No disrespect meant to the great folks of Kansas, but before this trip, I wouldn't have put Kansas and "interesting" in the same sentence. Kansas interesting? Yes indeed it is! At least
along Route 66 it is. Who woulda thunk it? There actually was a good reason
Dorothy and Toto were glad to be back home!
The shaded bench in the Pappy Litch Park |
There was nobody else
there and after about 10 minutes, we got up to leave and saw a car pass by. It
was the first car we had seen go by since we stopped. Supposedly, Galena
has about 3,000 residents, but either they were all indoors taking shelter from
the heat or they were somewhere other than the part of town where we were. We
didn't go there, but I believe a couple of blocks over is where the courthouse
and government buildings are located. Surely there were people and activity
there, but it was eerily quiet and deserted along the Route 66 part of town. I
liked it though. You could feel the history in the air. I would have loved to
walk around for a while, but the heat, the sun beating down from a cloudless
sky, and the total absence of even a breeze made it too uncomfortable to stay
away from air conditioning for long. Little did we know we were experiencing
the beginning of The Great Heat Wave of 2012!
The next town on the
route is Riverton, home of the Eisler Bros. General Store which was opened in
1925. Not much is left of Riverton. The Mother Road used to come into town over
a Marsh Rainbow Arch Bridge built in the 1920's, but it was demolished and
replaced by a new, generic bridge in 1986. The historic Spring River Inn, built
in 1902 was located here, but it was closed in 1996 and then burned to the
ground 2 years later. It's a pretty area, but other than the Eisler Brother's
store and its interesting guest book register signed by thousands of Mother
Road travelers from all over the world, there's nothing here to stop for.
The Bush Creek Marsh Arch Rainbow Bridge just outside of Baxter, Kansas. |
Crossing over the
bridge, on the other end we stopped at a small dirt parking area to walk around
and take pictures. There was flowing water in the creek below us and lots of
trees and underbrush on either side of the bridge. As I exited the pickup, I
noticed the area was a bit trashy with some beer
cans, cigarette butts and other cast-off matter of civilization. Not
filthy, just more trashy than one would expect for a quiet, rather remote
country spot. I found out later this is a very popular "parking" spot
for a different purpose; especially popular with the local teenage boys as a dark, late night place to bring their girlfriends to discuss important, complicated social matters.
On this side of the bridge is where we first saw the poor little abandoned dog. Hope he found the Cheerios. |
Route 66 - Downtown Baxter Springs, Kansas. |
About 4 miles beyond the
bridge is the town of Baxter Springs which bills itself as "The First Cow
Town in Kansas." From its founding in 1858 until the Civil War, Texas
cattlemen drove thousands of longhorns along the Shawnee Trail to the area to
feed on the grasslands of eastern Kansas and then loaded them on rail cars
heading to Wichita and Dodge City and profitable points back east. In 1863, the
town became famous for another reason.
After a hard year of
almost continuous fighting, "Bloody Bill" Quantrill and
about 400 of his Confederate raiders were heading to Texas for the winter. It
was safe there and they could rest and resupply. Along the way, his men
captured 2 Union teamsters who were taking supplies to the small Fort Baxter.
His men were hungry and tired and their horses were too so Quantrill decided to
attack the fort to supply his men for the remainder of the trip. Before they
arrived though, they ran into a detachment of Union soldiers and a small
skirmish ensued. Vastly outnumbered, the Yankees made a mad dash back to the
safety of the fort, loosing 3 or 4 killed. The shooting alerted the men
inside the fort and as the Rebels came into sight, they began firing their one
cannon, which was enough to halt the Confederates. Quantrill took about 200 men
and rode around to the back of the fort intending to attack where there was no
cannon.
While on their way, the Rebels chanced upon General James Blunt and about 100 armed Union soldiers and a band who were transporting him to his intended new headquarters in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Most of the Rebels were wearing blue clothing they had scrounged from Union dead and Union supply trains they had captured because their own Confederate gray clothes had become unwearable over the months of fighting with no re-supply from their own side. The Yankees were totally unaware there were any Rebels in the area and with the clothing Quantrill's men were wearing, they thought it was a group of Union soldiers from the fort who had come out to welcome the general. The band started playing and the Yankees were standing there watching until the Rebels charged and their bullets began tearing into the Union ranks. They barely had time to get off one volley before the Rebels were on them. General Blunt, who had by sheer chance just changed to a fresh mount, wheeled his horse around and, with a couple of his guards, managed to escape his pursuers and their worn out horses. The rest of his men, including his band, were killed. Union dead numbered 103 while Quantrill lost 3.
General Blunt was removed from command for cowardice and failure to remain with and command his men, but was later reinstated. Union sympathizers claimed that some of the Union men threw down their rifles and tried to surrender, but the Rebel raiders murdered them in cold blood. They called the battle "The Baxter Springs Massacre." Quantrill stated his men didn't murder anyone, but he also said it was war, he had no way to turn over any prisoners to the proper Confederate authorities and besides, he didn't have enough provisions for his own men much less enough to care for prisoners. Whatever the truth, it's safe to say war is hell and this was just another vicious moment in the American Civil War.
While on their way, the Rebels chanced upon General James Blunt and about 100 armed Union soldiers and a band who were transporting him to his intended new headquarters in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Most of the Rebels were wearing blue clothing they had scrounged from Union dead and Union supply trains they had captured because their own Confederate gray clothes had become unwearable over the months of fighting with no re-supply from their own side. The Yankees were totally unaware there were any Rebels in the area and with the clothing Quantrill's men were wearing, they thought it was a group of Union soldiers from the fort who had come out to welcome the general. The band started playing and the Yankees were standing there watching until the Rebels charged and their bullets began tearing into the Union ranks. They barely had time to get off one volley before the Rebels were on them. General Blunt, who had by sheer chance just changed to a fresh mount, wheeled his horse around and, with a couple of his guards, managed to escape his pursuers and their worn out horses. The rest of his men, including his band, were killed. Union dead numbered 103 while Quantrill lost 3.
General Blunt was removed from command for cowardice and failure to remain with and command his men, but was later reinstated. Union sympathizers claimed that some of the Union men threw down their rifles and tried to surrender, but the Rebel raiders murdered them in cold blood. They called the battle "The Baxter Springs Massacre." Quantrill stated his men didn't murder anyone, but he also said it was war, he had no way to turn over any prisoners to the proper Confederate authorities and besides, he didn't have enough provisions for his own men much less enough to care for prisoners. Whatever the truth, it's safe to say war is hell and this was just another vicious moment in the American Civil War.
I was amused by this hand-painted sign. Auction today at 5:31pm - not 5:30 or even 5:35, but 5:31 exactly! |
The friendly lady attending the Visitor Center came outside and took our picture together. |
One of the impressive restored buildings is the 1870 Baxter Bank Building located at 1101 Military Ave. It now houses the Cafe On The Route along with the Little Brick Inn Bed & Breakfast. According to a persistent, but unproven story, in May, 1876, Jesse James and Cole Younger used their guns to make an illegal withdrawal of $2,900 from the bank in this building. As they casually walked out the door, they taunted the men to ride after them if they dared. Jumping on their horses, they were seen to be heading toward Indian Territory. A posse was soon formed and pursued the bandits to a point 7 miles outside of town where the posse found themselves surprised and cornered by Jesse and Cole. After relieving the men of all their weapons, the two outlaws rode away laughing, leaving the posse to ride back to town in disgrace.
The old Baxter Bank Building which Jessie James and Cole Younger allegedly robbed of $2,900. |
One of the many historic buildings undergoing restoration in downtown Baxter Springs. |
Informative sign |
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