Flowerpot Mountain

Kansas · United States · Execution site

A riddle passed down through generations in Medicine Lodge, Kansas pointed to a diary hidden at a gnarled tree on the summit. The tree was there.

The story at Flowerpot Mountain outside Medicine Lodge, Kansas has survived in an unusual form. It was not passed down as a tale but as a riddle, handed from one generation to the next, and the riddle was about a diary.

The diary was said to have been kept by a woman who settled on the mountain in the early days. According to the story, the settlers there believed the local people were peaceful, and one day something happened that changed their view.

The riddle was eventually solved, and the solution gave a location: a gnarled tree at the top of the mountain. When people went up to look, there was a small dead tree standing there, distinct from everything around it.

Whether the diary was ever recovered, and whether anything in the story is true, is exactly what locals will tell you they do not know. The account is offered around Medicine Lodge as neither fact nor myth but as something in between, which is a rarer and more honest way to hold a legend than most places manage.

FAQ

Where is Flowerpot Mountain located?

Flowerpot Mountain is in Kansas, United States.