Finney County

Prior to 1872, Finney County, a part of the Great American Desert, was uninhabited except for traders on the Santa Fe Trail or by Indians on the move. The earliest settlement, a ranch headquarters, started at the Santa Fe crossing at the east edge of the county. Open range, access to railroad shipping and expanding beef markets enticed additional ranchers into the area.

James R. and William D. Fulton, a couple of wild horse hunters, filed homestead claims in 1878 in the center of the county known as Sequoyah at that time. Joining in Garden City’s foundation was a young member of their outfit, John A. Stevens. A year later, C.J. Jones, a well-known promoter, joined the trio. It was through his persistent appeal that the Santa Fe eventually built a depot at the site of the tiny settlement. When land in the county was opened for homesteading, speculators and promoters lured Easterners to the treeless prairie, where sod houses and claim shacks soon dotted every quarter section.