A Western Thanksgiving

By Renée Gordon History & Travel Writer

“Cowboys don’t take baths, they just dust off.”

– Tornado

The 100th Meridian was recognized as the western border of the Osage Indian Reservation, the line that marked the end of the humid East and the beginning of the arid western Great Plains. The line runs from south to north, pole to pole and was defined by John Wesley Powell in 1879. The area became incredibly important to settlers, newly emancipated African Americans, mountain men, gunslingers and calvary after the Civil War as a tangible marker for people seeking to establish new lives in the west.

Fort Larned, one of the best preserved forts in the West, was constructed in 1865-68. The complex consisted of 10 sandstone buildings, 9 of which are still standing. The fort was charged with protecting settlers, railroad workers and the US Mail from Indian raids, maintain peace in the area and guard traffic on the Santa Fe Trail. The 900-mile Santa Fee Trail functioned as an international trade route facilitating the movement of goods, staples and people. Nine-miles outside of Dodge City trail ruts are still visible after more than 150-years ago.

Santa Fe Trail and the guardians included Kit Carson, Philip Sheridan, Custer and in April 1867 ninety-eight men from Company A of the 10th US Cavalry were sent to Larned. For all its glory the fort was abandoned in 1878. Tours are available and walking through the fort is unique form of time travel.

Santa Fe Trail Center Museum & Research Library interprets the entire trail experience and its impact on the West. Displays include artifacts and 7,000 photographs. Visitors have access to the Archives and Research Library. santafetrailcenter.org

Fort Dodge was established in 1865 to protect wagon trains traveling the Santa Fe Trail. Original structures were adobe or sod. It is the oldest permanent community in this area of Kansas. The fort suffered an Indian attack in 1868 and General Custer led a retaliatory campaign. The fort closed in 1882 and began use as a soldier’s home in 1890. A portion of the Fort’s land became a settlement known as Dodge in 1865 and a Dodge City in 1872.

Legend has it that Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado crossed the Arkansas River in 1541 near Dodge City, followed by explorer Zebulon Pike in 1806. A 38-foot cross marks the location of Coronado’s believed Arkansas River crossing. The cross is situated within a 10-acre prairie. In 1821 William Becknell opened the Santa Fe Trail as a trade route. Henry Sutler constructed a 3-room cabin that became the site for traveling hunters and traders to conduct business.

“A cowboy is a man with guts and a horse.”

Between 1872-1874 more than 850,000 buffalo hides and bones were shipped from Dodge and by 1875 the buffalo had been slaughtered. The buffalo trade was replaced by the 5-million cattle driven through Dodge until the 1880s. Originally there was no local law and the military was not mandated to enforce the law. At one time Dodge had the largest number of gunfighters of any frontier town. In 1883 The Dodge City Peace Commission was founded and with it came lawmen such as Bat Masterson, Luke Short Frank McClain, Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. These personalities were blended to shape the character of the fictional Matt Dillion of Gunsmoke. The show is the longest running western in television history with 635 episodes.

Boot Hill Museum is a star attraction situated atop the original Boot Hill Cemetery. It tells the story of the premiere cattle town through, photographs, artifacts, dioramas, reconstructed buildings and interactions with authentically dressed re-enactors. The collection is comprised of more than, largely original, 60,000 items. A recreated Front Street includes the Long Branch Saloon where you can belly up to the bar for a drink. Of the 16 saloons it was the only one.

Join the Historic Trolley Tour at the Visitor Center. The tour provides background information, anecdotes and a physical overview of the town.

The Gunfighters Wax Museum displays lifesize wax sculptures of individuals prominent in the West’s history, Crockett, Earp, Masterson, the James Brothers, Doc and Miss Kitty.

Before you “get out of Dodge” there are wonderful photo ops with bronze statues of Earp, Masterson, Dillion, Holliday and the iconic El Capitan Texas Longhorn. Be certain to look down to see the more than 14-miles of brick streets. visitdodgecity.org

“Wake Nicodemus up for the great Jubilee.” African

Black people came to the West with the Spanish, later slave owners and in the early 1800s as enslaved workers of the Five Civilized Tribes. After the Civil War freedom was granted but it was nominal. Sharecropping, racially biased laws, constrained movement and the inability to vote hampered equal rights and many African Americans saw migration to the West as a solution to the blatant racism. Pap Singleton, the Moses of the Colored Exodus, headed a group of 300 “Exodusters” to Cherokee County, Kansas. By the 1880s, the end of the Exodus, it is estimated 43,010 African Americans had relocated to Kansas.

The first black community west of the Mississippi River was Nicodemus in northwestern Kansas. It is the sole black township that continues as a functioning community. Three-hundred Kentucky settlers arrived in 1877. Sixty people left immediately when they saw the conditions. Within five years they developed into a prosperous, 160-acre, town. Nicodemus declined during the Great Depression and now has a population of twenty. In 1996 the town was inscribed as a National Historic Landmark.

Tours begin in Township Hall where visitor’s view a video and a series of exhibits. There are five structures on the tour. Each site displays an interpretive sign with photos and information. As you leave town there is a small park filled with metal plaques that provide complete information.

Grab your huckleberry and embark on an impactful trip to meet legends and interact with icons. #KSmediaevent2023