An historic “fly-in” hotel, airstrip and acreage in the town of Beaumont, Kansas, located in the heart of the Flint Hills, is up for sale.
The renovated 10-room Beaumont Hotel and restaurant is renowned for its grass strip, where pilots of light aircraft land, turn onto the town’s Main Street, taxi to the stop sign and park at the water tower. They then walk across the street for a meal or coffee at the hotel restaurant.
The hotel, listed at $2.4 million, includes the public use airstrip, about 160 acres of land, an RV park, a furnished covered wagon for sleeping, retaining ponds once used by the railroad and other amenities.
The FAA and the property’s owner is extending the 2,400 ft. runway to 3,300 ft., to accommodate larger aircraft.
Originally called the Summit Hotel, the hotel was named for its claim as the highest point between Ellsworth, Kansas, and St. Louis on the route of the Frisco Railroad. Built as a stagecoach stop, it became a railroad hotel in 1880 after the Frisco arrived, according to sale marketing material.
In 1885, located near cattle pens holding 3,000 head of cattle, the hotel was sold to the Durham Cattle Co.
Eventually, it became a “fly-in” hotel in the 1950s, after local rancher and entrepreneur “Clint” Squier entered the hotel business as an extension of his ranching operation giving Texas cattlemen sending cattle to his ranch a place to stay. By the time Squier began remodeling the hotel, his business associates were using the adjacent pasture as a grass airstrip.
Soon, it began attracting ranchers, hobby pilots and others, many coming from nearby Wichita. In 1962, Squier removed the fence between the hotel and airstrip, beginning the tradition of pilots taxiing from the airstrip to park by the hotel.
The property has been owned by Steve Craig since 2001, a Lawrence, Kansas-based attorney, businessman, longtime hotelier, pilot and aviation preservationist. Craig added the RV park and other features.
“When I bought this, I was in my early 50s,” says Craig. “Now I’m past 70. When you reach that age, you look at things differently.”
The property gives a “feeling that you’re making a contribution of historic preservation, which is important to me,” he says. “It’s been really enjoyable and rewarding.”
Craig is willing to stay on and help a new owner with the transition, says Zac Sundgren, a broker with SunGroup Real Estate, which has the listing.
“I personally think this would be a really nice little income-generating property for the right buyer,” Sundgren says.
It is close to Wichita and in the midst of the Flint Hills, which is one of the biggest draws for the region, he says.
“It combines those elements, which you don’t see anywhere else."
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include remarks by Steve Craig.
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