HISTORY

The building located at 211 West Mill Street is of historic significance in the downtown corridor of Plainville, Kansas, where it is affectionately known by many as “Letha’s Café.”  Built in 1910, it is one of the oldest structures still standing in Plainville. A fire in 1909 destroyed several buildings on Mill Street, totaling $40,000 to $50,000 in damages (which adjusts to approximately $1.2 to $1.5 million today). After the 1909 fire, the building of anything but brick, stone, or cement buildings was prohibited in downtown Plainville.

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The new brick building served a variety of businesses, including Anderson Hardware in 1936. In 1937, Anderson became a Western Auto affiliate, and operated his business at 211 West Mill Street until 1945.

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Relying on her experience working at several restaurants in Plainville, Letha McDaniel opened Letha's Café at 211 West Mill Street in 1946. She and her husband lived in a spacious apartment above the cafe, which was convenient since Letha's Café was open 24/7 to feed crews working during the historic oil boom in the area. No customer left her café hungry, and rumor has it, Letha was even known to let customers without a hotel room for the night sleep in a booth. In the late 1940's into the 1950's, the family operated a dairy in the back of the building, and they would hand deliver bottled milk locally. Letha retired in 1968. The building was leased to several tenants, including Letha's daughter, Luella "Bebe" Burton, who reopened Letha's Café for a period of time. Later, the building was generously donated by the Burton family to a church, and then sold or transferred to several additional owners. Eventually, the space became a vacant storefront.