National and State Registers of Historic Places
Cedar Manor Farm
2326 CR 6400
Lafontaine vicinity (Montgomery County)
Listed in National Register
Jan 8, 2014
Architect: Unknown
Category: Agricultural District
Thematic Nomination: Historic Agriculture Related Resources of Kansas
The Cedar Manor Farm traces its roots back to Lafayette and Martha Pound, who settled the property in the early 1870s. The Pounds purchased this land from the United States government, which was selling tracts of the former Osage Trust Lands in southeast Kansas during this period. State and federal census records suggest Pound established a productive, much diversified farm by 1880, but the recurring cycles of financial depression and drought may have pushed the family to leave in 1893. The property changed hands several times and sat vacant many years until Clarence (Doc) and Bernice Raymond purchased it in 1929 and developed it into a dairy farm - known as Cedar Manor Farm - with an award winning registered Guernsey herd. Only a portion of the original Pound residence remains from the earliest occupation, and the majority of the farmstead was developed during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, reflecting the peak years of the dairy operation. Raymond enjoyed competition as he noted in an interview with the Coffeyville Journal: "If I couldn't show at fairs and livestock shows I would sell the herd. This dairying is work and the shows and fairs are the fun of the game." He retired from the dairy business in 1969 and sold the herd. The farm remains in the Raymond family. It was nominated as part of the "Historic Agriculture-Related Resources of Kansas" multiple property nomination for its local significance in the area of agriculture.
