This is the last week of school for most schools which means that some families are thinking about places where they might take their children on a road trip. It doesn’t have to be long to learn about many interesting areas and sights right here in Kansas. Since schools aren’t teaching Kansas history to our Kansas youngsters, especially like they did when I went to school, a road trip to learn some history about our state might be something the family would enjoy.
Kansas has a very rich and colorful history with so many, many places to visit. I dare say many have visited the Fort at Fort Scott but that isn’t our only historic fort. There is Fort Larned, located six miles west of Larnerd, KS on highway 156. Tour the buildings and learn about it’s rich history.
From 1821 to 1880 the Santa Fe Trail was one of America’s most important overland routes. It carried several million dollars per year in commercial traffic between Independence, MO and Santa Fe. With the new territory acquired by the US after the war with Mexico and the western gold rushes of 1848 and 1858 traffic was heavier than ever. This upset the Indian tribes, who believed their way of life was being threatened so they struck back attacking travelers on this famous trail. To protect travelers several military posts were set up and in 1860, Ft. Larned was established. For several years, Ft. Larned was the principal guardian of the Santa Fe Trail.
Ft. Larned was a key post in the Indian wars from 1859 to 1869. In 1868, violating the Treaty of Medicine Lodge signed a year before, the Cheyennes attacked several wagon trains along the trail and raided settlers as far south as the Texas panhandle.
In the 1860s, Ft. Larned also served as an agency of the Indian Bureau, which tried to find peaceful solutions to Indian and white cultural conflicts. One can learn about the colorful history of this area during this time but Ironically the Fort’s last important job was to help make the Santa Fe Trail obsolete. Why? Because at the end of the civil war the nation’s industrial energy was released and railroads surged across the plains. Soldiers from the fort protected those building the Santa Fe Railroad from Topeka westward. Six years after the railroad was completed , in 1878, the Fort was closed. What happened after that and how it eventually became a national historic site is some of what you can lear n if you visit this important piece of Kansas History. Might put it along with several other sites on a family “bucket list”.
