Publication: Wagon Tracks
Author: L. Stephen Schmidt
Date of Publication: February 2023
PDF File: Stephen-2023-Santa-Fe-Trail-Documented-in-Early-Marion-County-.pdf
Description
Use of the Santa Fe Trail in Marion County for international
and then national commerce began with William
Becknell’s 1821 trading expedition and continued through
1866 when the railroad reached Junction City, Kansas,
after which the use of the Santa Fe Trail essentially ceased
in today’s Marion County. However, when the county was
organized in 1865, use of the Trail was at or near its zenith
in the county. Not surprisingly, the names of several
people identified with the history of the Santa Fe Trail
appear in the county organizational documents.