National Historic Site among 8 Wonders of Kansas History

The results are in, and after a record-setting number of votes, the Fort Scott National Historic Site is one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas History.

More than 19,000 votes were cast to determine which eight of the 24 finalists would be included. The FSNHS was announced Tuesday morning as one of the top eight.

"It's exciting, it's wonderful, it's an honor," FSNHS Chief Park Ranger Kelly Collins said.

Collins said she first heard the news when Friends of the Fort Scott National Historic Site President Reed Hartford called her early Tuesday morning. After the phone call, she was notified thorough e-mail by the Kansas Sampler Foundation -- the organization hosting the contest.

Hartford and the Friends of the Fort organization nominated the FSNHS as one of the more than 170 nominations from across the state. Hartford said the organization felt the FSNHS deserved to be in the top eight.

"Not only its timing ... before statehood ... but also its role in the expansion of the United State in the 19th century," he said.

Collins added, "[Hartford] and the Friends [of the Fort] were really instrumental in promoting the contest and getting the word out ... We really appreciate their efforts with that."

While both Collins and Hartford agree that the site's inclusion on the 8 Wonders of Kansas History should draw some regional and national attention, it is hard to determine how the visitation numbers will be effected, according to Collins.

"It is very hard to know what the impact is ... but I'm sure it will have a positive impact on our visitation," she said.

The top eight vote-getters included (in alphabetical order): 1930s Dust Bowl to Gas Exploration, Historic Adobe Museum, Ulysses; Boot Hill Museum/Historic Dodge City; Council Grove, Santa Fe Trail National Historic Landmark

Fort Scott National Historic Site, Fort Scott; Historic Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth; Historic Fort Riley, Junction City; Kansas Museum of History, Topeka; and Kanza Tribe & Lewis and Clark's Independence Creek, Atchison.

"We do have some wonderful historic sites in Kansas and we are honored to be among the top eight," Collins said.

Prior to the 8 Wonders of Kansas History voting, the previous record for numbers of vote was for the 8 Wonders of Kansas Cuisine, at 13,863.

"Once again, we had votes from every state in the union as well as from several foreign countries. The increased number of votes means more people learned about Kansas," Kansas Sampler Foundation director Marci Penner said. "The results indicate that voters were most interested in history that dated back prior to statehood. The only entrant in the top 8 with recent history was the 1930s Dust Bowl entry at the Historic Adobe Museum in Ulysses. Then, the Kansas Museum of History rounded out the top 8 with an appreciative nod from voters."

All contest results and information about each of the 8 Wonders can be found at www.8wonders.org.