Dodge City – Boot Hill
Kansas
In the wild west, the Santa Fe Trail was a major transportation route that ran from Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trail ran right through Dodge City, Kansas, therefore nearly every scoundrel, Indian fighter, frontier man, stagecoach, gunfighter and would be sheriff sooner or later passed through town.
It began as a protective fort, however Cheyenne Indians managed to collapse the fort in 1848. That brought the problem to the attention of the U.S. Army and new construction began on Fort Dodge. But it took a sod house to make it the beginning of a town.
Dodge City is near the Arkansas River in the southwest part of Kansas. The sod house became a stopping point for travelers who needed rest and soon others began to notice the commercial potential of the area. What came first? The saloon for thirsty soldiers. Then came the railroad, Texas Long Horn cattle drives and the Civil War in 1866.
A monument to the days of the great cattle drives stands in downtown Dodge City. The town saw more gunfighters in its colorful history than any other town in the west. But after the cowboys, gamblers and brothel owners moved west, the town reverted back to a sleepy little community
Today, visitors can still see covered wagon wheel ruts in the dirt road of a preserved part of the 1,200-mile (1,900 km) long Santa Fe Trail. Gunfighters in the wax museum include: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, Belle Starr, Davey Crockett, Buffalo Bill, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, and more.
When you visit Dodge City, you will want to see Boot Hill – named for men who dies with their boots on. Enjoy a chuck-wagon dinner, a stagecoach ride and a gunfight re-enactment every evening in the summer. Gunsmoke, the popular television series was set in Dodge City.
Dodge City tops the list of windiest cities in the United States, has occasional blizzards in winter and tornadoes in the spring.
Check their website for more information.
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By Marti Talbott
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The Dodge City Trail (The Trail Drive)
Deadly Dozen: Twelve Forgotten Gunfighters of the Old West, Vol. 1
