Goodnow House State Historic Site

Glimpse into the life of Isaac Goodnow, a leader in the free-state movement and one of the founders of the town of Manhattan. He later established the college, Bluemont College, which became Kansas State University. A prominent farmer and successful businessman, Goodnow and his wife, Ellen, built this unique stone farmhouse in the 1860s. Isaac and Ellen's interest in education and nature is reflected in the hundreds of objects they collected. This location is part of the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. Extraordinary events in Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area forever changed America. In the nineteenth century, the nation turned its eyes to the Missouri-Kansas border, where peoples with diverse definitions of freedom collided, inciting and fueling a Civil War. The impact of these events is forever woven into the nation’s fabric. The heritage area focuses on three main themes: Shaping the Frontier, Kansas/Missouri Border War and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom. Learn more here.