Dodge City, KS
| Dodge City, Kansas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
El Capitan cattle drive monument (2008)
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| Nickname(s): "Cowboy Capital of The World"; "Wicked Little City"; "King of Cowtowns" | |
| Motto: Get The Heck Into Dodge The Wickedest Little City in America |
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 Location within Ford County and Kansas |
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 KDOT map of Ford County (legend) |
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| Coordinates: 37°45′35″N 100°01′06″W / 37.75972°N 100.01833°WCoordinates: 37°45′35″N 100°01′06″W / 37.75972°N 100.01833°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kansas |
| County | Ford |
| Founded | 1872 |
| Incorporated | 1875 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Lilhi Cruz (I) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14.55 sq mi (37.68 km2) |
| • Land | 14.44 sq mi (37.40 km2) |
| • Water | 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,493 ft (760 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 27,340 |
| • Estimate (2016) | 27,453 |
| • Density | 1,900/sq mi (730/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 67801, 67843 |
| Area code(s) | 620 |
| GNIS feature ID | 485363 |
| Website | DodgeCity.org |
Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.
Fort Mann was the first settlement of non-indigenous people in the area that became Dodge City, built by civilians in 1847 to provide protection for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. Fort Mann collapsed in 1848 after an Indian attack. In 1850, the U.S. Army arrived to provide protection in the region and constructed Fort Atkinson on the old Fort Mann site. The army abandoned Fort Atkinson in 1853. Military forces on the Santa Fe Trail were reestablished farther north and east at Fort Larned in 1859, but the area remained vacant around what would become Dodge City until the end of the Civil War. In April 1865, the Indian Wars in the West began heating up, and the army constructed Fort Dodge to assist Fort Larned in providing protection on the Santa Fe Trail. Fort Dodge remained in operation until 1882.
The town of Dodge City can trace its origins to 1871 when rancher Henry J. Sitler built a sod house west of Fort Dodge to oversee his cattle operations in the region, conveniently located near the Santa Fe Trail and Arkansas River, and Sitler's house quickly became a stopping point for travelers. Others saw the commercial potential of the region with the Santa Fe Railroad rapidly approaching from the east. In 1872, Dodge City was staked out on the 100th Meridian and the legal Western boundary of the Fort Dodge reservation. The town site was platted and George M. Hoover established the first bar in a tent to serve thirsty soldiers from Fort Dodge. The railroad arrived in September to find a town ready and waiting for business. The early settlers in Dodge City traded in buffalo bones and hides and provided a civilian community for Fort Dodge. However, with the arrival of the railroad, Dodge City soon became involved in the cattle trade.
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Wikipedia