Manter Sites

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) spent three years developing a dam and attendant reservoir west of Manter, Kansas that was never completed, also known as the "Stanton County lake." Local farmers had also intended to use overflow waters from the dam for irrigation purposes. The dam was intended to impound the waters of Bear Creek. The project underwent setbacks, including a flood that deposited nine feet of silt into what was supposed to be the lake's bed, and even a laborers' strike, which protested the use of machinery that was reducing the man-hours available for the job. According to Rural Kansas,...

A high school in Manter, Kanas was constructed in 1934-5 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The facility is still in service, part of a greater high school campus. The P.W.A. supplied a $20,623 grant for the project, whose total cost was $73,187. The school building is located at the north end of Main Street, on 5th Avenue. Like other facilities from this era in southwest Kansas, the building features beautiful detailing above entrances and windows featuring local motifs, reflecting the landscape and sunflowers, the state flower. A personal visit in 2018 determined the location of a missing dedication plaque inside one of...