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This website has been developed specifically for Kansas farmers and ranchers involved in AgriTourism, rural properties where the traveler has an opportunity to experience farm and country life far from the hustle of the city.
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Kuhrt Ranch
The Prairie Castle Bed & Breakfast

May 10, 2005

The Prairie Castle on the Kuhrt Ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is nestled along the banks of Beaver Creek, just north and west of Edson, sitting on 4000 contiguous acres of privately owned natural wildlife habitat, grazing land, farmland and conservation reserve land. As visitors approach the property, their cell phone "lost signal" indicator beeps to remind them that they are truly getting away from it all.

The Ranch began as a one-room sod house in the 1880's, and then the property was purchased by William and Pauline Kuhrt in 1891. For their home, the Kuhrts built a unique, limestone house, complete with turrets, which neighbors soon began to call “the Prairie Castle.”

But as rustic as it feels-with the white oak wooden floors and special antique furnishings-a private bathroom is just around the corner, featuring a whirlpool tub for two, a European-style shower nozzle, and a window overlooking the beautiful goldfish pond. The favorite bedroom is found upstairs in the east turret, featuring a panoramic view of the Kansas horizon. It isn't all that tough to get used to!

Brent and Diana Flanders manage Kuhrt Ranch, with the continued support of Brent's parents, Jim and Jan Flanders, and Brent and Diana's two children, Paul Kuhrt Flanders and Sarah Jane Flanders.

Preserving Heritage
“The property was basically passed down to us,” said Diana, “We wanted to preserve it. This place is full of history. We knew it was special, and we wanted to share it. We wanted to stay on the farm. We wanted to keep it in the family- this is a business are kids are interested in keeping.”

“Even when we lived in the stone house, our friends talked about what a great bed and breakfast it would be. About four years ago, we moved to another house on the ranch, and we decided we would invest the money in the stone house to make it suitable for a Bed and Breakfast business,” Diana said.

Major Concerns
Diana and Brent recall that they had two big concerns about the Bed and Breakfast business. First, they wondered if they could actually recover the $7,000 investment required to replace the septic tank, redo the electrical system, and to obtain a food license for the kitchen. The food license isn’t required for a bed and breakfast, but the Flanders were already thinking about how to grow their business.

The second concern was perhaps an even bigger question: “ Should we let complete strangers come into our home? What would happen to our property, and the historic things we value here?”

“We worried for nothing,” Diana said. “Our guests seem to really take good care of our things. They are friendly, courteous- we’ve made a lot of good friends that come back year after year.”

Getting the Word Out
”Word of mouth has been our best form of advertising,” Diana stated. “If you are dedicated to providing your guests with good experiences, they’ll be back. And they’ll tell others.”

Flanders have two websites, one for the B & B business, and one for their hunting business.

The Flanders first started telling people about the B & B by going to sport shows in Denver. Brent had already started a hunting business on the ranch four years earlier (www.adventurehunting.com), and the B & B was a natural extension to invite people back in the off-season.

“Our second biggest source of guests, besides word of mouth, is our websites,” Brent said. “Nearly 50% of our guests found us on the Internet. Now we have a website for the hunting business, and another for the B & B.”

Diana and Brent shared that perhaps their biggest mistake might have been some of the money they spent on advertising. “There are people calling all of the time,” she said. “Sometimes we didn’t check them out well enough, and we paid too much, or didn’t get much in return.”

The ranch does belong to the Kansas B & B Association, and works closely with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and other state and local referrals. They also have arrangements with area restaurants and businesses where patrons can pick up a Kuhrt Ranch brochure. Diana also has invested a good deal of time in making sure the websites are listed wherever she can find an opportunity.

The Results
After 3 or 4 years, the Flanders have about 30 group reservations a year for overnight stays, mostly from the Denver area, and they entertain another 40 guests or more each month that visit for special events, such as weddings, Victorian teas, and group meetings.

Kuhrt Ranch is a licensed Kansas food service specializing in homecooked, old-fashioned family recipes in our modern kitchen. The entire family helps prepare and serve the meals. This summer, Diana’s daughter Sarah is planning to extend the food service to accommodate walk-ins one or two days a week, with pies, rolls, and bakery goods.

Family First
“We try to keep all of our events scheduled in the times when the family is not busy. In January, February and March, we are too busy with band concerts, music, and basketball, and we try to encourage people to delay their event until later in the spring. It’s family first, for us.

“People don’t run a Bed and Breakfast to get rich. It does take a lot of time- probably 10 or 15 hours every week, even when there are not guests. You still have to mow, keep up the property, make repairs, and all that,” Said Diana. “But we enjoy it, for one thing. We’ve made some fantastic friends. And this is a business that our kids want to go into, so we are keeping the property in the family.”

Kuhrt Ranch websites: www.kuhrtranch.com, www.adventurehunting.com