Midland Railroad Hotel: History, Flavor, and Nostalgia in Wilson, Kansas

Jeff & Crystal — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:57:36 +0000

By the time we reached the Midland Railroad Hotel, our Southwest road trip had already given us miles of memories. We had spent the previous evening in Pueblo, Colorado, and Wilson would be our final overnight stop before heading home. Even so, we had not chosen this place simply because it was convenient. Its unusual history had caught our attention, and we wanted our last night on the road to hold one more story.

The three-story limestone hotel delivered that feeling before we had explored much beyond the entrance. This was not another building designed to look old. Railroad passengers, traveling salespeople, Czech families, Hollywood actors, and generations of Kansas visitors had all become part of its past. We came looking for history, but what stayed with us was nostalgia.

We want to thank Midland Railroad Hotel for hosting our visit. Rest assured, all photos and opinions are our own.

Czech Roots and the Midland Railroad Hotel

Wilson served travelers before it was officially named Wilson. A Butterfield Overland Dispatch station opened near the present town in 1865, and the Kansas Pacific Railway reached the area three years later. The community briefly went by Attica and Bosland before becoming Wilson in 1873. Then, beginning in 1874, Bohemian immigrants arrived from places such as Iowa, Nebraska, Chicago, and New York.

One of those settlers, Francis Swehla, encouraged other Bohemians to follow through letters published in Czech-language newspapers. They came for affordable land and railroad work, bringing skilled trades, foods, celebrations, and traditions that reshaped the community. Their influence eventually earned Wilson its designation as the Czech Capital of Kansas, and that heritage remains visible today.

The Midland Railroad Hotel entered the story in 1899. Philadelphia investor W. B. Power built the Hotel Power directly across from the Union Pacific depot. Constructed from native limestone, the three-story hotel offered 28 rooms and the novelty of acetylene lighting. Its location made it a natural stop for passengers traveling between Kansas City and Denver.

A fire gutted the interior in November 1902, but Wilson did not allow the landmark to disappear. Local support helped rancher Samuel Anspaugh rebuild it, and the property reopened as the Midland Hotel. A 1915 addition expanded its capacity during a prosperous period when late arrivals sometimes had to settle for floor space. The hotel had become more than lodging. It was part of Wilson’s commercial and social life.

When Paper Moon Came to Wilson

Hollywood arrived in Wilson to film Paper Moon, the Depression-era story released in 1973. Director Peter Bogdanovich used Kansas and Missouri communities to create the movie’s black-and-white world, with Ryan O’Neal playing traveling con man Moses Pray and Tatum O’Neal portraying the sharp-witted Addie Loggins.

Wilson’s bank, dry goods store, streets, and hotel helped supply the period setting. Filmmakers shot scenes in and around the Midland Railroad Hotel, including an interior hotel-room sequence. That alone would have given the property a lasting place in movie history, but the connection went deeper.

Accounts gathered for the film’s 50th anniversary confirm that the hotel also housed the production. Ryan and Tatum O’Neal stayed on the third floor while crew members occupied the second. For a time, this Kansas railroad hotel became both lodging and workplace for Hollywood. We could imagine the excitement of residents watching the filming unfold and seeing familiar corners of Wilson transformed for the screen.

A Night in the Somer Room

Our room was called the “Somer Room”, a detail that made it feel more personal than an ordinary room number. Inside, the medium-toned hardwood furnishings had the solid presence of furniture made to last. Their Mission-style character suited a hotel built around travelers from another age.

We loved the way the room encouraged our imaginations. It was easy to picture passengers stepping off the train, crossing from the depot, and settling in after a long journey across Kansas. Their accommodations would have been different from ours, but the same limestone walls had welcomed them.

That connection created the nostalgia we felt throughout our stay. We had modern comforts, yet the room never lost its sense of the past. It reminded us that history is often most powerful when we can inhabit it for a while, rather than observe it from behind a display case.

Breakfast and the Spaces Between

The Midland Railroad Hotel offered more places to settle in than we expected. One room held the breakfast service, while an adjoining space gave guests a place to sit and enjoy the morning. A separate study, furnished with large, comfortable pieces, invited us to pause rather than rush toward the next item on an itinerary.

Our breakfast carried Wilson’s Czech story to the table through a selection of Czech breads and delicacies. Part of the fun was discovering foods connected to the community and allowing breakfast to become another chapter of the visit.

These gathering spaces also echoed an earlier era. Historical recollections describe parlor music in the 1920s, when family members who helped operate the hotel played piano and sang for the traveling salespeople. The comfortable rooms made it easy to appreciate how a hotel could become a temporary home for people passing through.

The Sample Room: From Salesmen to Supper

The Midland Railroad Hotel still uses one of its most historic spaces in a wonderfully fitting way. Traveling salespeople once hauled trunks from the depot into the basement, where they arranged merchandise for local shopkeepers to inspect and order. Because those displays centered on product samples, the basement became known as the Sample Room.

Today, the Sample Room is a lower-level dining room and bar with its own entrance. The intimate setting preserves the name and purpose of a space that once connected railroad travelers with Wilson’s merchants. An outdoor brick patio beneath shade trees gives diners another option when the weather cooperates.

People drive from miles around for dinner here, making the restaurant a destination as well as a hotel amenity. We appreciated the continuity. The salespeople are gone, and their trunks no longer arrive from the depot, but people still descend to the Sample Room to gather, exchange stories, and enjoy something worth stopping for.

Two Kinds of Comfort

Our dinner began with garlic rolls and a cocktail whose name we’ve forgotten. Whatever it was called, it was delicious and made a fine beginning to the evening. Soon our main courses arrived, and each one connected with us differently.

Crystal chose the Shrimp and Grits. She enjoyed the mild spiciness, which gave the dish character without overwhelming it. It was the kind of meal that felt a little adventurous while remaining approachable, making it a natural fit for an evening devoted to discovering something new.

I went old school with Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes. Instead of novelty, my plate delivered memory. The familiar combination reminded me of dishes from my youth, when hearty meals gathered people around the table, and comfort mattered as much as presentation. In a hotel already filled with reminders of earlier generations, that simple connection felt exactly right.

A Worthwhile Break Across Kansas

Wilson sits about halfway between Hays and Salina in north-central Kansas. Travelers following Interstate 70 can leave the highway at Exit 206 and reach the Midland Railroad Hotel after a short drive south. That convenient location made it a practical final stop after Pueblo, but its history made it memorable.

By morning, we had experienced far more than a place to sleep. Czech heritage had appeared in the town’s story and at breakfast. Railroad history lived in the limestone building and the Sample Room. Paper Moon added a touch of Hollywood, while our room and dinner brought their own personal waves of nostalgia.

Crossing Kansas can tempt travelers to measure the day only in miles. Wilson rewards those willing to pause. The Midland Railroad Hotel offers a chance to step away from the highway, spend the night inside a continuing story, and return to the road with one more memory than expected.

Have you stayed at this historic hotel or stopped in to experience the Sample Room? We would love to hear which part of the Midland’s story became part of your own travels.

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