LASR.net Homepage




Menu

Caldwell, Kansas

Caldwell, Kansas

One of only six cowtowns in Kansas, Caldwell was founded in 1871 astride the then new Chisholm Trail as an economic adventure of a group of Wichita entrepreneurs. The trail, running from Texas to the Intercontinental Railroad in northern Kansas, guided over a million longhorn steers and their guardian cowboys through Caldwell. Business people from afar made their home here to ply their trades, whatever they be, from banker toliquor dealer to prostitute.

Incorporated in 1879 when the railroad neared the city limits, Caldwell boasted a longer cowtown period (1880-1885), a higher murder rate, and loss of more law enforcement officers than other, even more famous, towns such as Dodge City, Abilene, and Wichita.

Fame, however, is not definitive of history. From the past come the true stories of Cowtown Caldwell - the hanging of the city's first lawyer for horse stealing, the unfortunate robbing of a nearby town bank and the killing of its president by a well-liked Caldwell City Marshal, the murder of another City Marshal by the town's police force, an outlaw brought to justice for a murder following a shootout where the outlaw was shot thirteen times but lived to see his trial date... and the list goes on and on.

History lives on here... A life-sized silhouette of a trail cattle drive, historical markers everywhere you turn telling the cowtown stories, boot hill cemetery with its re-enactors and "talking tombstones," and the celebrations that bring history to life and knowledge of the past to children today.

The western stories on television were born here ... enjoy the history, see a real cowtown, see Caldwell, Kansas

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Art and Outdoor Murals

Caldwell has a variety of Murals throughout the city.

Avenue D and Market

Cherokee Strip Bridge

This bridge built by Grant County, Oklahoma and Sumner County, Kansas is a new monument to those hardy and determined men and women who ran the Cherokee Strip Run in 1893.

Caldwell, KS Historic Bridges

Carnegie Library

The Caldwell Carnegie Library was one of 59 public libraries constructed in Kansas. Built in 1912, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings.

Caldwell, KS Carnegie Libraries

Caldwell Cemetery

See the tombstones of Cadwell's notorious ancestors in Caldwell Cemetery. George Wood, husband of Mag Wood, were the owners of the famous Red Light Saloon.

Caldwell, KS Cemeteries

Old Mill and Elevator

The Old Mill and Elevator was originally built as a flour mill in the 1880s on the Santa Fe tracks by the Kramer Milling Company.

Caldwell, KS Historic Mills

Things to do near Caldwell, KS

Veteran's Memorial Park

Veteran's Memorail Park is 74 acres of recreation with a fishing lake, ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, a sand voll...