Dodge City

The founding of the American West can be studied in no better place than Dodge
City and Ford County. Whether it is frontier forts, trails and cowtowns, or farms
and ranches, Ford County holds original examples. The best-known Wild West lawmen
and gunfighters--Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, a [...]
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The founding of the American West can be studied in no better place than Dodge
City and Ford County. Whether it is frontier forts, trails and cowtowns, or farms
and ranches, Ford County holds original examples. The best-known Wild West lawmen
and gunfighters--Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Doc Holliday--gained their fame
in Dodge City. Dodge City's history began with Francisco V squez de Coronado
crossing the Arkansas River in 1541, leading to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 (Dodge
City is on the 100th meridian border) and the 1821 opening of the Santa Fe Trail by
William Becknell. Fort Dodge, built in 1865, still stands as a reminder of the millions
of people that passed through Dodge City. The Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1872, and
the buffalo hunters and the Great Western Cattle Trail grew around Dodge City. The
pioneer era did not end in the 1800s but continued through the 1930s dust bowl and
beyond--demanding the same tough work, cooperation, and high ethics that made
surviving possible in the "Great Western Desert."