Meade County, KS
The American Indians, primarily, Kiowa, Apache, Cheyenne and Commanche, occupied the county before it was explored. The area was covered with a blanket of grass named for the buffalo which grazed thousands of acres. The buffalo meant meat for the migrant tribes before the Indians were herded into reservations.Long to prior permanent settlement the territory now comprising Meade County was frequently visited by hunters, traders and adventurers. Prominent among these was Jedediah Strong Smith, who visited this territory as early as the year 1818.
The first settlement in what was to become Meade County was made in 1878, at Meade City, a town started about twelve miles north of the present Meade. In 1879, 16 families from Zanesville, Ohio, led by John Jobling, settled near the town of Pearlette.
Meade was named after General George Gordon Meade, who led the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War.
Explore Meade County
The Eva Dalton Whipple Home
Eva Dalton Whipple was the only sister to the infamous Dalton brothers. She married John Whipple, October 25, 1887
Meade, KS Famous HomesThe Lone Tree Massacre
Preparing Southwest Kansas for settlement often ended in tragedy for both Indian and white man. On August 24, 1874
Meade, KS Pioneer HistoryThe Dalton Gang Hideout & Museum
A modest house and barn on a cottonwood shaded hill are home to an Old West legend. Notorious for robbing trains and banks, the Dalton Gang created a hideout in Meade and built an escape tunnel from the home of their sister, Eva Whipple, to the barn some 95
Meade, KS MuseumsThe Jones & Plummer Trail
The first trail through the area was made by the Jones &
Meade, KS Pioneer History