Dodge City, Kansas – A Wicked Little Town
"Kansas has but one Dodge City, with a broad expanse of territory sufficiently vast for an empire; we have only room for one Dodge City; Dodge, a synonym for all that is wild, reckless, and violent; Hell on the Plains."
– A Kansas newspaper in the 1870s
Dodge City, Kansas, a name synonymous with the Wild West, stands as a testament to a bygone era of cowboys, gunfights, and untamed frontier spirit. Nestled in western Kansas, this town, once a bustling hub for buffalo hunters and cattle drivers, offers a captivating glimpse into the legends, lore, and history that shaped the American West. Dodge City, Kansas was once home to, or at least visited by, such iconic figures as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Big Nose Kate, and Clay Allison, this old town earned the reputation as perhaps the most wicked town in the Old West.
The story of Dodge City, Kansas, begins with the establishment of Fort Dodge in 1865, near the site of the future town. In these turbulent times, pioneers faced constant threats from Native American tribes defending their ancestral lands. Fort Dodge served as a crucial protector for wagon trains traversing the vast plains, provided essential mail service, and acted as a vital supply base for troops engaged in the Indian Wars further south. Major General Greville Dodge, in command of the 11th and 16th Kansas Cavalry Regiments, undertook the arduous task of repairing telegraph lines and reopening travel routes during the harsh winter of 1865, taking advantage of the season when Indian attacks were less frequent.
The Santa Fe Trail, a vital artery of commerce and westward expansion, played a pivotal role in the early development of the region. The long trail, stretching from Franklin, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, witnessed a constant stream of wagons, particularly along the Mountain Branch, which passed west of Dodge City, Kansas, along the north bank of the Arkansas River, heading towards Colorado.
A shorter, but considerably more perilous, route to Santa Fe was the Cimarron Cutoff. This route crossed the Arkansas River near Dodge City, Kansas, and ventured southwest toward the Cimarron River. The dangers were manifold: vast stretches of waterless sand hills and a heightened risk of Indian attacks. Despite these threats, the Cimarron Cutoff remained popular among traders and travelers, offering a more direct path to Santa Fe, avoiding the formidable mountain passes.
In 1871, a rancher named Henry L. Sitler constructed a modest three-room sod house five miles west of Fort Dodge. Sitler’s home quickly became a popular stopover for buffalo hunters and traders traveling along the Santa Fe Trail. Sitler himself later recalled the constant flow of traffic: "If you stood on the hill above Dodge City, Kansas, there was traffic as far as you could see, 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the Santa Fe Trail."
The burgeoning settlement soon attracted other entrepreneurs. George M. Hoover built Dodge City, Kansas‘s first business, a saloon constructed from sod and boards. In August 1872, a group of businessmen from Forts Dodge, Riley, and Leavenworth, Kansas, formally organized the Dodge City Town Company, laying the groundwork for the town’s future development. Initially, the settlement was named Buffalo City, but upon discovering an existing town with the same name, they renamed it Dodge City in honor of the nearby fort.
The arrival of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in September 1872 marked a turning point in the history of Dodge City, Kansas, spurring tremendous growth. Hastily constructed frame buildings and tents sprung up adjacent to the railroad tracks, housing grocery stores, general merchandise stores, a dance hall, a restaurant, a barbershop, and a blacksmith shop. Robert M. Wright, a director of the Town Company, described the scene: "Hardly had the railroad reached there, long before a depot could be built…, business began, and such a business! Dozens of cars a day were loaded with hides and meat, and dozens of carloads of grain, flour, and provisions arrived each day. The streets of Dodge were lined with wagons, bringing in hides and meat and getting supplies from early morning to late at night… I have been to several mining camps where rich strikes had been made, but I never saw any town to equal Dodge."
In the early days, Dodge City, Kansas lacked any formal law enforcement. The settlement quickly gained a reputation for lawlessness and violence. Buffalo hunters, railroad workers, drifters, and soldiers, often flush with cash after long periods on the prairie, flocked to the saloons. Fights were commonplace, and the town’s Boot Hill Cemetery, used until 1878, became the final resting place for many gunfighters who died with their boots on.
Dodge City, Kansas soon became the buffalo capital of the West. Piles of buffalo hides lined Front Street, awaiting shipment. The town’s establishments were filled with filthy buffalo hunters and traders, who earned the moniker "stinkers". General William Sherman, Army Commander-in-Chief, ordered the systematic slaughter of buffalo to force Native American tribes onto reservations. This strategy, while effective in winning the Indian Wars, left the prairie littered with decaying carcasses and put many buffalo hunters out of business.
By 1876, most of the buffalo were gone. However, over 1 ½ million hides had been shipped from Dodge City, Kansas, on the railroad. During the hard times that followed, farmers gathered buffalo bones for years and sold them for six to eight dollars a ton. These bones were used in the manufacture of china and fertilizer.
As the buffalo trade dwindled, cattle drives replaced the buffalo hunters. By the spring of 1876, the cattle trade had shifted west from Ellsworth and Wichita, Kansas, to Dodge City, Kansas. Longhorn cattle from Texas were driven up the Chisholm Trail’s western branch to the railroad at Dodge City, Kansas. Over the next ten years, over 5 million heads of cattle were driven on the trail into Dodge City, Kansas.
The influx of cowboys brought even more lawlessness to Dodge City, Kansas, prompting the mayor to seek the help of Wyatt Earp, a lawman working in Wichita. The mayor offered Earp the position of Chief Deputy Marshal with an unprecedented salary of $250 per month.
Upon Earp’s arrival, Dodge City, Kansas had a population of 1,200 and 19 businesses licensed to sell liquor. Marshal Larry Deger, overwhelmed by the town’s lawlessness, heartily welcomed Earp. Soon, four assistant deputies were hired: Bat Masterson, Wyatt’s old buffalo hunting friend; Charlie Basset; Bill Tilghman; and Neal Brown.
The new lawmen established a "Deadline" north of the railroad yards on Front Street to keep the commercial part of the city quiet. On the north side, an ordinance prohibited the wearing or carrying of guns. South of the "deadline," saloons, brothels, and frequent gunfights continued to operate. The term "Red Light District" originated in Dodge City, Kansas, when train masters took their red caboose lanterns with them when they visited the town’s brothels. The gun-toting rule was strictly enforced, and anyone wearing a gun was immediately jailed.
As Chief Deputy Marshal, Earp pursued the famed train robber Dave Rudabaugh, following his trail for 400 miles to Fort Griffin, Texas. There, Earp visited Shanssey’s Saloon, where he learned from Doc Holliday that Rudabaugh had likely back-trailed to Kansas. This information proved instrumental in Rudabaugh’s capture.
In the fall of 1876, Wyatt Earp and his brother Morgan left Dodge City, Kansas, temporarily to search for gold in the Black Hills outside of Deadwood, South Dakota. However, in May of 1877, Wyatt returned to Dodge at the request of Mayor James H. "Dog" Kelley, who needed help controlling the Texas cowboys who were shooting up the town.
Wyatt was appointed the new town marshal and deputized his brother Morgan. He pushed for harsher sentencing, barred certain men from the town, and organized a "citizens’ committee" of reformers to help patrol the streets.
By the late 1870s, Dodge City, Kansas‘s reputation for lawlessness had spread far and wide. A letter in the Washington D.C.’s Evening Star of January 1, 1878, described Dodge City, Kansas as "a wicked little town." An editor of the Hays City Sentinel wrote, "Dodge is the Deadwood of Kansas. Her incorporate limits are the rendezvous of all the unemployed scallawagism in seven states. Her principal business is polygamy without the sanction of religion; her code of morals is the honor of thieves and decency she knows not."
In 1878, Doc Holliday arrived in Dodge City, Kansas, with Big Nose Kate Elder, posing as his wife. Holliday primarily gambled, but he also provided occasional dental services. An ad appeared in the Dodge City Times, proclaiming: "J.H. Holliday, Dentist, very respectfully offers his professional services to the citizens of Dodge City, Kansas and surrounding country during the summer."
During the town’s early years, the population fluctuated with the seasons, swelling during the summer with the arrival of cowboys, cattle buyers, gamblers, and prostitutes. Business houses, dance halls, and saloons catered to the Texas trade. Gambling ranged from a game of five-cent "Chuck-aluck" to thousand-dollar poker pots.
In September 1879, Virgil Earp informed Wyatt of the boom in Tombstone, prompting Wyatt to head west, followed shortly by Doc Holliday. By January 1880, Bat Masterson had also left Dodge City, Kansas.
The arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in Santa Fe in 1880 marked the decline of the Santa Fe Trail and the flow of travelers through Dodge City, Kansas. With Native American tribes confined to reservations, the military presence was no longer needed, and Fort Dodge was closed in 1882. By 1886, the cattle drives had ceased.
While an illustrious period of history was over, the legend of Dodge City, Kansas lives on. The town’s historic preservation efforts continue to attract tourists from around the world. Today, 100,000 tourists visit annually, reliving the legend at the Boot Hill Museum and the historic Front Street reconstruction.
Today, Dodge City, Kansas is home to about 28,000 people. It is located 150 miles west of Wichita in Southwest Kansas.