OODesigns concept The Wheatfield Inn is a fictional business created to demonstrate design work Back to gallery
Vol. I, No. 4   Newton, Kansas Built 1911, kept as a farmhouse since

A restored 1911 farmhouse, three miles northwest of downtown Newton

Six rooms in a 1911 farmhouse outside Newton, and a ledger kept by hand.

The Wheatfield Inn is the farmhouse a wheat family built in 1911, three miles out of Newton, and Ruth and Dale Harms have kept its six rooms since 2014 in much the way the house seems to prefer. Every booking is written into the ledger by hand before it goes anywhere else, which takes a little longer and which we would not give up. This week's page is just below.

Reserve a room Check the ledger
01020 ft
North elevationTwo storeys, six roomsEst. 1911

Open nights, week of 28 September.

Each room, its rate for the night, and the nights already taken, entered by hand each morning. A blank square is a room still free.

Room
Mon28
Tue29
Wed30
Thu1
Fri2
Sat3
Sun4
 Rate
Turkey RedCorner room, queen, clawfoot tub
R.H.
"
J.V.
"
$195
KanredDormer twin, north light
A.K.
$175
MarquisKing, private porch access
D.S.
"
"
"
"
"
"
$210
BlackhullQueen, writing desk
M.W.
"
"
$185
PoncaAttic single, smallest room
$165
TriumphSuite, sitting room, king
E.B.
"
L.F.
"
$245
OpenBookedInitials are the guest on the book. A ditto mark means they are staying on.Rates are for tonight and move with the season.

Price a stay, and hold it

2 nights
$390.00
Sales and lodging tax, 14.2%
$55.38
Total
$445.38

Open both nights.

The rooms, by name.

Each is named for a wheat this county has grown, beginning with the Turkey Red seed the Mennonite settlers who first farmed this land brought with them to Kansas.

A made bed with an iron headboard and linen pillows in a corner room, morning light through blinds on two walls
Turkey Red, the corner roomWindows on two walls
Two made-up twin beds side by side under a sloped attic ceiling, on dark wood floors
Kanred, the dormer roomTwo twins
Ripe wheat heads standing in a field under a cloudy sky
The north field in JuneFrom Kanred's window

Turkey Red

The corner room upstairs, with the original clawfoot tub and windows on two walls, named for the hard winter wheat on which this county made its name.

Queen, sleeps 2, ensuite bath, second floor, stairs only

$195tonight$175 to $215 by season

Kanred

A quiet dormer room facing the wheatfield to the north, a little smaller than Turkey Red. Come August it is the coolest room in the house.

Two twins, sleeps 2, shared bath, second floor, stairs only

$175tonight$155 to $190 by season

Marquis

The only room with its own door to the porch, where its guests tend to take their coffee before anyone else in the house is awake.

King, sleeps 2, ensuite roll-in shower, ground floor, step-free from the porch

$210tonight$190 to $230 by season

Blackhull

As much a working room as a bedroom, with the original farmhouse desk still in it. It was a great favourite of the one guest who came here to write.

Queen, sleeps 2, shared bath, second floor, stairs only

$185tonight$165 to $200 by season

Ponca

Under the roofline at the top of a steep stair, the smallest and least expensive room in the house. It suits one person who would like the house quiet.

Single, sleeps 1, shared bath, attic, steep stair

$165tonight$145 to $175 by season

Triumph

The old master suite, with a sitting room and the widest window in the house, and the room we suggest to a couple staying more than two nights.

King plus daybed, sleeps 3, ensuite bath, second floor

$245tonight$225 to $270 by season
A white bowl of brown, white and pale green eggs beside a steel whisk Breakfast, 7:30 to 9:30

Breakfast is taken together at the long table in the front room rather than in the rooms, and on most mornings the company is the whole house and whoever happens to be minding the coffee pot. If you eat differently, tell us the night before and something will be ready.

The usual breakfast

June Penner does the cooking on most mornings, from scratch, and nothing reaches the table out of a packet or a jar.

  • Eggs, however you like themFrom the hens behind the barn
  • Biscuits and cream gravyMade fresh every morning, no exceptions
  • Wheat toast and butterBread baked with flour milled two counties over
  • Seasonal fruit and honeyHoney from the hives along the fence line
  • Coffee and chicoryRoasted in small batches, refilled without asking

Coffee on the sideboard from 6:30 for early risers

Vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free breakfasts on request. Tell us by 8 pm the night before, or when you book.

An hour or less from the porch.

Drive times are from the porch, at an easy pace, and a lunch can be packed for any of them on request.

Six minutes

Downtown Newton

Main Street shops, the Saturday market from May through October, and the painted grain elevators along the rail line.

From the porch

The creek path

A flat, paved walking and cycling path along Sand Creek, good for an early walk before the day heats up.

35 minutes

Old Town Wichita

Brick warehouse streets with restaurants, a Saturday farmers market and the Warren Theatre. Easy for dinner and back by dark.

35 minutes

Botanica, Wichita

Eighteen acres of gardens on the river. The chrysanthemums peak in October.

40 minutes

Andover Central Park

A lake loop and wide lawns for a picnic with the lunch we pack on request.

50 minutes

The Flint Hills

Tallgrass prairie east of Florence. Best in October when the bluestem turns copper.

Terms of the house.

There are eight of them, which is about right for a house of six rooms. Anything else, we would rather talk over.

Check-in
3 to 8 pm. Arriving later, call and we leave a key in the porch lockbox.
Check-out
By 11 am, or noon if you booked direct and the room is free.
Cancellation
Free up to 7 days before arrival. Inside 7 days we charge the first night.
Minimum stay
One night, except two nights on Fridays and Saturdays in October.
Children
Welcome in Triumph, which sleeps three. Under 12 stay free on the daybed.
Pets
Dogs in Marquis only, $25 a night, with the porch door straight to the yard.
Accessibility
Marquis is step-free from the porch with a roll-in shower. The other rooms are up stairs.
Payment
Card to hold, charged at check-out. Cash and checks welcome too.

The household

Ruth and Dale HarmsOwners since 2014

Ruth grew up two sections west of here, and Dale restored the porch, the stair and most of the windows with his own hands. They answer the telephone themselves.

June PennerBreakfast, most mornings

She baked for the church kitchen for twenty years before she came to ours, and holds her ServSafe certificate. The biscuits are hers.

  1. You hold a roomHere or by telephone. Nothing is charged to hold it.
  2. We call the same dayRuth or Dale rings to confirm, asks about breakfast and gives the gravel-road directions.
  3. A text the morning you arriveWith the door code and who will be on the porch.
  4. Pay at check-outOne charge, tax included, no fees.

Before you pack.

Is there Wi-Fi and air conditioning?

Both, in every room. The Wi-Fi reaches the porch too. Kanred, facing north, needs its window unit least.

Can we check in after 8 pm?

Yes. Call ahead and we leave your key in the porch lockbox with a note on where the kitchen light switch is.

Do all the rooms have their own bathroom?

Turkey Red, Marquis and Triumph do. Kanred, Blackhull and Ponca share a full bath on the second floor, never more than two rooms to one bath.

Can you host a small family gathering?

Book all six rooms and the house is yours, front room and breakfast table included. Call for a whole-house rate.

Is parking free?

Yes, on the gravel by the barn, a few steps from the porch. There is room for a trailer.

To reserve a room.

Tell us the room you would like and the nights, by telephone or with the form above, and we will hold it today and ring the same day to confirm. Nothing is charged until you leave.

Address11 Kanred Lane, Newton
Phone(316) 555-0112
Check-in3 to 8 pm
Check-outBy 11 am
Call (316) 555-0112

Getting hereFrom Wichita, take I-135 north to Newton and turn west on 12th Street. Two miles past Meridian, turn north on the gravel and look for the porch light.

Map of Newton, Kansas and the section roads northwest of town, with the inn marked in the fields three miles from downtown Newton North Newton I-135 US-50 Wichita 25 mi The Wheatfield Inn
Directions: three miles northwest of downtown, past the last section corner© OpenStreetMap contributors