howdy folks and greetings from our warm oasis in North Texas!
I've been talking about the Wild West and Cowboys and nothing
speaks to that subject better than Dodge City! It's like my hometown,
it's where we got groceries and supplies even though we lived about
25 miles outside of town.
We used to go into Dodge and "drag Earp" which was the thing to
do in those days, driving up and down Wyatt Earp Blvd until early
in the morning. Did any of you see "American Grafitti"? The movie
about a night of cruising main street all night long..that's what it
was like.
Anyway Boot Hill is at the center of Dodge and it's main drag , we
used to joke around about it and make fun of the tourists that
came but it really is an interesting place and I appreciated it alot
more later in life when I toured it again.
My previous post told how Dodge City started out, it was the very
center of the buffalo hunting trade and Fort Dodge was the main
supply depot for several outposts, forts and protection from
Indian attacks during the Indian Wars.
So it was already a busy location when the railroad got there in
1872 and it exploded in growth from that point on. For years
it was the main shipping point for the buffalo hides from the
merciless slaughter of the herds which used to thunder across
the Great Plains with that part of Kansas being the epicenter.
source: legendsofamerica.net
They estimate that 1,500,000 buffalo hides were shipped out
of Dodge during that time. A good hunter could make $100
per day killing these noble animals. I don't know what that
would be in todays dollars but I'm guessing a couple grand?
This is one of the ways that money poured into Dodge and
helped to turn it into a bustling city. In the first year that
Dodge was formed there were 70 buildings built, most of
them saloons! lol. no not really but there were 19 saloons and
who knows how many "houses of ill repute."
One of the things which I find interesting is that even though
it was a crazy, action-packed place with things happening all
night long there were still certain actions which were un-
acceptable. Remember the Cowboy Code from a couple days
ago?
source: Boot Hill Museum
Well, that was in full effect. Here is a quote taken from a book
written about Dodge City in it's wild years. The book is called
"Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital" and was written by a former
town president in the 1870's.
"Often have I seen chivalry extended to ladies on the streets, from
these rough men, that would have done credit to the knights of old.
When some man a little drunk, and perhaps unintentionally, would
jostle a lady in a crowd, he was soon brought to his senses by being
knocked down by one of his companions, who remarked, "Never let
me see you insult a lady again."
I kinda like that..it's not warning someone to watch himself, it's
knocking them down first, THEN warning them! lol. It was a
different world back then, even with all the craziness going on there
was a respect and reverence for women.
The cattle drives ended in the late 1800s and the buffalo herds were
all killed and that ended the wildness of Dodge and by 1900 it was
no longer the Wild West. The main street called Front Street had a
collection of businesses including the most famous saloon, the
Longbranch.
Did any of you ever watch the Western TV show Gunsmoke? Well
that saloon was based on the real thing. Marshall Dillon was made
up but Doc Holiday was real.
Anyway Front Street and those buildings all burnt down near the
end of the century but the city rebuilt them in 1947 using old photos
and records. And that's what's there today including the Longbranch
Saloon where you can still get a beer or Sarsaparilla and watch the
dance hall girls dance. Here's what it looks like today:
source: kansashistory.us
Here's a shot of the Longbranch bar:
source: legendsofamerica.net
They did a great job of matching the historical accuracy of the
buildings and have an excellent museum with a world class
gun collection among other things of course, I was just darn
impressed with the guns. One of my friends, an old Mexican
gunsmith supplied most of those guns from his collection.
The Front Street replica is located on the original Boot Hill
cemetery and there is an original part of the cemetery which
is still there as the photo near the top shows. If you're ever
in the area or going through that part of Kansas you gotta go
check it out.
I still have to get to the part of Dodge's history involving the
Lawmen and how they cleaned the place up and that story
is coming. They did hire some really tough people to stop the
violence and roudiness but that wasn't a long-term fix and I'll
explain why. Those men looked like these guys..in fact they
might have BEEN these guys:
source: westernhistory.org
thanks for reading folks!
-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck
ps- ya know, you might just be a redneck if...
this is your new motor home!
source unknown/somewhere online/facebook
God bless you all!
