Leah Sommerhoff to present “Turtle Tales on the Trail”
[Wellington, Kansas] – Sumner County Historical & Genealogical Society in Wellington, Kansas will host “Turtle Tales on the Trail ” presented by Leah Sommerhoff, Caldwell, on Monday, March 17th at 6:30 p.m., Cowley College, Short General Education Center, Room 113, 2208 Davis-White Loop, Wellington.
This program is free and open to the public; programs are subject to weather cancellation.
For more information, visit www.ksschgs.com or contact the SCHGS at 620-440-4245 on Tuesdays from 10 – 4. After hours: Jane at 620-447-3266; Sherry at 316-833-6161.
From the late 1860’s to the middle 1880’s, Caldwell was a favorite stop along the Chisholm Trail for cowboys on the cattle drives. At the time, the town was well known for being a rough and rowdy Cowtown where sheriffs led short lives and in one instance, joined the bad guys to rob a bank.
In 1893, not long after the cattle drive era, Caldwell was one of the starting points along the Kansas/Oklahoma border for the Cherokee Strip Land Run when the Oklahoma Territory was opened for homesteaders to stake land claims.
The Chisholm Trail was the “turnpike” of those times, and cattle drives were not the only travelers along the trail; Native Americans, settlers, soldiers, stagecoaches, and outlaws all traversed the trail.
In 1985, not quite one hundred years later, Larry Miller and his sixth-grade class put Caldwell on the map for a whole new project when they campaigned to have the ornate box turtle named the state reptile of Kansas.
In the wild, ornate box turtles typically live from 25-30 years and are often found around creeks or ponds. The female turtles dig their nests in loamy or sandy soil, lay their eggs, and after seventy to eighty days, the eggs hatch.
The sixth grader’s project gained support, and on April 14th, 1986, Kansas’ Governor Carlin came to their school and signed the bill that made the box turtle the Kansas state reptile, and during Homecoming in the fall of 1986, the Mayor of Caldwell signed the proclamation that Caldwell would be known as the “Ornate Box Turtle Capital of the World.”
The ornate box turtle is currently listed as threatened in Illinois, and is protected in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin. And, as of October 2022, it is also the state reptile of Nebraska.
Caldwell celebrates its cattle drive history the first full weekend in May with Caldwell’s Chisholm Trail Festival, https://www.facebook.com/caldwellchisholmtrailfest/. The 2025 Chisholm Trail Festival, May 2nd and 3rd will feature a cattle drive on Saturday, May 3rd and a Music Fest that evening.
Caldwell is also celebrating its unique designation as the Ornate Box Turtle Capitol of the World with twelve uniquely designed and painted turtle statues to be placed in and around Caldwell.
Sommerhoff said that the Lindsborg art structures that include the Wild Dala Horse Herd served as inspiration for their idea to place turtle statues in and around Caldwell.
“We decided to go with what sets Caldwell apart,” Sommerhoff said, “Caldwell is the only ornate box turtle capital of the world, so we thought ‘why don’t we do turtles on our main street.’”
Sommerhoff applied for and received a $10,000 grant through the arts commission, and that money was used to have the twelve turtles made. Then she and Brooke Cink drove to Gibbons, Nebraska, filled up their two cars with the twelve white fiberglass statues, and brought them back to their new home in Caldwell.
According to Sommerhoff the turtles are a fiberglass composite, with a hollow body, and are approximately two feet tall by about three feet wide, and weigh about forty pounds each.
“My office has been full of these turtles,” Sommerhoff said, adding that these turtles are tough; her kids have climbed all over them and adults have sat on them, and after they are painted, Tim Webster sprays them with a clear coat to protect them from the weather.
“We did a call for designs,” Sommerhoff said, “and we received more than fifty designs, created by both children and adults.”
“No two turtles are painted alike,” Sommerhoff said, adding that each winning artist donated their time to paint their winning design on a turtle and were also given the option to name their turtle.
Sommerhoff said that four of Brooke Cink’s designs won and will be featured on the turtles, and Nelson P. Nelson, Wellington, designed one of the turtle designs with the school’s South Sumner Outlaw logo design.
To tie Caldwell’s unique history together, a local family created the image of a cowboy riding a turtle that is currently being used on t-shirts, cozies, and other memorabilia.
Soon, a brochure with a map detailing the turtles’ locations will be available at local businesses and at the Rails, Trails and Scales Visitors Center at the corner of Central and Arapahoe.
“We have seven that are completed,” Sommerhoff said, “they have brackets on their feet so they can be permanently installed in place. Three were installed on Thursday, March 6th, and one is located just outside of the city hall.”
“We hope to put the rest of the turtles in place before the Chisholm Trail Festival,” Sommerhoff said, “and we hope to add more turtles down the road.”
“It’s been a really fun project.” Sommerhoff said.
