Dodge City—Kansas

The name "Dodge City" evokes images of cattle drives, gun fights and the wild west. Dodge City was a boom town in the 1880s and profited as a primary shipping point for cattle. Artifacts of that period are preserved to help visitors acquaint themselves with the town's historic past, and sort out fact from fiction regarding the town’s past.

Other nearby sites include:

Fort Larned National Historic Site

Fort Larned was established as a military post from which to guard the Santa Fe Trail. The fort was active during the 1860s and 1870s. During the Civil War the fort remained active but was staffed by volunteers from nearby states. Hostilities with Native Americans were at a peak during period the fort saw service. There were multiple raids on Fort Larned and it became necessary for the fort to dispatch armed escorts for all wagon trains heading west.

Fort Larned National Historic Site was established in 1964 and is managed by the National Park Service. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a frontier fort in the United States.

Nicodemus National Historic Site

The Nicodemus site preserves the only town established exclusively by African Americans during the reconstruction period after the Civil War. The town of freed slaves was formed in 1877 and it went on to establish its own self-government. The town was declared a national historic site in 1996.