Chisholm Trail 150 by Travis Mounts

The Times-Sentinel Caldwell Messenger Haysville Sun-Times Conway Springs Star/Argonia Argosy

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Trail 150

Tidbits about the Chisholm Trail

• The Chisholm Trail was in used during post-Civil War era. Cattle from Texas – which were in large supply and worth little money there – were driven from ranches to Kansas railheads. Jesse Chisholm established the trail, which went south to his southern trading post near the Red River, which now is the border between Oklahoma and Texas. However, Chisholm was not a cattle drover. • In 1866, cattle were worth just $4 per head in Texas, but worth $40 in the northern and eastern parts of the country. The Civil War created a lack of market access, resulting in an overstock of cattle in Texas. • Stockyards built in 1867 in Abilene became the largest stockyards west of Kansas City, Kan. • The Chisholm Trail ended in Abilene from 1867 to 1871. As more railroads were built, the end of the trail moved Newton and then Wichita. The trail ended in Caldwell from 1883 to 1887. Ellsworth was another key shipping point for cattle, but was not on the Chisholm Trail. • The trail began in Donna, Texas, or San Antonio, Texas, according to many historians. Others say that there was no trail in Texas, and that the trail began at the Red River Station, which was at the mouth

of Salt Creek, where drovers left Texas and entered Indian Territory. • The heyday of the Chisholm Trail lasted less than 20 years, from 1867 to 1884. Roughly 5 million head of cattle were driven along the trail. Cattle drives from Texas started as early as 1836, but shipping along the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico was blocked for much of the Civil War by the Union. • A cattle drive usually had 2,000-3,000 head of cattle, about 10 cowboys, a horse wrangler, and a chuck wagon cook. They averaged about 8-10 miles a day, which allowed for grazing along the trail. That could add 80-100 pounds per head to cattle by the end of the drive. • Approximately 45,000 cowboys worked during the great cattle drives. About 5,000 of those cowboys were African American. • The arrival of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad in Texas signaled the end of the Chisholm Trail and the long cattle drives that traveled it. • Trips on the Chisholm Trail lasted up to two months. Major river crossings included the Red River and Arkansas River, plus many other smaller creeks, canyons, badlands and low mountain ranges. Other

dangers included weather, cattle rustlers and conflicts with Native Americans. Longhorn cattle were prone to stampede. • Wikipedia notes that at least 27 movies have depicted life on the Chisholm Trail. Songs about the trail include “The Last Cowboy Song,” written and recorded by Ed Bruce and also performed by The Highwaymen, and “The Old Chisholm Trail,” which was recorded by many artists including Gene Autry, Woody Guthrie, Michael Martin Murphy, Roy Rogers and Lead Belly, whose version was called “When I Was A Cowboy.” • Many schools are named after the Chisholm Trail, including Chisholm Trail Elementary School in Park City, Chisholm Middle School in Newton, and Chisholm Trail Middle School in Olathe. Other communities with “Chisholm” schools are in Fort Worth; Round Rock, Texas; Rhome, Texas; Keller, Texas; Enid, Okla.; and Edmond, Okla. • From 1875 to 1885, hundreds of thousands of cattle were driven along the Western Cattle Trail to Dodge City, the busiest cattle town of that era. In 1885, the Kansas Legislature outlawed driving Texas cattle into Kansas, due to Spanish fever as well as hoof and mouth disease.

Sept. 14, 2017

Chisholm Trail 150

A special publication for The Times-Sentinel Caldwell Messenger Conway Springs Star & Argonia Argosy Haysville Sun-Times Produced by Times-Sentinel Newspapers, LLC 125 N. Main • Cheney, KS 67025 316.540.0500 • www.tsnews.com Publisher.................................. ..Paul Rhodes Managing editor..................Travis Mounts Sales............ Valorie Castor, Shelby Riedel Billing...........................................Briana Bade Reporters.............Sam Jack, Adam Strunk, Michelle Leidy-Franklin Proofreading...................... Mindy Kepfield Production.........................Abbygail Brown

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Chisholm: Legendary trader blazed a trail into history By Susan Hund-Milne WestSide Story

Jesse Chisholm, for whom the famed Chisholm Trail was named, was a trader, trailblazer and peacemaker. He was born in Tennessee in 1806 to a Cherokee Indian mother and Scottish father. When Chisholm was very young, his family left Tennessee along with a mass emigration of the Cherokee people, and settled in western Arkansas. In 1829, at the age of 23, Chisholm traveled into Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) and began a career as a trader that made his name one of the most well-known in the history of the west. Jesse Chisholm quickly became known as one of the most honest and dependable traders in Indian Territory. He learned the languages and dialects of 14 tribes and was adopted into almost a dozen during his lifetime. Although there is no written record of his life between 1830 and 1860, it is known that he established several “stores” or trading posts in what is now Kansas and Oklahoma, and was quite successful with a “traveling store” which was actually a mule train that took trade goods into the Indian settlements, rather than waiting for the “customer” to come to his trading posts. In 1860, Chisholm led a band of Wichita Indians from Oklahoma to the confluence of the Big Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers. The Civil War had broken out and the Wichita Indians, who were loyal to the Union, were moved to protect them from pro-Confederate tribes. From his new trading post, Chisholm traveled south from the present site of Wichita, deep into Indian Territory to establish new trading partnerships with the Indians of south and central Oklahoma. It is the trail that his freight wagons took that bears his name and was eventually synonymous with the cattle drives of the 1860s.

Chisholm, his business partner James R. Mead, and others in the tiny settlement of Wichita, traded primarily for furs and skins. That changed when Chisholm discovered a salt spring on Indian land. He supplied the Indians with several large iron kettles and taught them how to dehydrate and package salt. He made periodic trips to the spring, paid the Native Americans for their work with needed goods, and shipped the salt to Texas and eastern Oklahoma by ox train. On the evening of March 3, 1868, while camping near his salt mine, Chisholm complained that “he had no fat meat.” The fat buffalo meat and the bacon had all been eaten. An Indian woman presented him with a brass pot of bear grease, one of Chisholm’s favorite foods, left from the previous autumn. He ate “heartily” of it and died the following evening from apparent food poisoning. Chisholm was sorely missed, according to an account by Mead in his book, “Hunting and Trading on the Great Plains, 1859-1875”: “At the time of his death the Indians were thrown into the most profound grief. He was like a father to many of the Indians of the Territory, as well as those of the Plains. They loved him more than any other man, for he was a friend and never misled or deceived them. Large numbers of Indians were present at his burial. Ten Bears, chief of the Comanches, took off the bronze medal which had been presented to him by the government and which he had worn for many years, laid it on the breast of his departed friend, weeping like a child as he did so, and it was buried with him.” Chisholm was buried by his friends near the spring. A few days before his death, Chisholm – who never carried a gun – related this philosophy of life to Mead, his friend and partner, and Wichita’s eventual city father: “I do not know anything about the Bible. I have no use for preachers. No man ever came to my camp hungry and went away unfed, or naked and departed unclad. All my life I have tried to live at peace with my fellow man

“... the herds began to follow this route in 1866, and everyone called it the Chisholm Trail.” Thank you to those volunteers reenacting the Chisholm Trail.

City of Argonia

cityofargonia.com » 620.435.6553 » 210 S Main St, Argonia, KS 67004 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Monday-Friday » Closed for Lunch 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Jesse Chisholm established trade along a route between Wichita and the Indian Territory to the south and became a legend. The trail he blazed now bears his name.

and be a brother to him. The rest I leave with the Great Spirit, Who placed me here and Whom I trust to do all things well.” Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the January 1989 edition of the WestSide Story.

Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Chisholm Trail

Brought to you by: O-K Chisholm Trail Cattle Drovers Assn. “ To Educate, Commemorate, and Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Chisholm Trail.”

September 12-23, 2017

The New 107.9 Presents: Red Steagall and the Bunkhouse Boys

Sept. 12th—Pond Creek, OK to Jefferson, OK Monument Dewey Rd & CR 900, 1/4 East Hwy 81 & Gavin 1/2 E Sept. 13th—Jefferson, OK to Medford, OK City-wide Celebration in Medford, OK: Cow Camp @ Hwy 11 & CR 980 1/4 East Sept. 14th—Medford, OK to Renfrow: Cow Camp CR 1030 & Latimer Rd 1/2 West Sept. 15th—Renfrow, Camp 1 to Renfrow, Cow Camp 2 Osage Rd & 1030 1/4 East Sept. 16th—Renfro Cow Camp 2 to Caldwell: Cow Camp at Kanokla facility North edge of Town. Celebration Downtown—Concert by Del Shields Sept. 17th— Caldwell Cowboy Church 9:00 am Sept. 18th—Caldwell, KS to NW Caldwell Pasture: Cow camp with Trail Ruts 110th St. S. & Springdale Rd (Sumner Co.) Sept. 19th—NW Caldwell to S. of Wellington Lake, 60th S. & SW Lake Rd. Sept. 20th—Wellington Lake to Mayfield, KS, Hwy 160 & Mayfield Rd 1/4 North Sept. 21st—Mayfield, KS to Millerton, KS, Mayfield Road & Prospect 1/4 North Sept. 22nd—Millerton, KS to Clearwater, KS Cattle thru Downtown to 4th to Wood to Tracy (RR) Camp at Chisholm Trail Arena 9138 S. 167th St. W. Sept. 23rd—Clearwater, KS to South Wichita, KS 6425 W. MacArthur (Future Site Union Stockyards) (1/4 West of Hoover & MacArthur, Oatville area) Del Shields 7:00 pm & Red Steagall 8:00 pm Sept. 23rd Cow Camp Raffle Drawings: CT-150 Commemorative Rifle #1 of 100 Pre-sold Rifles Chisholm Trail Quilt made by Old Sew & Sews

Saturday, September 23, 2017

COW CAMP WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC APPROXIMATELY 3 P.M. TO 6 P.M. DAILY

Tune in to 107.9 for Details

The Wichita Union Stockyards

6425 West MacArthur Rd.

Brisket Feed – 6:00 p.m. Del Shields Band – 7:00 p.m. Red and the Boys – 8:00 p.m.

Sept. 14, 2017 hisholm

The Chisholm Trail: A path traveled by cowboys, heroes By Susan Hund-Milne WestSide Story For nineteen years, the Chisholm Trail, named for trader and early trailblazer Jesse Chisholm, was an interstate highway for cattle drives. More than 5 million head of Texas Longhorns were herded from southern Texas to rail heads in Kansas. From 1866 until 1872, the terminus was in Abilene, with the herds passing through the young prairie town of Wichita. In 1872, when Abilene no longer wanted the cattle business, Wichita became the point of departure for the Texas herds. These trail drives saw the rise of the mythical American hero, the “cowboy,” and it is, perhaps, well-deserved fame. Anyone who survived the trek to Abilene or Wichita, was a tough character indeed. The trail was fraught with danger. Cowboys had to do battle with the elements, many times at night when ridding was most hazardous. They had to survive lightning, hailstorms, late blizzards, blowing dust, flood-swollen rivers, quicksand and stampedes, as well as rattlesnakes, coyotes, gangs of outlaws, and hostile Native Americans. (The Native Americans had a right to be hostile, of course. A good part of the trail ran straight through Native American Territory, land promised to them as their own by the U.S. Government.) When the journey was done and the cattle was delivered to the stockyards, the wranglers were, understandably, ready to “party.” Their very hard-earned cash soon found its way into the saloons, “bawdy houses” and onto gambling tables in establishments that sprang up in Delano, or West Wichita, in the area near Douglas and the Arkansas River. The trail was heavily used until it was closed in 1884. Barbed wire fences, penetration of rail lines, and a government quarantine line moving cattle drives went

to Dodge City, made it no longer usable. A new branch of the Chisholm Trail was established, leading from Cimarron to Dodge. But the original trail tracks remained, some survive even today. The depressions made by millions of hooves trampling and pounding the ground, packed the earth so tight that a plow blade couldn’t cut it. The trail originated in Brownsville, Texas, passed through San Antonio, leading due north, through the Native American Territory (now Oklahoma) and into Kansas. In Kansas, the trail went through Caldwell, Mayfield and Clearwater before arriving in Wichita. Historians know that the trail crossed the Big Arkansas at Douglas Street until 1871 when the dust and dirt from the cattle trampling though the city’s main thoroughfare, caused it to be re-routed to cross the river at what is now Kellogg Avenue. It was also known that it crossed the area where the Kansas Masonic Home now sits at Seneca and Maple streets. But the trail’s path through western Sedgwick County was not known until Kyle DeGarmo, a west side teen, investigated it. He sought out and interviewed landowners who remembered the trail transversing their property and plotted its course based on his findings. DeGarmo’s map, drawn up as a Scouting project in 1985, was apparently the only one done of the trail’s local course. Sources for this article: The Chisholm Trail by Don Worcester; Hunting and Trading on the Great Plains by James R. Mead; Wichita Local History Series: Jesse Chisholm and a Description of the Chisholm Trail compiled by City Historian Willian Ellington, Jr. Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the January 1989 edition of the WestSide Story.

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Follow the trail to Caldwell - the Border Queen, who earned her nickname and her beginnings on the Chisholm Trail!

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the trail, the Oklahoma-Kansas Cattle Drive will be in Caldwell

September 16 & 17, 2017

*Old West Parade *Cattle Drive on Main Street *5K & 15K Cherokee Strip Land Run through the red hills! *Entertainment on the streets, the Opera House, Boot Hill Cemetery, Upstairs Roost museum & Cattlemen’s Room *Outdoor Music Fest and Farm & Art market *Beef Eating Event, food trucks, Czech Beer Garden & games! *The Boarder Bandits concert/dance at Caldwell Community Building

Get into History - - Get into Caldwell!

Check us out on Facebook: Caldwell Chisholm Trail 2017 Events or www.caldwellkansas.com

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‘Border Queen’ earned its place in trail history

Caldwell – known to legend as the “Border Queen” – played a rare key role in both the Chisholm Trail and the Oklahoma Land Rush. Despite its role catering to cowboys who worked Chisholm Trail cattle drives, Caldwell was not an early boomtown. With a population of 260, the town was more of a trading post until 1879. The expansion of the Santa Fe Railroad changed things. A town company formed in 1879, drawing investors from Wichita and other areas. The city boomed, with the population exploding to 1,500. Caldwell became the end point for the Chisholm Trail, shipping cattle north and east along the new railroads.

Caldwell K A N S A S

Lawlessness was common. Gambling halls, brothels and saloons drew in men who were looking for fun and a way to spend money after the two-month journey. Violence and death – by gunfights and hangings – became common. Eighteen city marshals lost their lives. The city lost more law enforcement officers than any other famous cowtown. As the railroads expanded in Kansas, the path of the Chisholm Trail changed. Abilene’s role in shipping cattle east diminished as new cattle markets popped up in Ellsworth and Newton. The end of the Chisholm Trail moved to Newton in 1871. A year after that, Wichita took over the railroad and became the shipping point for cattle. By 1880, the trail ended in Caldwell as the city battled with another famous Kansas cowtown, Dodge City, to receive cattle from Texas and ship them eastward. As settlers moved in and open prairie became private property, the Chisholm Trail shrank. Much of the trail became impassable because of barbed wire fencing erected by settlers who fought protect

See CALDWELL, Page 8

ABOVE: A postcard shows downtown Caldwell. LEFT: An 1893 photograph shows a busy Main Street in downtown Caldwell.

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The Chisholm Trail had a huge impact on Wichita and Western Sedgwick County! Join us as we salute and celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Chisholm Trail in this area! Your home, our community!

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Caldwell From Page 6 their property. By 1885, the cattle trail had moved west, and Caldwell calmed down. Another chapter of Kansas (and Oklahoma) history would be written a few years later. In 1893, the United States Congress opened the Cherokee Strip for settlement. Thousands of people decended on the town. On Sept. 16, 1893, 15,000 people gathered in Caldwell eagerly waiting to try their luck in the land run. Caldwell continued to thrive for years afterward as a supply town for the new territory. The railroad and agriculture also contributed to the town’s growth. Nearly 30 markers help tell Caldwell’s story. They recognize Caldwell’s legendary reputation as the “Border Queen;” it’s role as the Chisholm Trail’s entry into Kansas; buildings such as the Grand Opera House, The Last Chance

Saloon, The Red Light Saloon, The Leland Hotel, the Southwestern Hotel and the Stock Exchange Bank; and make note of many of the town’s violent episodes such as the Talbot Gang Shootout and the murders of Marshals George Flatt and George S. Brown. History has favored other Kansas cowtowns like Wichita, Abilene, Ellsworth and Newton, but one can argue that Caldwell fits the image of a wild cowtown as well as any other legendary cities. Caldwell’s tenure as a place of importance on the Chisholm Trail ran from 1871 to 1885 – longer than many other cattle towns. Abilene was the end point of the trail for only a few years. Newton was the key shipping point for about a year, before Wichita took over that role. Eventually, the closing of the prairie and the growth of railroads into Texas closed the history books on the Chisholm Trail, but not before Caldwell’s place in Old West history was secured.

Trail 150

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Caldwell’s Chisholm Trail Arch is one of many monuments its citizens have erected to mark the city’s history over the years. Other markers include a life-size silhouette of a trail cattle drive and plaques that note famous sites. For more information, visit www.caldwellhistoricalsociety.org

Proud to support 150 years of the Chisholm Trail

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Sept. 14, 2017 hisholm

Delano Fall Fair a great event to put on your calendar By Adam Strunk Newton Now

If you’re looking for a cooler time to travel down the Chisholm Trail, you might want to hold off until October and drop in on the Delano Fall Fair. The Historic Delano District, located along Douglas Ave. on the west side of the Arkansas River, didn’t always used to be in Wichita. Instead, it was a bawdy cowtown, formed on the outskirts of Wichita, which was filled with the “more respectable folk.” Saloons and brothels sprouted up, and it was a lively place. The Chisholm Trail cattle drivers helped make Delano and made Wichita, Wichita. Jesse Chisholm, who the trail is named after, had a trading post in Wichita and frequently traded with American Indian tribes throughout much of the region. To honor that tradition, Delano will hold a fair in October; kicked off by cowboy ghost stories on Friday evening, Oct. 6. On Saturday, Oct. 7, the street will turn into a stage, with daylong entertainment featuring cowboys, saloon girls, cows, horses, food and other vendors, and oldtime games. On Sunday, Oct. 8, there will be a cowboy church service, as well as additional entertainment. “It was a rough and rowdy place, where the trail-weary cowboys mixed with the prim and proper Victorian-era residents

of a young Wichita,” said a release put out by Old Cowtown Museum. “Ride the stagecoach, sip sarsaparilla in the saloon, but watch out, a gunfight may erupt at anytime.” “In addition to Wichita attractions like Old Cowtown Museum and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, there are opportunities year-round to take in the history of the Chisholm Trail,” said Susie Santo, president and CEO of Visit Wichita. “We’re thrilled that the 150th anniversary brings even more opportunities to learn about the trail and its significance to Wichita.” For a full listing of the many ways to experience “The Year of the Chisholm Trail” in Wichita, visit www.VisitWichita. com/chisholm-trail-150.

Delano’s Chisholm Trail history is memorialized on the clock tower at Douglas and Sycamore.

Head em’ up, move em’ out! Good luck Cowboys!

The Farmers Cooperative Grain Association

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Thank you to those recreating a part of Kansas History!

Grain Bin Liquor 121 Spring Ave., Conway Springs | 620-456-3324

Celebrating Kansas History! 1901-2017

Grain - Feed - Fertilizer Seed - Petroleum

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Main Office • 101 S. Main, Argonia • (620) 435-6384 Branch Office • 12000 W. K42 Hwy, Wichita • (316) 524-2400

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Clearwater’s story started with a simple trading post

In the summer of 1865, Jesse Chisholm headed south out of Wichita with 3,000 head of cattle, driving them into the territory of the Sac and Fox. The following January, Chisholm headed south again, this time with goods purchased from James R. Mead, another historic figure from Wichita’s early days. His route took him from what is now west Wichita, along a route that included the present-day communities of Clearwater and Caldwell in Kansas, and through Oklahoma and the areas that would become Pond Creek, Jefferson, Skeleton Ranch near Enid, Bison, Kingfisher and eventually to Fort Sill. Old Clear Water was not much more than a trading post – a “wide spot” on the trail. It sat on the north side of the Ninnescah River, on the southeast edge of the current city’s location. For those who know the area, it’s near the corner of 135th St. S. (Fourth Street in town) and 111th St. S., near the city’s sewage

ABOVE: Abbie Bright spent just over half a year in Clearwater, but her writings capture much of the area’s early history. Read excerpts from her diary on Page 15. ABOVE RIGHT: This drawing is the only known image of Old Clear Water, which was on the north side of the Ninnescah River just southeast of the current-day city.

lagoons. The city draws its name from the river. “Ninnescah” is an Osage word that has been translated to mean “abundant water” or “good water” and even “running white water.” The idea for the first ranch in the area was developed in 1869 and was to be known as the Stockade Ranch. Ed Murray abandoned the idea by December of the first year to go back east. Upon his return in early spring of 1870, he found the ranch and stockade materials had been taken over by a squatter known as Charles Smith, who changed the name to the Ninnescah Ranch. Murray, rather than quarreling over the materials, gave them to Smith. The ranch became a favored rendezvous spot for desperados and cowboys looking for a wild time. It also supplied provisions and whiskey for the men.

Another rancher built corrals in the area so cattle crossing the trail could be penned allowing the cowboys to sleep during the night free from the fear of night-time stampedes. The area south of the crossing was noted for raids by thieves looking for provisions, guns and whiskey, and at times by Indians looking for tobacco and whiskey. The raids often occurred while the cowboys were trying to get the longhorns to ford the river. These raids ended in death on several occasions. K A N Horse Thief Cabin, built in 1869, has been restored and donated by a local landowner to the Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita. It remains at that location today. This cabin was located just a little

over one mile southwest of the river crossing. A post office opened in 1871 and land was surveyed. The original town was platted for 252 lots but only six lots actually had buildings on them by the time the trail closed in 1874. Three businesses existed in this location at the closing of the trail: a general store, hotel, and a wagon maker. The population was 30. Like many towns of era, the construction of railroads changed the fortunes of Clear Water, as well S A S as its location. In 1883, the Missouri Pacific Railroad came to the area with a line running from Wichita to Kiowa. The survey put the railroad one mile north and 1-1/2 miles west of

Clearwater

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This marker sits on the spot where the Chisholm Trail crosses Ross Avenue, near Clearwater’s skate park. During the heyday of the Chisholm Trail, Old Clear Water sat about a mile to the south. The city moved north and west when the railroad arrived.

the town. Like many communities of the time, residents packed up their town – buildings and all – and moved to be on the new rail line. J.M. Tracy’s general store was the first structure on the new site. In 1885, the town of “Clearwater” was incorporated, according to the Clearwater Historical Museum. The town’s boom ended in the late 1880s, but by that time Clearwater had a foundation that would last. Clearwater’s early history was well-document by Abbie Bright. In 1871, the 21-year-old settler traveled from Indiana to Kansas and stayed with her brother, Philip, who had a claim southwest of the Ninnescah Ranch. She spent six months in the area, living for a while in a small dugout/cabin on her claim. Her diary and letters, along with articles mailed to the Wichita Tribune newspa-

per, recorded the area’s early history and her life as a settler. It’s been said that Clearwater is the only Kansas town that exists solely because of the Chisholm Trail. By 1910, the city’s population was well over 500. Clearwater boasted two banks, a post office and telegraph office, several churches and telephone connections. The Courant weekly newspaper served the community. A monument marking where the Chisholm Trail came through the area can be found along Ross Avenue by the city’s skate park. Pull into the parking lot for the baseball-softball complex, located west of Clearwater High School to see it. The city’s original Chisholm Trail monument can be found at the Clearwater Historical Museum. The museum also has an 80-foot mural depicting the city’s early history.

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Page 12 hisholm Celebrating the 150 Years of the Chisholm Trail! The Caldwell Historical Society - Border Queen Museum

Preserving the history of Caldwell...

5 S Main, Caldwell, KS | 620.845.0138

Caldwell Opera House

2 S Main, Caldwell, KS | 620.845.0138

Trail 150

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Oatville name carries on legacy of a town that never really was Like many towns in Kansas, the community of Oatville never quite blossomed into a city. Many towns popped up on the prairie but soon blew way like tumbleweeds, disappearing into the K A N winds of history. Often, the only recorded information of their existence is a sentence or two. Oatville sat along the Chisholm Trail, which drew settlers to the area. The first settlers are unknown, but it appears the area was settled as early as 1870. Oatville was the first railroad station out of Wichita on the Wichita, Anthony and Salt Plains Railroad, which went southwest out of the city. It was built on land owned by James P. Royal. Royal and partner Newton H. Robinson named the town and platted it. Located southwest of Wichita in an area that is now along MacArthur Road near West Street, Oatville had the beginnings of a community. In

1895, Oatville had its own post office and railroad service. Its neighbors included: Bayneville, another town that never quite took off, five miles to the south-southwest; Haysville, four miles to the south-southeast; S A S Waco, eight miles to the south-southeast; Clearwater, nine miles southwest; and Goddard, nine miles west-northwest. Bayneville’s population in 1895 was 28, while Waco’s was 41. The communities have a similar history to Oatville. The other cities, with populations in the hundreds, survived and grew. While Oatville never became a true city, the early population of the township reached 694. Much of the population of the area now sits a little to the west, near MacArthur and Hoover. Oatville Elementary, part of the Haysville School District, honors the community and sits just south of the intersection.

Oatville

Happy trails to all on the Chisholm Trail!

Celebrating 150 Years “...a trail origianlly developed as a trading route by Jesse Chisholm. It lead the way for the Texas cattle industry to move its heards north to the railheads in Kansas.”

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Millerton K A N S A S

Sumner County hamlet has ties to trail history

Located between Clearwater and Conway Springs is the hamlet of Millerton. Not much stands in Millerton today, and what is left there gives few hints about the city’s past. An old grain elevator rises above the trees and brush that surround it, a monument to a bygone era. A handful of rural homes dot the landscape around the elevator. Millerton had some early promise, with a post office that operated from 1875 to 1912, although the post office was called Rolling Green until 1884. The arrival of the Missouri Pacific Railraod brought hope for growth up and down the line, but Millerton never became much more than a footnote in Illinois Township, in northern Sumner County. “A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, Vol. 2” states Millerton had a “money order post office, some general stores, telegraph and express offices, etc.” According the book, the population in 1910 was 60. This month’s cattle drive will stop near Millerton. It will be the closest stop near Conway Springs.

135 Years » Established December 24, 1881

Celebrating the history of the Chisholm Trail

The Stock Exchange Bank of Caldwell, the oldest banking institution in Caldwell and Sumner County, received its state charter on November 12, 1881 and opened on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1881. The stone building erected to house the bank in 1881 at a cost of $5,000, has undergone several remodeling projects but still remains at the original location and is in use today. The steer head emblem has always been associated with the bank, which has been allied with the cattle business of the Southwest since its beginning. The first officers were Major A. Drumm, president; Charles H. Moore, cashier; and John W. Nyce, assistant cashier. In 1911 M. N. Overall, nephew of Moore and Nyce, purchased the bank, along with Dr. I. T. Gabbert. M. N.. Overall was president until his death in 1941 and was succeeded by his son Charles G. Overall until his death in 1981. C. Gage Overall followed his father and holds the post today as Chairman and CEO. The Bank has a colorful history being founded on the Chisholm Trail and with Caldwell being a starting point for the The Cherokee Strip Land Run of September 16, 1893. Also, the Cherokee Strip Livestock Association was formed in March of 1883 and housed on the second floor of the bank building. The Cherokee Strip Livestock Association was organized by a group of cattlemen that would allow members to lease grazing rights from The Cherokee Nation. At one time in the Bank’s early days, it had over $100,000 in silver dollars in one vault to pay off the Indian allotments as the Indians would not accept paper money. Today, the Bank has grown through triumph and adversity with its roots planted in agriculture, but growing through providing excellent service, products, and technology. In June of 2011 the bank opened its first branch in Arkansas City KS. Both locations continually strive to provide a community bank atmosphere that our customers have become accustom to for over 135 years. With four generations of continued family ownership, The Stock Exchange Bank remains dedicated to the communities they serve.

Wellington Ashley Reed, PharmD

505 East 16th Street, Suite #2 Wellington, KS 67152

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Trail 150

Sept. 14, 2017

By any other name, Mayfield is just the same

Mayfield and the rest of Sumner County Kansas, had humble beginnings. The Kansas-Nebraska Act opened land to settlers in 1854, and the boundaries of Sumner County were set in 1867. By 1870, there were 22 people of European ancestry living in Sumner County. Among the early settlers in the Mayfield area was George Walton, who came to Sumner County from Leon, Iowa, in 1874. A house was built west of Wellington, near today’s Osborne Cemetery where the old missile base is. In July 1875, Walton came back from Iowa with his family in tow. The Chisholm Trail went through the Walton farm. With the nearest trading post at Wellington, the Waltons began offering goods to drovers and traders along the trail. In fact, for a time, the area was referred to as Walton. The Stocking family was among the first Mayfield settlers. According to family history, the first house in Mayfield was a combined store and house built by Henry Shopcott. The first church was organized by the Methodist Episcopals, and the first church built was the Presbyterian church. Sherry Stocking Kline said her ancestor, Roderick Stocking, came to Wichita on the train, before loading up on wagons and coming to Mayfield. The stage coach from Wichita came to Wellington and not Mayfield. Mail arrived about three times a week. At the time, Mayfield and Wellington were similar in size, with Wellington being less than 300 people. The year 1880 saw the arrival of the railroad. That made goods more accessible to Mayfield residents, as well as travel to Wichita. There’s no clear history how Mayfield got its name. In addition to being known as Walton, the area was referred to as Marengo, and as Belleview and Bellevue. Spellings were less precise in those days. It appears the name Mayfield came from a railroad official, but it seems the finer details of that story have been lost to history.

Mayfield K A N S A S

There were efforts to get the Chisholm Trail moved closer to Wellington, several miles to the east of Mayfield. Some early businessmen in the 1870s hatched a plan to plow up the trail west of Wellington in an effort to get those using the trail to come through their city. The effort did not work. Within a few years, the expansion of railroads meant the Chisholm Trail ended at Caldwell, and many more cattle were driven up the Western Trail to Dodge City. Mayfield was incorporated as a city on Feb. 1, 1927. A simple marker located at the corner of Andon Road. and 20th St. S. commemorates where this trail passed between Mayfield and nearby Wellington to the east. The spot is just over a mile from the edge of Wellington Lake, and three miles straight north of Wellington City Park.

A signpost in Mayfield points out the way to Abilene, the north end of the Chisholm Trail from 1867 to 1871. Other notable Old West towns – Wichita, and Caldwell are also included on the post.

Sept. 14, 2017 hisholm

Diary tells of life along Chisholm Trail Editor’s Note: In 1871, at the age of 32, Abbie Bright traveled from Indiana to the Clearwater area. She visited her brother, Philip, who was there to stake a claim, and later acquired her own acreage. Bright’s grandson donated a collection of her diaries and correspondence to the Kansas State Historical Society in 1970, providing a window on one woman’s experience of traveling and living in Kansas during the Chisholm Trail days. These are edited and condensed excerpts from Bright’s diary. The full text of the diary is available online at www. kansasmemory.org/item/223662. April 18, 1871 – Brother Philip wrote his address is Wichita, Kansas. He took up a claim some time ago, and if I go, I can stay with him; his house is almost finished. The [stage coach] route is via Quincy – Kansas City, Topeka, Emporia. There a stage runs to Wichita, where he will meet me, 20 miles to Ninnescah River, on the old Texas trail [I.e., the Chisholm Trail]. I wonder what mother will say, when she hears I am going to Kansas. May 1, 1871 – Ninnescah River, Kansas. From Augusta to Wichita, we changed horses once. The new teams were fine grays – and rather wild. In all that ride of 80 miles, from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., I was treated with the greatest respect. It was a great disappointment not to see or hear something of my brother. The clerk suggested that he might not have my letter, as he lived 20 miles out along the Ninnescah. I had to hire a team to take me out. The driver was a boy of sixteen. We forded the Arkansas; it was broad and sandy. A fringe of trees came into view, and we were nearing the (Ninnescah) river. The driver said, ‘We will stop at McLean’s ranch and inquire for your brother.’ ” “Your brother’s claim is across the river – and two miles up,” Mr. McLean said. “But you can’t cross the river today. See,” and he waved his hand toward a number of freight wagons, “they have been waiting two days for the water to go down.” When morning came, I hurried to the river to see if it could be crossed.

After the men had breakfast, Mrs. McLean, the girls and I ate. Then she gave me a sunbonnet, and we went to where they were doubling teams and taking one wagon across at a time. What a trip it was – past a few cottonwood trees, then down into the water, which had a swift current. By the time I began to get dizzy, the leaders struck sand, and we were soon on the old trail, where horsemen and teams were waiting to cross north. (When I finally saw my brother), I was so glad I believed I cried a bit. May 16, 1971 – Last week a party of Indian chiefs passed up the trail on their way to Washington, D.C. They said they would stay “two moons.” June 4, 1871 – The heavy rains raised the river, and a herd of cattle, in crossing, stampeded, and 15 or 20 were drowned. Every week, 7 to 10 thousand of Texas cattle are driven north over the trail. If the cattle stampede, and don’t want to cross the river, the herders yell and fire off their revolvers. Sometimes we hear them here, and it sounds as I suppose a battle does. It is the cattle that keep the trail worn so smooth. Their droppings are called “cow chips,” and when dry, are burned by those who have no wood. June 11, 1871 – There is a large herd of Texas cattle grazing south of here. It is not safe for a woman to be out where they see her; they would go for her. They have such big horns, they look frightful. June 20, 1871 – I visited at Ross’s today. This is the first time I have been across the river since I came. Of course, I had to wade – the river is low. I carried a cane, not because I looked gay, nor to keep the beaus away, but on account of snakes, and no rocks to pelt them with. While at Ross’s, four herders came there on horseback. One rode such a pretty pony. O, but I would like to have it. Rather wild looking men, with their revolvers in their belts.

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Trail 150

Sept. 14, 2017

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Michelle Leidy-Franklin/Times-Sentinel Newspapers

Mike Andra stands in one of the ruts left by cattle drivers on the Chisholm Trail, which crosses his property east of Clearwater.

Man owns a piece of history on the Chisholm Trail By Michelle Leidy-Franklin Times-Sentinel Newspapers

Rancher, farmer and owner of 107.9 KWLS Radio, Mike Andra has family ties to the Chisholm Trail and in 1988 when he had the chance to purchase a preserved portion of the trail, he jumped at it. “When I came down to buy it, no one knew why I was here,” Andra said with a smile. On that property was an old watering hole with ruts up to 6 feet deep from the millions of cattle that traveled that path looking for water. On the other side of the hole is a single deep groove where they left heading north. A historic marker was erected at the edge of the property marking the trail. The surrounding parts of the trail have been covered by plowed earth and farmland, but this small section remains undisturbed. “The previous owner put up a fence around the ruts to keep it from being plowed,” Andra said. Andra’s family connection to the trail began with his great-great-grandfather, Christian Dold, who homesteaded land about 2 miles north of Colwich. He was part of a group of predominately male German settlers, and women were scarce. Dold wanted a large family to work the farm but had no luck finding a suitable companion when he journeyed to Delano near Wichita.

He heard that the Comanche had surrendered at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and there were women up for sale. Dold traveled the Chisolm Trail in 1874 to Fort Sill and purchased a Comanche orphan whom he brought home and made his wife. Andra also spoke of his great-grandfather Joseph Deiffenbach and his connection to the Chisolm Trail. Deiffenbach homesteaded the quarter of land where the spring that fed the Cowskin Creek was located. Cattle being brought through on the trail stopped to drink from the creek and would often get into Deiffenbach’s garden. He and some other locals would get together and slaughter some of the cattle – unbeknownst to the drovers – and when they skinned them in the creek, the skins would float downstream…earning the creek its name. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the trail, Andra plans to ride 8 to 10 miles a day for nearly two weeks herding 120 Texas longhorns during the Chisolm Trail Cattle Drive to another of his properties just south of Wichita. The drive ends there where he will host an event on Sept. 23 at the future site of the Union Stockyards at 6425 W. MacArthur. There will be a brisket feed at 6 p.m., Del Shields will perform at 7 p.m. and Red Steagall and The Bunkhouse Boys starting at 8 p.m.

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Cattle trade brought wealth, violence to Caldwell By Sam Jack

Times-Sentinel Newspapers sjack@tsnews.com

During the 20 years it was active in Caldwell, the cattle trade brought vast wealth and intense violence to the city, according to local history enthusiast Karen Sturm. More than a dozen brothels operated in Caldwell between 1879 and 1885 – the peak boom years – along with a similar number of saloons. Cowboys who came into town having just completed long, dusty treks across Indian Territory were ready to whoop it up. “South of town, there’s what’s called Mount Lookout, which is really just a big hill,” Sturm said. “The story is that the saloon girls would climb up on top and look out south, and if they saw dust in the distance, they’d know a drive was coming, and they’d get back to town to get ready for their customers.” During those years, a number of lawmen tried to get a handle on the chaos in town. Many of them were killed in the line of duty.

Henry Newton Brown, second from left, and Ben Wheeler, far right, were employed as lawmen in Caldwell when they tried to rob a bank in Medicine Lodge. Brown was shot and killed after he tried to escape. Wheeler and two others, John Wesley and Billy Smith, were hanged.

By July 1882, a former bandit, Henry Newton Brown, had taken up the marshal’s badge. “He made the cowboys check their guns in when they got into town,” Sturm said. “They could have them back when they left. That quieted things down.” In 1883, the grateful citizens of Caldwell gave Brown a Winchester rifle with a gold medallion embedded in the stock. Brown married a local girl from a prominent family and looked like he might settle down. But then he decided to go for one last big score. “He took a gun and robbed the bank in Medicine Lodge,” Sturm said. “They killed the president of the bank, and they also killed the teller. “It was a miserable, rainy day when they did this,” Sturm continued. “When they made their getaway, they got trapped in one of those box canyons around Medicine Lodge, and they were captured and taken into town.” Brown was shot while trying to flee; his three co-conspirators were hanged. All four were thrown into a common grave, though three bodies were later reburied by relatives. The town fathers put up with all the criminality and unrest because they were making so much money off the cattle boom – and because Caldwell would never have existed without the Chisholm Trail and the industry it enabled. “It was kind of like the town was divided,” Sturm said. “You had the west part of town, which was your nicer people, the schools, the churches. On the east part of town were the brothels and the saloons.” Today, Caldwell is a town of around 1,000 people, two or three bars, and, of course, zero brothels. Many of the residents volunteer to keep the Old West legacy of the “Border Queen” alive. “We’re lucky to have a strong volunteer base,” Sturm said. “I credit that to our forefathers here in town, who promoted our history, preserved it and made sure all the kids knew about it. I feel like that’s what we’re doing, too.”

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Trail 150

Sept. 14, 2017

Cattle drive to bring trail history alive By Travis Mounts

Times-Sentinel Newspapers news@tsnews.com

Over the next few days, Kansans will have the chance to see a cattle drive. Longhorn cattle will walk through the heart of downtown Caldwell and Clearwater, near the town of Mayfield and past the village of Millerton (just minutes from Conway Springs), and to the Oatville area on the edge of Wichita. The cattle drive is being held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail and to promote community events being held along the trail. As much as possible, the cattle drive will done like the ones that moved through this area 150 years ago. “It’s going to be authentic,” said Lonnie Stieben, who has been helping coordinate anniversary activities along the Chisholm

Trail. Each daily stop will have a cow camp from roughly 3 to 6 p.m. During this time, you won’t see cell phones or sunglasses on the cowboys, drovers and chuckwagon cooks. “They’re all volunteers donating their time, some up to two weeks. They’re all local to the area they’re going through,” Stieben said. “They’re really welcoming people to talk and ask questions.” Each volunteer has been on at least one previous cattle drive. The cow camps will be a time for the public to come see the cowboys and the cattle. For safety reasons, visitors are asked to only come to the camps during the daily visitor hours. However, there will be chances to witness the drive as it moves from Oklahoma up to the edge of Wichita. The cattle drive started on Tuesday,

Sept. 12, at Pond Creek, Okla. Stops in the Sooner State included Jefferson, Medford and two in the Renfro area. From there, the cattle drive camps will make its way into Kansas, arriving in Caldwell on Saturday, Sept. 16. The cattle will be driven right through the heart of downtown. There will be events all day, beginning with the 7 a.m. Cherokee Strip Land Run 5K and 15K races. Evening activities include a hamburger feed, corn-eating contest and a concert by Del Shields. Shields is a Western music artist, cowboy poet, and featured entertainer and cohost of “Best of America by Horseback” on RFD-TV. The cow camp will be at the KanOkla pond on the north side of Caldwell. On Sunday, Sept. 17, there will be cowboy church service at 9 a.m. at the pond. The cattle drive starts up again on

Monday, Sept. 18, with a stop at 110th St. S. and Sprindale Rd., where trail ruts from 150 years ago can be seen. On Tuesday, Sept. 19, the drive stops on the south side of Wellington Lake, near Mayfield, at 60th St. S. and SW Lake Rd. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the drive stops near Mayfield, on Mayfield Rd., one-quarter mile north of U.S. Highway 160. On Thursday, Sept. 21, cow camp will be at Millerton, on Mayfield Road., one-quarter mile north of Prospect Road. Cow camp will be held 3 to 6 p.m. at each cow camp location. Stieben said the stop at Millerton, in Keith Light’s pasture, will be a highlight. “That’s probably as natural an area as the cattle will be in,” he said. That will be the closest the drive comes to Conway Springs. The stop at Wellington Lake will be the nearest for Wellington

Sept. 14, 2017 hisholm residents. On Friday, Sept. 22, the cattle will come in from the west and go through downtown Clearwater on Ross Ave., past Elementary West and the Clearwater Intermediate Center. The cattle will turn north on Fourth, then go west on Wood Street past the nursing home. Cow camp will be at the Chisholm Trail Arena, 9138 S. 167th St. W., just north of Clearwater. “There will be ample parking at City Park, and the swimming pool and at area churches,” Stieben said. Stieben noted that most of Clearwater’s celebrations will not take place

during the cattle drive, but will be held the weekend before during the community’s Fall Festival. The final cow camp will be on Sept. 23, at 6425 W. MacArthur, the future site of the Union Stockyards. The location is one-quarter mile west of Hoover Road and MacArthur in the Oatville area. In addition to cow camp, there will be more activities, including a concert. Red Steagall, an actor, musician, poet and stage performer who focuses on country and Western music, is the headliner and will perform at 8 p.m. Del Shields will open the show at 7 p.m.

Cattle drive/cow camp schedule:

Caldwell Celebration

Cow camp will be open approximately 3-6 p.m. daily at each location. Sept. 16 – KanOkla Pond, Caldwell. Sept. 18 – NW of Caldwell, 110th St. S. and Springdale Road. Sept. 19 – Wellington Lake, near Mayfield. Sept. 20 – Mayfield, U.S. Hwy. 160 and Mayfield Road. Sept. 21 – Millerton, Mayfield Rd and Prospect. Sept. 22 – Chisholm Trail Arena, 9138 S. 167th St. S., Clearwater. Sept. 23 – Oatville (South Wichita), 1/4-mile west of Hoover and MacArthur.

Clearwater Celebration Sept. 16 at Fall Festival 9 a.m.-4 p.m. – Clearwater Historical Museum open. 12-4 p.m. – Chisholm Trail 150 Games, Stories and Music. Sept. 17 1-4 p.m. – Clearwater Historical Museum open. Fall Festival is Sept. 14-17, see details at www.clearwaterfallfestival.com. Sept. 22 Cattle drive through Clearwater, cow camp at Chisholm Trail Arena.

Saturday, Sept. 16 7 a.m. – Cherokee Strip Land Run 5K/15K. 8 a.m.-Noon – Farm and Art Market, Heritage Park. 9 a.m. – Talking Tombstone Tram Tour. 10 a.m. – Parade. 10:30 a.m. – Cattle Drive. 11 a.m. – Cow Pie Bingo; Beer Garden & Yard Games: Gunfight & Street Show. 11:30 a.m. – Kids Game, Chisholm & 1st St.; Children’s Book Signing, Library. High Noon – Grab Lunch From A Food Truck. 1 p.m. – Kansas Humanities Speaker Jim Gray, Opera House. 2 p.m. – Mutton Bustin’, Chishom & Avenue G. 3 p.m. – Talking Tombstone Tram Tour; Cow Camp Opens. 4-8 p.m. – Spirits of the Trail Tasting Parlour, Chisholm & 1st St. 6 p.m. – Hamburger Feed, Chisholm & 1st St. 8 p.m. – Del Shields Concert, Community Building. Sunday, Sept. 17 9 a.m. – Cowboy Church at KanOkla Pond.

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Proud supporter of Kansas History Tri-County Electric

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Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Chisholm Trail Saturday, September 16, 2017 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm • Clearwater, KS Fall Festival Performances by: Ft. Riley Commander General’s Mounted Color Guard (Leading Clearwater Fall Festival Parade • Demonstration of Skills 1:00 pm)

Native American Pathfinders Presentation

(In the Clearwater Fall Festival Parade • 30 min. Performance)

Ron Wilson, Cowboy Poet “Lariat,” Jeff Davidson, Early Western Music and Cowboy Poet

Marla Matkin—Cattle Towns and Soiled Doves The Cowtown Cowboys

(In the Clearwater Fall Festival Parade • Gunfight Performance Saturday Afternoon)

Local Story Tellers: Abbie Bright - Portrayed by Clearwater Resident Sarah Rakes; Stories of the early Cattle Drives - Clearwater Resident Dean Dyer; Cowgirl Poet - Haysville Resident Donna Penley; Dr. Schulyer Jones, Grandson of J.R. Mead (Mr. Mead was a close friend of Jess Chisholm)

Cattle Drive Arrives in Clearwater

Friday, September 22, 2017 Cattle Drive Thru Town 11:00* am Cow Camp 3:00* pm - 6:00 pm

*Approximate times. Visitors can expect to see drovers in authentic gear, their horses, 90+ head of cattle, and cowboy campfire cooking demonstrations. Please plan to join!

For more information on the 150th Anniversary of the Chisholm Trail and other events, visit ChisholmTrail150.org

129 E. Ross Ave. | P.O. Box 453 | Clearwater, KS 67026 | (620) 584-2311