The Santa Fe Trail Remains, also known as Santa Fe Trail Ruts, are a two-mile (3 km) section of the former long

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

, described as the "longest continuous stretch of clearly defined Santa Fe Trail rut remains in Kansas." Now owned by a preservation organization, the site is visible from a pull-off area on

United States Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

near

Dodge City, Kansas Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge (US Army Post), Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The c ...

. The site was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1963.Joseph Scott Mendinghall and Donald Dosch (1979) , National Park Service and

Description

The Santa Fe Trail Remains are located about west of Dodge City, on of former agricultural land. The ruts extend for about , with a width of as much as of rutted terrain. The actual trail route is crossed in several places, by US 50, a railroad right-of-way, and irrigation ditches. The ruts have also been harmed by past use of the property for grazing. The landscape looks much today as it did in the 19th century, except for these intrusions, as well as the shifting of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

to follow a more southerly route than it did during the trail's period of use. The Santa Fe Trail was one of the first great westward migration trails, inaugurated by trader

William Becknell William Becknell (1787 or 1788 – April 30, 1865) was an American soldier, politician, and freight operator who is credited by Americans with opening the Santa Fe Trail in 1821. He found a trail for part of the route that was wide enough for w ...

in 1821, connecting

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

with Santa Fe, the capital of Spanish (and later Mexican) Nuevo México. It served as a major conduit for the development of the American West, until it was effectively supplanted by railroads around 1880. Much of the trail's route is known, but few traces of it survive. Although there are other sections of Santa Fe Trail ruts that are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, this one is one of the longest and best-preserved.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Geography of Ford County, Kansas Historic trails and roads in Kansas National Historic Landmarks in Kansas Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Tourist attractions in Ford County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail

Description

See also

References