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 Santa Fe Trail - near Baldwin, KS Posted by:  YoSam.
N 38° 46.453 W 095° 09.843
15S E 312007 N 4293945
Another contact with the Santa Fe Trail
Waymark Code: WMV6HF
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 03/04/2017
Views: 2
County of marker: Douglas County
Location of marker: a pull-off north of US highway 56 just East of Baldwin
Marker erected by: Kansas Historical Society and State Highway Commission
Marker Text: BALDWIN
Here, and for the next 300 miles west, Highway 56 roughly follows the old Santa Fe Trail, and frequently crosses it. White settlement began in this area in 1854, the year Kansas became a territory, and in 1855 the town of Palmyra was founded. When Baker University was established on the outskirts in 1858 a new town sprang up. It was named for John Baldwin, an Ohio capitalist who in 1857 hauled a steam sawmill in over the trail. by 1863, Palmyra had merged with Baldwin.
Local Settlers were "Free-State" in the fight over slavery; several were captured in a Proslavery raid of 1859. Among Free-State leaders was Dr. Andrew T. Still, founder of Osteopathy, whose theory of healing was developed here.
Baker University, named for Methodist Bishop Osmon Baker, is the state's oldest four-yearcollege. It houses the famous Bishop Quayle Bible Collection and its' first building. the "Old Castle" is now a museum
Road of Trail Name: Santa Fe Trail
State: Kansas
County: Douglas
Historical Significance:
The Santa Fe Trail entered Douglas County near its southeast corner, a few miles east of Black Jack, from where it took a northwesterly course through Palmyra and on to Willow Springs. Here it turned to the southwest, passing close to Globe and Baden of later days and into Osage county about three miles north of the southwest corner of Douglas County. Palmyra, which later became a part of Baldwin, was long a favorite place for repairing wagons and for rest. Here, can be seen the old Palmyra Santa Fe Well which is located to the east of the high school. One half mile to the northwest is Trail Park, which contains interpretive markers and just beyond the park are stretches of county roads that lie on the old trail. Beyond here, the route traveled through a place called "The Narrows," a ridge that separated Wakarusa Creek on the north and the Marais des Cygnes River to the south. Wagon trains had to stay on this ridge to avoid rough terrain and muddy draws. The Narrows ran from just west of present Black Jack State Park, east of Baldwin City through Hickory Point and Brooklyn then to the site of Willow Springs, some 9 miles to the northwest. Willow Springs, was also a favorite place and had a thrilling territorial history. After Willow Springs, Trail travelers turned to the southwest through Globe and onto Simmons Point. Here, ruins of the old Simmons Point Stage Station can be seen from US Highway 56, 12 miles west of Baldwin City. The road then passes into Osage County about 3 miles north of the southwest corner of Douglas County.
The main “modern” town within the Douglas County Chapter area is Baldwin City, Kansas. Lawrence, KS is located just to the north. U.S. Highway 56 closely follows the Trail east to west through the chapter area. You can reach U.S. Highway 56 from Interstate 70 by traveling south from Lawrence on U.S. Highway 59. From Wichita, go north on I-35 to the same exit 60 at McPherson, follow Highway 56 to the east. From Kansas City, take I-35 south to Wichita. Take the US-56 exit 210 toward Gardner. Continue to follow US-56 through Douglas County, which closely follows the route of the Santa Fe Trail.
Years in use: 40 years
How you discovered it:
I was riding home from a party in Saline Kansas and decided to take US 56 (see nothing on Interstates), and as I passed through Baldwin City and east, then saw the roadside park, always stop, always markers in them.
Book on Wagon Road or Trial:
Along the Santa Fe Trail in Douglas County, Kansas:
A brief history of the seven D.A.R. marker sites and town sites along the route of the trail in Douglas County, Kansas Unknown Binding – 1987
by Katharine B Kelley (Author) - Publisher: K.B. Kelley (1987)
SANTA FE TRAIL.
Brief Summary of the Santa Fe Trail through Kansas Reprinted from the Eighteenth Biennial Report
of the Kansas State Historical Society 1911-1912.
Website Explination:
https://dianastaresinicdeane.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/exploring-the-santa-fe-trail-douglas-county-kansas/
and
http://www.santafetrail.org/chapters/douglasco/index.html
Why?:
"The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. Santa Fe was near the end of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City.
"The route crossed Comancheria, the territory of the Comanches, who demanded compensation for granting passage to the trail. Americans routinely assaulted the Comanches along the trail, finding it unacceptable that they had to pay a fee for passage to Santa Fe, and soon, all Comanches fled the area, opening up the area to American settlement.[1]
"The Trail was used as the 1846 U.S. invasion route of New Mexico during the Mexican–American War.[2]
"After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest ending the Mexican–American War, the trail helped open the region to U.S. economic development and settlement, playing a vital role in the expansion of the U.S. into the lands it had acquired. The road route is commemorated today by the National Park Service as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. A highway route that roughly follows the trail's path through the entire length of Kansas, the southeast corner of Colorado and northern New Mexico has been designated as the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway." ~ Wikipedia
Directions:
East or west bound on US-56, east of Baldwin Kansas, in a roadside pull off, north side of the highway, one small picnic table alongside marker.
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Visit Instructions:
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