Ottawa Tutors Come To You

The City of Ottawa, Kansas gets its name from the tribe of Ottawa Indians. The city was originally laid out on Ottawa Reservation land. Ottawa is located in Franklin County, Kansas. It is also the county seat. A unique geographic feature of the city of Ottawa is that it straddles the Marais des Cygnes river near the center of Franklin County. Osage Indians named the river “Marsh of the Swans” in their language. Trumpeter swans were at one time very common in the area. French explorers took the name and translated it.

There are 4 large parks in the city of Ottawa. Numerous hiking trails, shelters and gazebos making these parks a great place to study with your Grain Valley tutor when the weather is nice. Forest Park has an especially active calendar of community events. The Ole Marais River Run is a custom car show. Chautauqua Days is a Fourth of July Celebration but also a nod to Chatauqua Assemblies which took place in Forest Park from late 1800s until 1914. Chautauqua Assemblies were an early version of adult education. The assemblies traveled throughout the country on different regional circuits. Chautauqua Assemblies brought entertainment and culture to rural communities, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, and other specialists of the time.

Kanza Park is another jewel in the City of Ottawa. It features salvaged Victorian light fixtures from Main Street Ottawa in the early 20th century. The park includes a paved trail that is incorporated into community celebrations such as running/walking events and a luminary lantern display during the Christmas season.

If meeting your Ottawa tutor indoors sounds more appealing Ottawa Kansas features a modern library with plenty of online resources, helpful staff, and individual rooms that can be reserved for a study session.

Downtown Ottawa features two unique historic sites. One is the Plaza Grill and Cinema. This site used to be called the Crystal Plaza and Bijou Theater and it is thought to be the oldest operating cinema in the United States.
The second site is the Old Depot Museum. In 1868, the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston became the first railroad to reach Ottawa, Kansas. The railroad line changed hands several times over the years but in 1888 the Kansas City, Lawrence, and Southern Kansas Railroad owned the line and built the depot. It featured a 13 stall round house for engine repair, a freight depot, and an express shipping service.

Today the depot is a museum with permanent exhibits on Native American tribes and examples of turn of the century life in Franklin County such as a general store, farm kitchen, a Victorian parlor, and soda fountain. The museum hosts a “One Room School Program” where students are invited to put on period dress and spend a day just as a child would have in 1910. This includes the same academic, behavioral, and recreational expectations of the time.