​Dodge City-Tascosa Trail

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Marker Text: ​This road was surveyed during the Civil War to haul military supplies to Fort Bascom, New Mexico Territory then came the buffalo hunters using the trail  going to Dodge City  hauling hides and buying supplies. Tascosa became a town in the early 1880's. Ox teams and mule teams hauled freight for the Cowboy Capital of the Panhandle and ranches that ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Herds from all over the Panhandle trailed into Dodge over this route for a number of years. Kit Carson and his N. Mex Volunteers came down this from Ft. Bascom in November 1865 to fight a losing battle with the Indians at the Adobes Walls site. Stage coaches ran weekly carrying mail and passengers over the 242 mile route.Post offices and stage stands out of Tascosa were Little Blue, Cator's Zula stockade. Hardesty Ranch in no mans land, Jim Lanes Beaver Creek, Hines-Crossing Cimarron, Hoodoo Brown, Crooked Creek, on into Dodge.  Brick for the courthouse at nearby ghost town of Hansford was hauled from Dodge City. Later freight came over this trail from Liberal. Kansas,  ranchers continued to use portions of this trail until 1920 when the railroad was built across the county and Spearman was built. Thus another old and historic trail was fenced and plowed under. (1963) 

Marker No: 1238

State Approved Marker

Geographic: 36.204746, -101.310249

Location: ​from Spearman take SH 15/207 about 6.5 miles west