The History of Konza Prairie
Konza Prairie was founded in 1971 under the leadership of Professor Lloyd C. Hulbert of Kansas State University, after years of dedicated efforts to establish a field station for ecological research in the tallgrass prairie region. Several adjoining tracts, including the 2,923 hectare historic Dewey Ranch were purchased between 1971 and 1979. The station lands were purchased for Kansas State University by The Nature Conservancy with funds provided by Katharine Ordway.
The site was originally named Konza Prairie Research Natural Area in recognition of the Kansa or Kaw people, a Native American tribe that once inhabited the region. The large limestone ranch house and barn built in the early 1900s for the Dewey Ranch were renovated in 1996 and 2008, respectively and now serve as the station headquarters. The site was re-named Konza Prairie Biological Station in 2000.
For a more in depth history see the following links.
- The History of Konza, written by Lloyd Hulbert (founder and first director of Konza)
- History of the Land - Dewey Ranch and Hokanson Homestead
- More historic photos
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| Before and after photos of the two main buildings on the homestead. The Old Barn (left) was renovated in 2008 into the Konza Meeting Hall with the Cortelyou Lecture Hall and the Ranch House (right) was renovated into the Hulbert Center in 1997. |
