Cannonball Stage Line Highway - Greensburg, KS - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

County of marker: Kiowa County
Location of marker: US 54, roadside park, E. of Greensburg
Marker erected by: Kansas State Historical Society & Kansas Department of Transportation

Marker text: Flamboyant and colorful, Donald R. "Cannonball" Green (1839-1922) ran a stage line connecting the railroad to towns across southwestern Kansas. Green started his first stage service in Kingman in 1876. It ran through Pratt to Coldwater and later to Greensburg, a town he helped found in 1886.
Green's stage line served areas not reached by the railroad, and for a few years carried the mail from Wichita to Kingman. Known for their speed, Green's coaches were pulled by teams of six or eight horses which were changed every eight to ten miles. More than a driver, Green was an advisor and teacher, sharing with passengers his knowledge of southwestern Kansas and the prairie landscape.
As the railroads advanced, Green moved his stage service west but stage demand soon dwindled. In 1898 he took a claim in Oklahoma Territory when the Cherokee Strip opened. Although Green also served in the Kansas legislature, he was best known for his stage route between Kingman and Greensburg, the Cannonball Highway, which became U.S. Highway 54.
Green died in Long Beach, California and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita

Green's burial site can be visited on Find-A-Grave

also a detail view of the Highway can be read Cannonball Highway

CANNONBALL ROAD ORIGINALLY WENT FROM KINGMAN, KANSAS TO GARDEN CITY, KANSAS AND THEN ON THROUGH THE STATE OF COLORADO TO SANTE FE, NEW MEXICO. MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS TO KIOWA COUNTY TRAVELED THIS ROAD AND THE CANNONBALL STAGE LINE. WELLSFORD, HAVILAND, GREENSBURG, AND MULLINVILLE WERE ALL BUILT ALONG THIS ROAD. TODAY, HIGHWAY 54 PARALLELS THE OLD CANNONBALL ROAD.

Road of Trail Name: Cannonball Stage Line Highway State: Kansas County: Kiowa County Historical Significance: Communications and travel to places accessible only to a single person on a single horse. Opened up the land, and created the route which became U.S. Highway 54 Years in use: 22 How you discovered it: Traveling from Texas back to Missouri on US 54, I would always check out the roadside parks, great place for the state placed historic markers. Currently they place them in interstate rest areas. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: Exploring Kansas Highways: Trip Trivia 2007 Explorer's Guide Kansas (Explorer's Complete) By Lisa Waterman Gray Website Explination: http://www.legendsofkansas.com/cannonballstage.html Why?: Green's stage line served areas not reached by the railroad, and for a few years carried the mail from Wichita to Kingman. Known for their speed, Green's coaches were pulled by teams of six or eight horses which were changed every eight to ten miles. More than a driver, Green was an advisor and teacher, sharing with passengers his knowledge of southwestern Kansas and the prairie landscape. Directions: From Greensburg Kansas, go east on US 54, roadside park about a mile outside current city limits.

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