"What's the Deal with the Turtles?"
A lesser-known fact about Caldwell is that we are the Ornate Box Turtle Capital of the World. Often overlooked, until a local family combined our two histories of being a wild and rowdy cowtown and the OBT Capital of the World together into a now beloved image. The turtles pay homage to a history unique only to Caldwell. Read on for more history!
A Trip Back in Time
Let’s roll the clock back to 1985, in a Caldwell classroom with 17 sixth graders and their teacher, Mr. Larry Miller. It was the 125th anniversary of Kansas statehood, and their mission? Come up with a project to celebrate the state. After tossing around ideas and nearly settling on a bull snake, nominating an ornate box turtle as our state reptile took the lead. They wrote letters. They made their case. And against all odds, they gained statewide attention—thanks to a newspaper editor who just happened to love ornate box turtles. That little class trekked to Topeka and testified before the Senate. And on April 14, 1986, in Caldwell’s school gym, Governor Carlin signed the bill naming the Ornate Box Turtle the official state reptile of Kansas.” The following year, the Caldwell Governing Body, with the help of the class of '92, by City Proclamation declared Caldwell the Ornate Box Turtle Capital of the World.
The Caldwell Schools class of '91 pictured were the faces behind the turtle movement in Topeka!
Governor Carlin pictured with the class of 91
The Caldwell Schools class of '91 pictured were the faces behind the turtle movement in Topeka!
The Inbetween
Caldwell is officially named the ‘Ornate Box Turtle Capital of the World’! That same year, our first turtle mural was painted by artist Marty Kapron, thanks to local legend Cleda Baker. And yes, folks, we even had Turtle Wars—some worried the turtle would replace our wild west identity. But don’t worry, the turtle survived… and so did our cowboy pride.” Fast forward a few decades, and a simple email about Wamego’s Toto statues planted a seed with our City Administrator, Leah Sommerhoff. Then, in 2024, during a project to create Caldwell-themed Christmas ornaments, one of our local crafters sent back an unexpected design: a cowboy riding an ornate box turtle. It was the perfect mashup of our wild west roots and our turtle legacy. And the crowd went wild! Shirts, stickers, koozies—you name it, we made it.”
Right Now
In early 2024, the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission announced a grant for public art, we knew exactly what our ‘weird and wonderful’ would be. With help from the Chamber and the Art Brigade, the City of Caldwell applied for 12 fiberglass turtle sculptures—each to be painted by local artists—and we won the full grant!” A road trip to Nebraska later, Leah and Brooke Cink returned with our ‘turtle army,’ storing them in the soon-to-be commercial kitchen. In the meantime, we launched a design contest. Over 50 designs came in from 19 artists. The top 12, chosen by community vote, each got their turtle to bring to life. Today, we’ve got 9 completed turtles, with the rest nearly done. You’ll see them soon all over downtown, at the visitor’s center, near the school, even at the athletic complex. We would share the completed turtles, but what fun is that?! You have to visit us on Caldwell's Turtle Trail on the Chisholm Trail for that!
