chauncey Whitney, 9 a deputy to Kingsbury, took over following Sheriff Kingsbury's departure. Whitney quickly gained a reputation as being both tough and respectable and was well liked. The scale of business is shown by construction of the Drovers Cottage in 1872. It could accommodate 175 guests, and stable 50 carriages and 100 horses.

Lawman Wyatt Earp claimed to have served in Ellsworth for a short time. He also later claimed to have arrested gunman Ben Thompson there. But Thompson was arrested by Deputy Ed Hogue after his brother Billy Thompson accidentally shot and killed Ellsworth County Sheriff Chauncey Whitney in 1873, Billy Thompson fled, fearing that he would be lynched for the death of the popular sheriff. Thompson was eventually captured and put on trial but was acquitted in the shooting. Sheriff Whitney, a friend to both Thompsons, had told bystanders before his death that the shooting was an accident.

By the late 1870S the crime rate had dropped dramatically, as fewer cowboys came through after Kansas Pacific closed its stockyard here. Cattle drives were directed to other market cities, such as Dodge City. Ellsworth suffered economically.

Information from Smoky Hill River Bottom is located practically in the center of Kansas, 1.5 miles southeast of Ellsworth just off of paved road Avenue L.

Ellsworth is 1 hour east of Hays and 40 minutes west of Salina. and only a short 15 minute drive south of Interstate I-70