Le Hunt, Kansas – Forgotten & Haunted
Nestled within the rolling landscapes of Montgomery County, Kansas, lies Le Hunt, a ghost town whispering tales of industry, boom, and eventual bust. Once a vibrant community fueled by the United Kansas Portland Cement Company, Le Hunt today exists as a collection of haunting remnants: crumbling factory ruins, an aging schoolhouse, and a silent cemetery. The casual observer might miss it entirely, the town’s former boundaries now blurred by overgrown trees, cracked sidewalks, and building foundations swallowed by persistent prairie grasses. Le Hunt, a name synonymous with both ambition and abandonment, offers a stark reminder of the ephemeral nature of prosperity.
The story of Le Hunt begins in 1905, when the United Kansas Portland Cement Company, headquartered in nearby Independence, Kansas, recognized the potential of the land. The company acquired 1,500 acres a few miles northwest of Independence, driven by the region’s rich deposits of Portland cement minerals. The key to producing Portland cement lies in the accessibility of limestone and shale. These raw materials needed to be readily available, ideally at or near the surface, to minimize the costly process of removing excessive layers of overburden. The geological sweet spot extended from Iola to Independence, encompassing significant portions of Allen, Neosho, Wilson, and Montgomery Counties.
The area around Table Mound, a prominent geographical feature rising to approximately 1,000 feet above sea level, was deemed the perfect location for the sprawling cement plant. The town itself was christened Le Hunt, in honor of Leigh Hunt, the president of the Hunt Engineering Company of Michigan. Hunt’s company was renowned for its expertise in constructing cement plants, with a portfolio that included a similar facility in Iola, Kansas. Construction officially commenced on October 20, 1905, with the establishment of a quarry atop Table Mound. The engineers ingeniously designed a gravity-fed system for transporting materials, eliminating the need for elevators and expensive conveyor belts, significantly reducing production costs. By August 1906, the state-of-the-art cement plant was fully operational.
Initially, the United Kansas Portland Cement Company employed between 200 and 400 workers, many of whom were immigrants. These laborers initially resided in temporary tent settlements, highlighting the rapid influx of people drawn to the promise of employment. To accommodate the burgeoning workforce, the Hunt Engineering Company undertook the task of building a proper company town. Houses, a school, a church, and even saloons began to take shape, transforming the landscape. By 1906, the fledgling town of Le Hunt had swelled to a population exceeding 1,000 residents. At its zenith, the town boasted two hotels, a bustling grocery store, a house of worship, a school, a livery stable, and various other storefronts catering to the needs of its residents.
Adding a touch of Wild West mystique to the town’s early history, Tom Mix, who later achieved fame as a celebrated cowboy actor and star in numerous early Western films, served as the town marshal. Leigh Hunt and Mix had previously crossed paths during the Spanish-American War. Hunt, recognizing Mix’s leadership qualities, followed him to Independence, where he appointed him as a foreman in charge of labor. When a rowdy group of gamblers and bootleggers descended upon the construction site on payday, threatening the peace, Mix stepped up. Appointed as a deputy sheriff, he single-handedly apprehended the troublemakers, solidifying his reputation for maintaining law and order in the burgeoning community.
However, the rosy outlook for Le Hunt and its cement industry soon faced headwinds. In the following years, the cement industry experienced a significant economic downturn, primarily due to overproduction across the region, leading to industry-wide consolidation. In January 1908, the cement plants at Le Hunt, Iola, and Neodesha merged to form the United Kansas Portland Cement Company, with a substantial capitalization of $12,750,000. This consolidation aimed to streamline operations, reduce maintenance and operating expenses, facilitate more effective fulfillment of cement contracts, and eliminate destructive competition among the plants. While the consolidation provided a temporary reprieve, it ultimately proved insufficient to overcome the mounting challenges. A further blow came when the railroads increased their long-haul freight rates, making it more expensive to transport cement from southeastern Kansas, leading to a decline in production. Adding to the woes, the depletion of natural gas reserves in the area by 1912 temporarily halted cement production, further crippling the local economy.
Tragedy struck on March 25, 1913, when an accident at the plant resulted in severe injuries to three employees. An explosion of oil within a tank feeding the machinery engine occurred around 6:30 a.m., causing Leonard Ioeger, Frank Anderson, and a man identified only as Calhoun to suffer severe burns.
In June 1913, a local newspaper reported that the plant would be temporarily closed to facilitate repairs and sell off surplus stock. However, this temporary closure proved to be permanent. The United Kansas Portland Cement Company declared bankruptcy on January 15, 1914, leaving stockholders with losses estimated at approximately $297,000.
A glimmer of hope emerged in 1915 when the plant was acquired by the Sunflower Portland Cement Company for $199,950. Following extensive repairs, the plant reopened on September 12, 1915, breathing new life into the town. Within a month, houses were once again occupied, businesses reopened their doors, and the school resumed classes. The revitalized company employed over 300 people and boasted a daily production capacity of 1,500 barrels of cement. Cement prices soared to unprecedented levels between 1916 and 1917, further boosting the local economy.
The resurgence, however, proved short-lived. After World War I, the demand for cement plummeted, leading to a sharp decline in production. This downturn resulted in the closure and subsequent sale of the Sunflower Portland Cement Company to the Western States Portland Cement Company in 1918. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the plant eventually became part of the United States Steel Corporation. Ultimately, these events led to the closure of the Le Hunt plant, the sale of its equipment, and the relocation of many of its homes to other locations.
With limited housing options and the absence of a major employer to anchor the settlement, Le Hunt gradually faded into obscurity, eventually becoming the ghost town it is today.
What remains of the town of Le Hunt is a poignant testament to its rise and fall. The dilapidated cement factory stands as a skeletal reminder of its industrial past, alongside a handful of abandoned homes, the weathered cemetery, and a nearby brick schoolhouse, all slowly being reclaimed by the relentless forces of nature.
The ruins of the cement plant are located in the woods off County Road 5000. The factory’s towering, long-abandoned smokestack is the most prominent feature, piercing the tree line like a solitary sentinel.
The old cemetery lies about half a mile north of the factory site, containing graves that date back to the late 1860s, offering a silent chronicle of the lives lived and lost in this once-thriving community.
Local lore suggests that the old cement plant is haunted by the ghost of a worker named Bohr, who met a tragic end at the plant. According to the story, Bohr fell into a vat of concrete, and his body was never recovered. In a poignant tribute, his coworkers embedded his wheelbarrow, pick, and shovel into a concrete wall under construction. Today, his name and the outline of his pickaxe can still be seen etched into the factory ruins, serving as a lasting reminder of the human cost of industry.
To reach Le Hunt from Independence, take US-75/US-160 west for 0.2 miles and turn right onto Peter Pan Road, traveling north for two miles. The road will then transition into County Road 3525, which you should follow for one mile. Finally, turn left onto 5000 Road and continue for half a mile.