FIRST - Stage Service in Kingman - Greensburg, KS
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 37° 36.506 W 099° 16.526
14S E 475689 N 4162406
A stage line to service areas not covered by the railroads.
Waymark Code: WMV539
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 02/25/2017
Views: 0
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.
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