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Remember the Smoky Hill Trail!
PATTY NICHOLAS
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARIAN, FORSYTH LIBRARY
Smoky Hill River
http://geology.com/lakes-rivers-water/kansas.shtml
Explorers SPANISH –
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado - 1540 – is given credit for being the first white explorer to visit the Smoky Hill valley
Juan de Ulibarri - 1706 – looking for a band of Picuries at El Cuartelejo, he may have come as far north as the Smoky Hill River
FRENCH – Etienne Veniard – 1724 – probably the 1st white man to travel the
entire length of the Smoky Hill River
AMERICAN – Zebulon Pike – 1806 – explored the headwaters of the rivers to the
west and he, no doubt, was near the Smoky Hill River as he discovered the peak that bears his name
John C. Fremont – 1842 - with Kit Carson as his guide, John was the first explorer in the name of the United States to explore the entire length of the Smoky Hill River
Gold!! In 1858, gold was discovered in Cherry Creek next to
the Rocky Mountains which was in the Kansas Territory at the time
Gold seekers wanted to find the fastest way to the Rocky Mountains, and an old Indian trail to the north of the Smoky Hill River became the most direct route to the gold fields in 1859
There were cutoff routes to Denver from both the Oregon and the Santa Fe Trails, but they took longer
Named the Smoky Hill Trail, it became the most traveled route, despite the fact that it was also the most dangerous because of the possibility of Indian attacks and the scarcity of water
Kansas Territory - 1854-1861
Historical Atlas of Kansas, 2nd Edition by Homer E. Socolofsky and Huber Self
Smoky Hill Trail Routes
Began Leavenworth
Went through Abilene
Salina
Ellsworth
Hays
Wallace County
Old Cheyenne Wells (headwaters of the river begin there)
Three different trails from this point North Trail – route is pretty
close to present day Interstate 70/U.S. 40
South Trail – more of western route to present day Kiowa and then northwest to Denver
Middle Trail - went west from Lake, near present-day Limon, then turned northwest to Denver where it met the South Trail
Historical Atlas of Kansas, 2nd Edition by Homer E. Socolofsky and Huber Self
Map of the Smoky Hill Trail RouteRoute through our state
Trail in Colorado
“Starvation Trail”~
1859 The Middle Trail became known by this name because of the
gruesome story of the Blue Brothers and cannibalism Alexander, Daniel and Charles – Whiteside County, Illinois
Their party set out for the gold fields in February 1859 and eventually made it to the headwaters of the river near Cheyenne Wells around March 17
A blizzard caused them to become disoriented and they traveled in circles; after the blizzard, several members of the party were able to travel on to Denver
Weak and exhausted, the 4 members left behind (the 3 brothers and a man named Soley) made requests that if he died, the others could eat his body to strengthen themselves
Soley died first, then Alexander, then Charles; Daniel was near death when found by Arapahoe Indians who nursed him back to good health
Daniel arrived in Denver on May 11
Travel on the Smoky Hill trail practically stopped after people heard Daniel Blue’s story
Building a better route
The towns along the eastern part of the Smoky Hill Trail in Kansas came up with a plan to outfit an expedition to build a road up the Smoky Valley
Henry Green headed the road-building crew which left Leavenworth on June 18, 1860 and reached Denver after 54 days
Green sent back a positive report to Leavenworth saying the road was good for travelers
However, the anticipated stampede did not happen Kansas became a state in 1861
Rumblings of war began – Civil War
But….the greatest impact was yet to come
David A. Butterfield Born on January 17, 1834 in
Franklin County, Maine He was intrigued by the West,
so he moved his family to Kansas in 1856, and then to Denver in 1862 after the Civil War broke out
He dreamed of operating a stage and freight line from the Missouri River to Denver going across Kansas; moved his family to Atchison in 1864
Butterfield Overland DespatchThis route is not to be confused with the Butterfield Overland Mail Route which was established by John Butterfield (no relation) in 1858 and operated through 1861
Its route started in St. Louis, went down through western Arkansas and turned west across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and then turned north again in California towards San Francisco
Trail Survey Butterfield wanted to use much of the same route as
the earlier Smoky Hill Trail, but his road had to be shorter and safer; he commissioned a survey of the route
Lieutenant Julian Fitch was the surveyor who began the survey on June 13, 1865 in Atchison and arrived in Denver on August 7
Changes that were made did make the trip faster, but not necessarily safer
In Colorado Territory, the Middle Trail (Starvation Trail) was bypassed because of the lack of water; the original North and South Trails were used
Making of the trail for stagecoaches and freight
Stations were set up at various places along the trail 40 stations
16 were home stations where passengers could get meals
The state was settled between Atchison and Fort Riley, so there were not any stations listed for that part of the route
Butterfield Overland Despatch
First wagon train carrying 150,000 pounds of freight left Atchison on June 24, in the shadows of the survey team who left on June 13
The first passenger stagecoach left Atchison on September 11 and arrived in Denver September 23
Passenger fare was $175 without meals
Atchison to Soldier Creek & Leavenworth to north of Topeka
Two trails come together at Louisville and then on to Junction City
Junction City, Abilene, Salina and Bavaria
Old Highway 40 follows the trail here – Brookville, Fort Harker, Ellsworth & Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill, Fossil Creek Station (Russell), Fort Fletcher, Big Creek, Lookout & Stormy Hollow Stations
Stormy Hollow, Downer’s and Chalk Bluffs Stations; Fort Downer - temporary outpost
Chalk Bluffs and Monument Stations, Russell Springs and Fort Wallace
Fort Wallace into Colorado; trail splits at Cheyenne Wells into North Branch and South Branch
North Branch and South Branch meet at Willow Spring, then split apart west of Lake Station
The North and South Branches head into Denver
Indian Troubles
The B.O.D. freight and passengers had a great risk traveling along the Smoky Hill Trail in the latter part of 1865
Indians became desperate when their hunting grounds were invaded by the B.O.D. and they started hunting the white men
First attack on a stagecoach was near Monument Station (Gove County) on October 2, 1865 This and other attacks prompted the establishment of Fort
Fletcher on October 11
Forts already in existence/established along the trail in Western Kansas for protection from the hostile Indians
Fort Ellsworth (southwest of Kanopolis)
August 1864 and renamed Fort Harker in November 1866
Abandoned in 1867
Fort Harker (in Kanopolis)
A new site
Closed and abandoned in 1872
Fort Fletcher (south of Walker)
October 11, 1865
Abandoned May 5, 1866
Re-established October 17, 1866
Became Fort Hays on November 17, 1866
Flooded in June of 1867 and moved
Fort Hays
June 23, 1867
Closed and abandoned November 8, 1889
Fort Wallace (southeast of Wallace)
October 26, 1865
Abandoned May 31, 1882
Ben Holladay
Butterfield’s stage and freight lines were losing money on the Smoky Hill route because of the Indian attacks; people were using the longer route through Nebraska and Colorado
Ben Holladay had a mail contract from the Missouri River to Denver along the Platte River (Pony Express that ran in the northeast part of the state) and he had Army protection along the route
He offered to purchase the B.O.D. line to offset the route that Wells Fargo was starting from the Missouri River Purchase was complete in March 1866
Spread too thin, Ben began having his own financial difficulties and sold his company to Wells Fargo on November 1, 1866
More trouble with the Indians Spring of 1867 - the Indians began attacking various B.O.D. stations
Maj. General Philip Sheridan was post commander at Fort Hays until 1869 when Col. Nelson Miles took over in April
Bvt. Maj. General George Custer was moved to Fort Hays during the summer of 1867 from Fort Riley due to the hostilities of the Indians along the Smoky Hill
June was one of the bloodiest months in the fighting, most of which was west of Fort Hays
It was also the month that Fort Hays was flooded, and then moved to its present location
The Kansas Pacific Railroad, laying rails across the state, was also victim of the hostilities
Seven railroad workers were killed just east of Victoria on August 1
Spring 1868 and Spring 1869 – Indians started attacking again
1870 brought a more peaceful atmosphere
The Union Pacific Eastern Division Railroad
Began construction in Kansas City in 1863 It became the Kansas Pacific on May 31, 1868
Through the Indian attacks, the railroad still kept laying tracks in Western Kansas and by January 1870, the rails reached Eagle Tail Station in Colorado
As the railroad was built on west, the B.O.D. stations were either abandoned or taken over by settlers
The rails reached Denver and the stagecoaches stopped running on August 18, 1870
The Butterfield Overland Despatch became history
Cow towns / Cattle trails Kansas had passed a law in 1865 prohibiting Texas cattle from
coming through the Kansas farmlands Farmers did not like having cattle from the trails roaming over their
lands with their own cattle
The line was about sixty miles west of Topeka, so west of that line there were no restrictions
Joseph McCoy, of Springfield, Illinois, owned a livestock shipping business
McCoy came up with the idea in 1867 to ship cattle using the railroads and decided to locate a market that was near the Smoky Hill River Junction City, Solomon City, and Salina did not want the cattle
He couldn’t go further west because the rails were not built that far yet
Abilene, a little town on Mud Creek, wanted the cattle trade
Cow towns / Cattle trails Chisholm Trail – started in Texas and ended in Abilene
from 1867-1871 Chisholm Trail was so named because a portion of it followed a
wagon trail that had been in use by Jesse Chisholm, an Indian trader
Later ended in Newton, Wichita and Caldwell
Ellsworth - became a cattle town and shipping point for the Chisholm Trail as the railroad moved west (1871-1875)
Hays – it never became a shipping point because the farmers cut off the road to Ellsworth, but it was on the Western Trail which ran from Bandera, Texas to Dodge City to Ogallala, Nebraska The Great Western Cattle Trail was longer in length and carried
cattle for two years longer than the Chisholm Trail
The Western: The Greatest Texas Cattle Trail By Gary and Margaret Kraisinger
The Western: The Greatest Texas Cattle Trail By Gary and Margaret Kraisinger
Massacre in Western Kansas along the trail
September 1872
Dick Jordan and George Jordan Buffalo hunters from Ellis
Fred Nelson A young Swedish boy who
worked for the brothers
Mrs. Dick Jordan Had recently lost her baby
and did not want to stay home by herself
They planned to hunt along the Smoky Hill River and go south towards Fort Dodge; planned to be gone 6 or 7 weeks
About the time the party should have returned to Ellis, two wagons were found along Walnut Creek in Ness County
The bodies of Dick Jordan and Fred were found by the wagons; the body of George Jordan was found across the creek where he had tried to get away
Mrs. Dick Jordan’s apron and bonnet were nearby; she was never found and is believed to have been killed before the Indians went back to their reservation
The last trail tragedy – September 11, 1874
German Family John and Lydia Rebecca – 20 Stephen – 19 Catherine – 17 Joanna – 15 Sophia – 12 Juliana – 7 Addie - 5
Left Missouri on August 15, 1874 and by the night of September 10, they were within a day’s ride to Fort Wallace.
As they got ready to set out the next day, a band of warriors, including two squaws, attacked the family
John, Lydia, Rebecca, Stephen and Joanna were killed in the attack
Catherine, Sophia, Juliana and Addie were kidnapped
Remains of the German family are in the Fort Wallace post cemetery
Historical Atlas of Kansas, 2nd Edition by Homer E. Socolofsky and Huber Self
More hostilities “Remember the German girls” – In April 1875,
Lieutenant Henely led a group of soldiers to an Indian camp on Middle Sappa Creek (Rawlins County) where there was a battle that ended with 19 warriors and 8 squaws and children being killed, along with 2 soldiers
More than 3 years later in September 1878 Soldiers were ambushed about 30 miles southeast of Fort
Wallace, killing 1 soldier and injuring 2 others
As the Indians fled, they killed 20 men in Decatur County and 11 men in Rawlins County, and others in Nebraska before being captured near Fort Robinson
This was the last Indian raid on Kansas soil
Tragic ending of David Butterfield’s life
After he sold the Butterfield Overland Despatch to Ben Holladay in 1866, he and his family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas where he started up a street car system
On March 27, 1875, he approached a couple of employees at his stable about their alleged abuses of the stock; one of them hit David on the head with a stick of wood, striking him unconscious
David passed away the following morning, leaving behind a wife, four daughters and one son
Howard Raynesford
Much of the information in this presentation came from a book written by Howard C. Raynesford and Wayne C. Lee titled “Trails of the Smoky Hill: From Coronado to the Cow Towns”
Raynesford was born and raised on a farm southwest of Ellis and raised his own family on a dairy farm outside of Ellis
A historian who became Director of the Kansas State Historical Society
Mapped the BOD trail from Atchison to Denver in his spare time and he was granted permission in 1963 from the State Legislature to place stone-post markers at the right of ways where the trail crossed major highways; he received no funds for doing this major project
Original papers and maps are in the Kansas Room at the Hays Public Library; copies are in the Smoky Hill Trail Association Archives located in Special Collections here at Forsyth
MarkersCement plaques for each marker base were cast by Raynesford
The plaques read as follows: Smoky Hill Trail Butterfield Overland Dispatch Atchison to Denver Traveled by Gen Fremont 1844 First Denver Stagecoach 1859 Most Dangerous Overland Route Retraced and Mapped By Howard C. Raynesford Ellis Kansas Marker Placed 1965
138 stone postsEach was etched with “BOD 1865”
Smoky Hill Trail Association
The Smoky Hill Trail Association is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and interpretation of the heritage of the Smoky Hill Trail. The Association was founded in 2007.
The Association is actively engaged in seeking National Historic Trail status for the Smoky Hill Trail, under the National Trails System Act. It also has an on-going project of mapping and marking of the historic Trail.
2013 Conference – ParkerA bus trip took us along the route from Seven-Mile Station near Parker to the end of the trail in downtown Denver
Cherry Creek
House at Four-Mile Station
End of the Trail as it looks today Downtown Denver -
Corner of Broadway and Colfax
Pioneer MonumentKit Carson and his horse; The Hunter (to the left)
End of the Smoky Hill Trail as it looks today
Broadway and Colfax Intersection with the State Capital Building in
the background
Denver Public Library – a couple of blocks away
2015 Conference Atchison, Kansas
October
Smoky Hill Trail Association
Membership Information Yearly fees range from $10 to
$100 Categories include:
Student
Individual
Family
Institution
Business
Patrons (supports, but not involved)
Lifetime ($500)
Website http://www.smokyhilltrail.com/
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Remember The Smoky Hill Trail!
Thank you for coming today.