What to See in Ottawa - Top Sights and Attractions

Courthouse in Ottawa, Kansas. The Franklin County Courthouse, located in Courthouse Square on Main Street in Ottawa, is the seat of government of Franklin County, Kansas. The courthouse was built in 1892. Although Ottawa had been the county seat since 1864, it lacked a permanent courthouse prior to then. Architect George P. Washburn designed the courthouse in the Romanesque Revival style; the red brick courthouse is considered one of Washburn's "most outstanding works". The design features four square corner towers, a typical feature of Washburn's designs; two cupolas on the roof include a bell tower and a clock tower. The intricate roof design includes a main hipped roof with gable ends on each side and steep hipped roofs atop the towers. The roof line is ridged with a metal spine, and a dentillated cornice runs beneath the roof's edge. The east and west entrances to the courthouse are through large porches supported by brick columns and topped with balconies. The second-story windows are arched and connected by a band of stone.

The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 1972.^[2]

Museum in Ottawa, Kansas. The Dietrich Cabin is a log cabin located in Ottawa City Park in Ottawa, Kansas. Jacob Dietrich, a German immigrant, built the cabin in 1859. The cabin replaced the family's original home, which was built in 1857, and burned down the following year. After Dietrich died in 1863, his wife Catherine maintained the cabin while raising their three sons. The cabin later became a farmhouse, and several rooms were added to it. In 1961, the cabin was restored to its original condition. It is now a pioneer museum operated by the Franklin County Historical Society, and is open to the public on Sunday afternoons in the summer.

The cabin is one of the few surviving examples in Kansas of a pioneer log cabin, an important building type in both the settlement and architectural history of the state.

The cabin was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1972.^[4]

Library in Ottawa, Kansas. The Ottawa Library is a Carnegie library located at the intersection of 5th and Main Streets in Ottawa, Kansas. Built in 1903, the library housed the collection of the Ottawa Library Association, which was founded in 1873. The Carnegie Foundation provided a $15,000 grant toward the library's construction. George P. Washburn, a prominent Kansas architect who lived in Ottawa, designed the library in a free classical style. The two-story yellow brick building has a limestone foundation and a hipped roof. The building's main entrance has a two-story portico with classical ornamentation, and the rear features a hemicycle.

The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1980. It is also part of the Historic Ottawa Central Business District, which is also listed on the National Register. The building no longer serves as Ottawa's library (which is now located in the downtown area), and now serves as an art and culture center.^[5]