Wild West Wichita Comes Alive at Old Cowtown Museum

Connie Attractions & Events, Kansas May 23, 2024May 24, 2024Kansas Gunsmoke Trail, Living history museum, Old Cowtown Museum, Things to do in Wichita 0 Comment

We’ve been transported to Wichita’s Wild West days. In ten years, the city has grown from Jesse Chisholm’s 1860 trading post to a booming railroad town. In fact, in just a year and a half, the city has grown from 16 buildings to 175. Eight hundred people live here now. Businesses line the dirt streets. The busiest seems to be the saloon. We’ll visit the saloon in a bit, but first we’ll check out some of the other homes and businesses that make up the Old Cowtown Museum.

Exploring the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Abilene

Connie Attractions & Events, Kansas May 23, 2024May 24, 2024Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad, Big Spur, Dickinson County Heritage Center and Museum, Kansas attractions, Kansas Gunsmoke Trail, Old Abilene Town, Things to do in Abilene, Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo, World's Largest Belt Buckle 0 Comment

In this article, we’re exploring the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Abilene. We had already visited Wichita, Dodge City, and Hays. These four cities were mentioned often during the old Gunsmoke television and radio show series. They were all cowtowns in the mid- to late-1800s, as cattle were driven up on trails from Texas to be loaded onto trains and shipped east.

Life could be rough on the Western Frontier, as cowboys came off the trail and got paid after months of hard work. Whooping it up in saloons, gambling houses, and brothels was common for these guys, and being a lawman in these cities wasn’t easy. It took tough characters like the legendary Wild Bill Hickok and Wyatt Earp to keep some semblance of peace.

Today, these former cowtown share their Old West days with visitors through museums, artwork and events. Here are the Old West attractions we visited in Abilene.

This is Part 4 of a 4-part series on the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail.

Exploring the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Hays

Connie Attractions & Events, Kansas May 23, 2024May 24, 2024Boot Hill Hays, Historic Fort hays, Kansas attractions, Kansas Gunsmoke Trail, Things to do in Hays Kansas 0 Comment

As we explored the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail, we noticed several names in common in each of the cities…names like Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody. In Hays, the third of four cities we visited, those names popped up again. It isn’t surprising, since lawmen and others commonly moved from cowtown to cowtown in the mid- to late 1800s. Four cities make up the trail: Hays, Dodge City, Wichita, and Abilene. The old Gunsmoke television and radio series mentioned these cities often. As we visited each of the cities, we focused on Old West attractions. Here is our experience on the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Hays.

This is Part 3 of a 4-Part Series on the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail.

Exploring the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Dodge City

Connie Attractions & Events, Kansas May 23, 2024May 24, 2024Boot Hill Museum, Dodge City Trail of Fame, Dodge City Trolley Tour, Feedlot Overlook, Fort Dodge, Gunfighters Wax Museum, Kansas attractions, Kansas Gunsmoke Trail, Longhorn Park, Mueller-Schmidt House, Santa Fe Trail Rut Site 1 Comment

Four cities make up the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail: Dodge City, Wichita, Abilene and Hays. These cities were mentioned often in the old Gunsmoke series, which began on the radio and transitioned to a popular television series. In 2023, Skip and I visited all four cities and focused on Old West attractions. Our first stop on the Gunsmoke Trail was Wichita. (See Part 1 of the 4-part series.) In this segment, we’re exploring the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Dodge City.

Dodge City is the epicenter of Gunsmoke. It exudes Old West, from the statues of Gunsmoke characters throughout town to still-existent feedlots. Yes, still today, Dodge City is a cattle town.

This is Part 2 of a 4-part series on the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail.

Exploring the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Wichita

Connie Attractions & Events, Kansas May 23, 2024May 24, 2024Kansas attractions, Kansas Gunsmoke Trail, Keeper of the Plains, Mid-America All-Indian Center, Museum of World Treasures, Old Cowtown Museum, Old Town Wichita, What to do in Wichita, Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum 0 Comment

In 2023, Kansas introduced the Gunsmoke Trail. Four cities largely make up the trail: Dodge City, Wichita, Abilene, and Hays. Those cities were often mentioned in the old television and radio Gunsmoke series. Since we had a planned Wichita visit last year, Skip and I decided to take that opportunity to visit all four main cities on the trail. Specifically, we visited attractions that focus on the Old West. What fun we had doing that! Here are the attractions we visited while exploring the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail in Wichita.

This is Part 1 of a 4-part series on the Kansas Gunsmoke Trail.

New: Midwest Wanderer Explores E-zine

Connie Alabama, History, Nature, Road Trips February 8, 2024May 24, 2024Alabama Coastal Connection 0 Comment

We’re excited to announce we’ve published the first issue of our FREE e-zine, Midwest Wanderer Explores.

The focus of the first issue, which you can read right now, is Alabama’s Coastal Connection National Scenic Byway. We share with you our month-long experience on the byway and all of the fascinating things we learned, like…

Midwest Wanderer explores history, nature, and culture through road trips along scenic and historic U.S. highways, byways and trails

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