The El Cuartelejo Ruins are now centuries old. The ancient ruins hold the story of the only known pueblo in the state of Kansas. The site on which El Cuartelejo is found was owned by the Kansas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution who preserved the site. Because of the rich and varied history of El Cuartelejo pueblo, the site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, also holding the status of National Landmark.
Apache, Kiowa, Commanche, Cheyenne and others were the earliest Native Americans to live in the High Plains of western Kansas after arrival of Europeans in North America. The Spanish of New Mexico referred to the Apache who lived in western Kansas in the 17th and early 18th century as the Cuartelejo Apache. (Note: The Spanish spelling of the name uses the letter "C", as in Cuartelejo. The anglicized spelling is Quartelejo.)
The first Euro-American settlers in Scott County reportedly found irrigation ditches in Ladder Creek valley. The earlier Taos Pueblo refugees and the later inhabitants, the Picuris, built and used these channels to water their gardens. The El Cuartelejo pueblo was abandoned in approximately A.D. 1706, or by some accounts, somewhere near A.D. 1719. These ruins were discovered in 1898 by an early Scott County pioneer, Herb Steele. The El Cuartelejo pueblo was built by the Pueblo Indians and is the northernmost pueblo ruin found in the United States. The term "El Cuartelejo" can be broken into roots meaning: cuartel - which mean "room" & lejo - which means "far away."
Read more:
El Cuartelejo, The Scott County Pueblo
El Cuartelejo: High Plains Laws and Identity