In the small town of Lucas, Kansas, there sits a house that even the sculptor called “the most unique home for anyone living or dead in the state of Kansas.”
With three-story concrete sculptures surrounding a cabin home, Samuel Perry Dinsmoor, who passed away in 1932, left a lasting legacy in his art and house, which he named the Garden of Eden.
Dinsmoor, a retired Civil War vet, was known for being outspoken and having strong opinions on how society should be. Much like his beliefs and personality, his designs were bold. In his early ’60s, he retired from farming, moved into town, turned to sculpting and, in 1904, started building his cabin home.
Originally conceived as both a residence and tourist business, Dinsmoor built the first floor to serve as the hub for the tourist spot he would eventually create—a place where guests would mingle before going on a tour of the grounds to view his sculptures. From the very beginning, Dinsmoor, who is interned in a mausoleum on the property, was thinking about not only a long-lasting attraction but also a place for his family to live. The basement and second floor became the Dinsmoor family’s living quarters. Multiple doors were installed on every floor, leading to the outside so the family could avoid tourists.
“He really thought about how he was gonna live there and how to have a private life when your house is part of a tourist attraction,” says Erika Nelson, the cultural resources director for the Garden of Eden. “He also knew that it had to be a paid guided tour because that was the only way that the site could continue after his death.”
With every window being a different shape and having multiple exit doors on every floor, the Post Rock limestone and wood cabin itself is an oddity. However, the sculptures are the real draw.
Surrounding the cabin are more than 150 sculptures. Some pieces stand three stories tall and have life-size figures attached. “He didn’t make them on the ground and put them up later,” Nelson says. “He built them where they are. He had scaffolding two or three stories up in the air to create all these things.”
From religious figures to political pieces, the sculptures reflect Dinsmoor’s views. The tour starts with sculptures of Adam and Eve, as the origin of man, and then winds its way through art reflecting various bible stories, historical moments and Dinsmoor’s own beliefs.
“All the figures are interrelated in this sort of political cartoon narrative,” Nelson says. “They’re not random. They all interconnect into this greater narrative of this is who is preying on the common man and this is how you can fix it.”
GO: The Garden of Eden (305 E. Second St., Lucas, KS) For more information, visit gardenofedenlucas.org.
