CATO CELEBRATES ITS PIONEER HISTORY WITH CATO DAYS
The annual Cato Days will be presented by the Cato Historical Preservation Association on Saturday, October 26th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.
The annual Cato Days will be held on Saturday, October 26th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Cato, Kansas. This free event is presented by the Cato Historical Preservation Association to promote Cato’s pioneer history, and starts with registration at 9 a.m. This will be followed at 9:30 by music, and history presented by Matt Wells in the historic Cato Christian Church. At 10:45, in the “Old Stone School,” Anna Portwood Swank, Elizabeth Portwood Thompson, and Jamie Thompson will talk about the school, followed by Jerry Lomshek who will discuss Cato’s early history, and its involvement in Bleeding Kansas, and the Civil War. Musical entertainment will be presented outdoors at 12 noon, when drinks and “Cowboy Stew,” cooked by Shawn Pryer and friends, will be available. Shawn will demonstrate chuck wagon and Dutch oven cooking. At 12:45 there will be a raffle for a beautiful quilt donated by longtime member, Sue James of Texas. The highlight of the event begins at 1 p.m. with a hayrack wagon ride, led by Joe Bournoville, to various local historical sites. The ride will visit the site of the Buckhorn Tavern, a popular stop on the stage coach line from Fort Scott, the Coonrod Cemetery, which is the resting place of many Cato area pioneers, and finally, the site of the birthplace of Elisha Black, Jr., the first baby born to settlers in Crawford County. The hayrack ride, and Cato Days ends at 3 p.m. All times are approximate.
Booklets about the history of Cato, and the newly released booklet about the Cherokee Neutral Land (present day Crawford and Cherokee Counties) will be available for sale. The Cato Store will also be selling other Cato-related merchandise, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and more. All proceeds from the quilt raffle, “Cowboy Stew,” booklets, and merchandise go to the preservation of Cato’s historic buildings, and for history related educational activities. Local fourth and fifth graders will have their own Cato Day on Thursday, October 24th.
Cato is in the northern part of Crawford County off Hwy 69. From Hwy 69, turn west on 720th Avenue, and follow the signs to Cato. Directions can be found at http://catoschool.com/ . The Cato Historical Preservation Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the buildings, and history of Cato, and the surrounding areas. These buildings include the “Old Stone School,” built in 1869, the Cato Christian Church, built in 1915, and a full-sized replica of a cabin the early settlers would have used in the 1860s. A stone bridge, part of the “Old Wagon Road,” can also be seen on the property. Cato is an open-air museum and its buildings are only open to the public a few times a year, so don’t miss this unique opportunity to spend an afternoon of entertainment and enlightenment in historic Cato.
The Cato Historical Preservation Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the buildings and past of Cato, and surrounding areas.