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A Brief History of the Victory Inn
According to Pottowatomie County records, Leonard C. Prunty purchased a plot of land on September 23, 1867 for $1. On that site, Mr. Prunty built a modest, but sturdy four room house for his growing family. (Those original four rooms are today the dining room, the office, and the War Room.) He had come west from Virginia, through Missouri and Platte County, Kansas, eventually settling along the banks of the Kaw River. He began operating a ferry there, as there was no bridge to cross the river. Mr. Prunty also owned a lumber yard, and served as first vice president of the First National Bank of Wamego, with fellow Wamego founding father, J.C. Rogers serving as its president. Later, Leonard Prunty served as a senator in the Kansas Senate.
Mr. Prunty married Adeline Liebold and the couple raised six children. In 1901, the couple more than doubled the size of their home when they added on what is today the living room, master bedroom suite, Miss Victory Suite, Bistro Room and the No Place Like Home room. The home’s distinctive wrap around porch was added at that time also.
The home continued to grow when the Prunty’s eldest daughter, Anna, (born in 1866 and believed to be the first girl baby born in Wamego) married Frank Rowles. Frank and Anna purchased the home in 1907 from Mrs. Adeline Prunty. It is reasonable to believe that Frank and Anna lived in the home with Anna’s parents for some time before they purchased the home. In 1912 another addition was added when the present day kitchen and Wuerzburger Room were completed.
Anna Prunty Rowles died in 1943 and the home was purchased in 1944 by the Lyle Stewart family. The Stewarts lived in the home for twenty seven years until they sold it to Mark and RoseMary Hainline in 1971. In addition to raising their family here, the Hainlines rented two of the upstairs bedrooms to school teachers and manager trainees of the Nickerson Farms Restaurant in Paxico. In the mid-70s, Mark Hainline constructed the detached garage (now incorporated into the Humphreys’ family private suite) from lumber salvaged from the old barn that stood on the property. Many of those salvaged barn boards and the old sliding barn door have been incorporated into the garage addition.
The Hainline family lived in the house until 1986 when the home was purchased by Gary and Cindy Wurtz. Cindy was a real estate agent who ran The Little Apple Realty from the office of the home. In December 2002, Tony and Tracy Humphreys became the sixth owners of the house at 710 8th Street.
The Victory Inn was featured in the annual Wamego Holiday Home Tour for the first time in December 2003. Tracy received a phone call shortly thereafter from Martha (Hansen) Briscoe of Sedalia, Missouri. Martha explained that she is the granddaughter of Anna Prunty Rowles. Martha subscribes to the Wamego Times and had read the article about the Holiday Home Tour. That article gave Martha an idea for a wonderful surprise Christmas gift for her sister, Mary Hansen Bensen, who lives in Marietta, Georgia. The sisters rang in the new year of 2004 by spending the night in their grandmother’s house for the first time in 60 years! This was the beginning of a very special friendship between the two families, who are not related by blood, but by architecture. Mary, Martha, and their brother Paul have stayed at the Victory Inn and eagerly share stories from their childhood.
The Humphreys have met all of the former owners of the home, or their family members, each contributing photographs, stories and memories of this grand old home.
Mr. Prunty married Adeline Liebold and the couple raised six children. In 1901, the couple more than doubled the size of their home when they added on what is today the living room, master bedroom suite, Miss Victory Suite, Bistro Room and the No Place Like Home room. The home’s distinctive wrap around porch was added at that time also.
The home continued to grow when the Prunty’s eldest daughter, Anna, (born in 1866 and believed to be the first girl baby born in Wamego) married Frank Rowles. Frank and Anna purchased the home in 1907 from Mrs. Adeline Prunty. It is reasonable to believe that Frank and Anna lived in the home with Anna’s parents for some time before they purchased the home. In 1912 another addition was added when the present day kitchen and Wuerzburger Room were completed.
Anna Prunty Rowles died in 1943 and the home was purchased in 1944 by the Lyle Stewart family. The Stewarts lived in the home for twenty seven years until they sold it to Mark and RoseMary Hainline in 1971. In addition to raising their family here, the Hainlines rented two of the upstairs bedrooms to school teachers and manager trainees of the Nickerson Farms Restaurant in Paxico. In the mid-70s, Mark Hainline constructed the detached garage (now incorporated into the Humphreys’ family private suite) from lumber salvaged from the old barn that stood on the property. Many of those salvaged barn boards and the old sliding barn door have been incorporated into the garage addition.
The Hainline family lived in the house until 1986 when the home was purchased by Gary and Cindy Wurtz. Cindy was a real estate agent who ran The Little Apple Realty from the office of the home. In December 2002, Tony and Tracy Humphreys became the sixth owners of the house at 710 8th Street.
The Victory Inn was featured in the annual Wamego Holiday Home Tour for the first time in December 2003. Tracy received a phone call shortly thereafter from Martha (Hansen) Briscoe of Sedalia, Missouri. Martha explained that she is the granddaughter of Anna Prunty Rowles. Martha subscribes to the Wamego Times and had read the article about the Holiday Home Tour. That article gave Martha an idea for a wonderful surprise Christmas gift for her sister, Mary Hansen Bensen, who lives in Marietta, Georgia. The sisters rang in the new year of 2004 by spending the night in their grandmother’s house for the first time in 60 years! This was the beginning of a very special friendship between the two families, who are not related by blood, but by architecture. Mary, Martha, and their brother Paul have stayed at the Victory Inn and eagerly share stories from their childhood.
The Humphreys have met all of the former owners of the home, or their family members, each contributing photographs, stories and memories of this grand old home.
This site and the content contained within are ©2004 by the Victory Inn Bed and Breakfast.