The Matfield Cross. Easy to see from the turnpike, but hard to find.
One of the things I noticed while driving to Texas (and later to Montana) is the many very overt Christian and signs, billboards, and crosses all over our nation. It actually is very inspiring.
This cross took some effort to find a location to park and get some drone pictures. Pulling over on the Kansas Turnpike (Highway 35) was not a good option. But no worry, after miles of back country dirt roads I finally parked right in front of it!
The cross most travelers think of when passing near Strong City is a prominent landmark located a few miles south near the Matfield Green service area on the Kansas Turnpike (I-35). It was originally erected by locals Harold and Leone Talkington for sunrise services and was later rebuilt by the Phipps family in 1994 using a reinforced concrete foundation and a thick oak crossbeam.
From Facebook: Leone and Harold were the ones who put it up originally. When Alan and I leased that pasture in 1983 Alan found the original cross laying on the ground. Because he remembered it being there as a child, and because we wanted the visibility from the turnpike to be better we put a bigger stronger one up. So in 1994, Alan and I with our 4 kids, put up a 10-11 ft hedge post, in cement. The crossbeam of oak is approx 7 ft long. We have 5 children now, with our oldest safely home in heaven. We have many pictures with our family up there, on that hill. We also have many memories from the “Cross Pasture”. Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives, and we have had lots of people contact us about that cross. People have gotten engaged there (our oldest son for one), gone there to make important decisions, prayed there, and prayed as they saw the sunrise over it as they drove down the turnpike. What a blessing it has been, and we give all the honor and glory to God, whose son was hung on a cross like it for you and me. We pray that the sight of it causes you to consider where you will spend eternity.
