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Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City, Kansas

 


Arriving at Boot Hill Museum...









The Museum opened in 2020.





Let's step back in time...





Conestoga Wagons brought settlers
west to Kansas.







Settlers also continued west on the Santa Fe Trail that runs nearby.  





Buffalo herds roamed across 
these plains.

Hunters dispatched thousands...




Some people traveled to
Dodge City by Stage Coach.




The Railroad brought in 
more people & carried
crops to other cities &
towns, including...




Longhorn Cattle were herded into
the Dodge City's rail line for
 shipment to market.








Individualized Cattle Brands
were used to "tag" the cattle
from different Ranches.







Ranchers relied on unique cattle brands to keep track of their cattle during the cattle drive and at the railroad yards.




Windmills pumped water for
settlers' homes & farms.






Boot Hill Museum continues
in the Old West Town...








A selfie at the Saloon





The General Store




Eric visits the Tonsorial Parlor.

Dental work was crude in
the 1800s.





The Livery Stable &
Tack for the horses






Buffalo Hunters' Rifles





Legendary Lawmen 
of Dodge City &
their guns.






Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Ed Masterson, Patrick Sughrue, and Michael Sughrue are the City's most famous peace officers.  There were robberies, fights to break up, and lots of guns in this frontier cowtown.




Dodge City's Lawmen did their best
 to keep Dodge City safe.

When tensions boiled over,
 gunfights did occur.









The Undertakers here had plenty of business.

Life expectancy in 19th Century America
was the early 40s for both men & women.

Infant & childhood deaths were sadly 
all too common.











Shootouts in Dodge City also added fresh dug graves to Boot Hill Cemetery, which is a short distance away from the Museum.






Dodge City's prosperity led to the
 construction of this opulent
City Hall in 1888.





Another Saloon &
tables set for dinner






Business boomed in Dodge City during the late 1800s.  Ranchers and cowboys filled Saloons for drinks and food, poker games, on the north side of the railroad tracks.  Entertainment and women were available at the Dance Halls on the south side of the tracks.  Many of the young women were shrewd businesswomen, knowing they possessed what was in demand and were paid well for their time.





All the news that's fit
to print at the
Dodge City Times






Get your photograph 
taken at this Studio.




Commerce was brisk & the
 Bank was a busy place.




Ledgers & the Vault

Imagine the money
that flowed into & 
out of the Bank.






One of the townsfolks'
homes










Union Church








Eric and I enjoyed the engaging displays and spent time imagining ourselves living in 19th Century Dodge City.  It must have been a wild time!  If you find yourself near Dodge City, Kansas, stop at Boot Hill Museum for your trip back into the Old West.

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