Across the nation, small rural towns pepper the landscape, and in many cases the first image one sees is of the ‘traditional’ rural downtown. Many main streets of these towns developed quickly, spurred by the railroad cutting a path across the country, but as automobiles became more popular the importance of an established downtown in rural communities diminished. These downtown main streets are lined with numerous buildings of architectural and historical significance and over the course of the last fifty years there has been a push for restoration, renovation, and preservation to these ties to the past. The Main Street Program is a national movement created with the intention to help maintain the prominence of the main street and downtown districts. The Main Street Program seemingly works great for the places and communities it was designed for, but it leaves the smaller communities to fend for themselves. By looking at an informal approach to the restoration of existing structures and the design initiatives being used, a wider understanding of “grassroots” adaptive reuse can be achieved. Courtland, Kansas has taken this route to restore their main street, address the problem, and adapt their existing building stock to fit the needs of their town without the assistance provided by the Main Street Program.

Designated Main Street towns utilize four transformation strategies to help communities. The first of these strategies focuses on economic vitality, which looks to assist new and existing businesses with financial and economic tools. The second strategy focuses on design and through guidelines and assistance programs works to enhance the community transformations through physical and visual aspects that help create a sense of individuality for the community. Thirdly, they work by promoting the main street district as a hub of economic activity and showcase each individual community’s uniqueness. The fourth and final strategy is that of organization, which works to forge networks and partnerships among citizens, business owners, and community organizations.

In 2019, the state of Kansas re-established the Main Street Program, as a state subsidiary of the national program after being previously discontinued due to funding issues. At the heart of many Kansas communities is a downtown strip that is often the historic center of civic and community life. Additionally, the downtown can also be a focal point and a bellwether for success, vision, and vitality in a community.

On the other side of the spectrum is the small town of Courtland, Kansas. With a population of just 285, it doesn’t qualify for the national or Kansas subsidiary of the Main Street Program. This fact didn’t stop the community of Courtland from finding their own creative solutions to revitalize their Main Street.

In 1887, Courtland, Kansas was established near the eastern edge of Republic County in north central Kansas. It is located one mile south of Highway 36 and has a large pull of visitors and shoppers for the eastern portion of Republic County, as well as a strong pull from the western region of neighboring Jewell County. Today the downtown district stretches two and a half blocks and compromises over eleven businesses.

From a regional point of view, a spark that started the eventual movement in Courtland occurred roughly 15 miles west, in the neighboring city of Belleville. Belleville is the largest town in Republic County with a population of 1,887 people. In addition to being the largest, it is also the only community in the county that is a designated member of the national Main Street Program. When Belleville started making improvements to their downtown district, severely deteriorated building condition forced the demolition an entire city block. This demolition as well as the positive improvements had an effect that spread over the whole region. Smaller towns, Courtland included, took note and began to look for ways to improve their own downtowns.

Over the course of the last 11 years, Courtland has seen numerous projects involving façade renovations, adaptive reuse, and updated design in an effort to revitalize the business district of their Main Street.