Places to Bed Down for the Night

Ira E. Lloyd House Bed and Breakfast
Dennis and Clovia Katzenmeier, owners
1575 Ave. JJ
785.472.5100


Photo by Peg Britton

To get to the house, drive east on 8th St. past the new cemetery, cross over highway 156 continuing east until you come to the big two-story white house on the left. It's about a mile from downtown Ellsworth.

This bed and breakfast was built in the 1800s by one of the town's outstanding citizens, attorney and state senator Ira E. Lloyd. The historic three-story Victorian Colonial Revival home offers a relaxing atmosphere on a country estate that is quiet and inviting. It is best described as a home stay bed and breakfast. Their spectacular Christmas light display can be seen from Highway 156.

The home is furnished with 1800s antiques and is a true step back in time. There are three bedrooms, one with a private bath, the other two with shared bath. You can relax by the fireplace or listen to water flowing from indoor fountains. Clovia serves a complete country breakfast to guests.

Ellsworth is on the Chisholm Trail and Dennis is president of the National Chisholm Trail Association. He runs cattle and is an active cowboy, involved in local tourism and cowboy associations. Clovia is an ordained minister of spiritual healers and earth stewards. She is also a certified mediator. Together they produce and distribute Kayla's Cards nationwide and participate in other home based endeavors.

The historic Das Borell Haus, built in the late 1800s, has 5 bedrooms with private baths, a social game room with big screen TV, and patio areas with barbeque. The stone house has been completely restored and remodeled with respect for the original integrity of the structure. Wilson's original water tower that served some of its first citizens has been restored and once again is a gathering place for card games as it was in its earliest days. There is also a well-stocked bar in the small but cozy, octagon-shaped tower. The property also includes a smoke house, summer kitchen, gardens and orchard. There are porches and patios to accommodate those who smoke. In consideration of other guests, they are not able to accommodate young children.

At Das Borell Haus you'll enjoy a full breakfast each morning with selections of pastries, casseroles, quiche and kolaches, a Czech fruit filled favorite. All their food is homemade. Tea and cookies are served every afternoon at 4:00.

Wilson is known as the "Czech Capital of Kansas" and the host city of the After Harvest Czech Festival which draws thousands of people for a full slate of activities the last weekend of July, always. If you care to stay in the Das Borell Haus and participate in the town's annual festival, make your reservations early. They are usually booked up two to three years in advance for special events and holidays.

Stone Cottage Farm Bed and Breakfast is a beautifully restored historic farmhouse nestled in the gently rolling hills surrounding Wilson Lake in the heart of Post Rock Country. Build in 1895, the home offers guests three bedrooms and two baths with spacious living and dining rooms furnished throughout with beautiful antiques. There are two porches that offer places to enjoy the restful views of the Kansas hills.

For guests looking for a more rustic setting, they have converted an old granary into a cabin that will sleep four. It offers a kitchenette, shower, sitting area and loft. It's an ideal get-away for hunters, fishermen or additional B n B guests.


This is a working ranch where small groups of 4 people or less can become involved in cattle work, haymaking, cattle roundups, horse back riding, target shooting and other types of ranch work. They offer trail rides on horseback with overnight camp outs. Hunting, fishing, boating, biking and hiking are available at nearby Wilson Lake.

Facilities are planned to accommodate larger groups for reunions, receptions, meetings and conferences. Smoking and drinking are not allowed. Guests may bring only outdoor pets.

Photos by Peg Britton

The Sportsmen's Lodge has great facilities for a group of hunters, a klatch of sorority sisters, or a small, intimate family reunion. Dr. Dennis Kepka, Jennifer's husband, made all the double beds and dressers in the dormitory-style room which is appropriate and available for only one large group at a time. In addition there are two bathrooms, a kitchen and sitting area. The living room has two sofa beds. There is a private entrance, garage and kennel for dogs. Jennifer has a gift shop in the same building that faces on Wilson's main street downtown. The Wilson Recreation Center and Al's Bar and Grill both are within walking distance and serve good food.

The only motel in town is clean, well-managed and reasonably priced. Connie, originally from Ellsworth, was in the hotel/motel business for a number of years in Hutchinson before she and her husband bought this motel.

There are 37 rooms, exercise equipment, indoor pool and spa. Continental breakfast includes rolls, cereal, fruit and beverages. The motel is situated well for an evening walk through the east side of Ellsworth's residential area.

Close by you'll find a Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen and Ampride where fresh sandwiches are made while you wait. In down town Ellsworth you'll find Paden's Place Restaurant and Gambino's offering a bite to eat. If you want to drive to Kanopolis, four miles to the east, Orozco's Portales Restaurant serves up a great Mexican breakfast and the usual taco fare, plus burgers at other times.

The hotel no longer stands at the corner of Douglas and south Main, but once it was the gathering place for guests to enjoy the greatest meals in town. On weekends, the hotel dining room would be filled with local residents and those coming by horse and buggy from the surrounding farming area. Frank and Lottie were my paternal grandparents.

Generally, only ghosts stay here. Call ahead to see if living persons or pets can be accomodated.

It is interesting to note in the picture that to the right there is a vehicle that has a sign saying, "Follow the Art Car". The most recent use for the hotel, probably 70 years or so after this picture was taken, was an art museum and gallery that displayed the works of local painter, Charles Rogers.

Please see "From our Past" for a history of the Baker Hotel.