Salina Post proudly presents Flashback Friday in partnership with the Smoky Hill Museum. Enjoy a weekly tidbit of local history from the staff at Salina Post and the Smoky Hill Museum as we present "Salina-Flashback Fridays."
By SALINA POST
When Spanish explorers in the 16th century reached a large bluff sitting at the south end of the Smoky Hills, they took a moment to overlook the prairie and discussed where to go next, pointing at the far-off horizon.
Today, Coronado Castle sits atop a bluff located northwest of Lindsborg — its past is riddled with history spanning millions of years.
According to the Kansas Geological Survey, the Smoky Hill Buttes are capped by hard sandstone that is more resistant to erosion than the softer underlying shales.
As wind, water, and other forces eroded the surrounding sandstone, the rock that makes up the buttes remained standing. Sand and other debris from which the sandstones formed were deposited in shallow seas about 100 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period.
Tens of millions of years later, the Kansas Prairie landscape rose from a seabed and dominated the horizon. Today the butte rises 300 feet above the Smoky Hill River Valley, allowing its visitors and explorers to see for miles in all directions.
Many believe the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, the castle’s namesake, may have reached the region in July of 1541 during his failed quest to discover the mythical seven cities of gold. Modern evidence now debates the idea.
A local Bethany College professor in 1915, J.A. Udden suspected Coronado’s presence after he discovered woven Spanish chainmail armor in the area, indicating evidence of 16th-century exploration.
According to the Visit Lindsborg website, others found Spanish coins, a bridle and lead bars in the valley.
The Smoky Valley Historical Society, which formed to develop Coronado Heights, acquired the property in 1919 from two local farm families and began making improvements.
Before the stock market crash in 1929, plans were underway to improve the driveway up to the overlook, which was routinely rendered impassable by rain.
The Great Depression disrupted the project’s development until the early 1930s, when the federal government-sponsored Work Progress Administration, or WPA, built eating and cooking areas, and later, the iconic castle.
The castle loomed on the bluff by 1936.
The towering structure, complete with two floors, features a large interior room with a stone table and fireplace. The open-air second floor provides a spectacular view overlooking the valley.
At night the city lights of Salina, approximately 12 miles to the north, and McPherson, around 20 miles to the south, can be plainly seen from the top of the castle.
The Smoky Valley Historical Association owns the site.
Sumac, yucca, spiderwort, butterfly milkweed, gooseberries and the newly named state fruit, the sandhill plum, are just some of the plants visitors can expect to see when they visit.
Groups are welcome to use Coronado Heights for meetings, outings, and special events. Contact the Lindsborg CVB office for information on obtaining permission to use the Heights for these occasions. Informal visits and family gatherings are always welcome and do not require prior approval by the SVHA.
Coronado Heights is patrolled by both the Saline County Sheriff's Department and the Lindsborg Police Department. The rules and regulations for the use of the Heights can be found in the Coronado Heights Use Policy.