Fort Hays

The fort the board describes stood on its third site. It opened on October 11, 1865, as Fort Fletcher, five miles south of present Walker, to guard the Butterfield Overland Despatch, and closed on May 5, 1866, after Butterfield's line failed. Reopened about a quarter mile north on October 11, 1866, it was renamed in November for Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays, killed in the Civil War. A spring flood in 1867 nearly wiped it out, killing nine soldiers and civilians, and on June 23, 1867, the garrison occupied the new Fort Hays 15 miles west, beside the railroad right-of-way.

What the plaque says

Fort Hays This noted U.S. Army post was established in 1865 as a headquarters for troops given the task of protecting military roads, guarding the mails, and defending construction crews on the Union Pacific Railway. Fort Hays also served as a major supply depot for other army posts in western Kansas. The coming together of the fort, the railroad, and the Smoky Hill Trail resulted in the creation of nearby Hays City, where free-spending soldiers, freighters, and railroad workers frequented dance halls, saloons, and gambling houses. During its brief career as the most lawless town on the frontier, more than 50 "boot hill" burials took place. Some of them were caused by James C. Hickock, better known as "Wild Bill," who served for a time as local law officer. At various times Fort Hays served as home to the 7th U.S. Cavalry commanded by George A. Custer, and the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry regiments. While serving as an army scout, the famous Buffalo Bill Cody also spent time at the fort. Although Fort Hays was abandoned in 1889, four original structures still stand, including the blockhouse, guardhouse and two officers' quarters. Erected by Kansas State Historical Society & Kansas Department of Transportation

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Hays State Historic Site — steps away
  The 1867 blockhouse, guardhouse and two officers' quarters of a post on Cheyenne and Arapaho land, and what the post surgeon's ledgers and a sold-off reservation left behind.
• Sternberg Museum of Natural History — 2.9 mi
  Fort Hays State University's museum under the old Metroplex dome off I-70, built around a family of fossil hunters who started digging in the Kansas chalk and sandstone in the 1860s.

More markers nearby

• Victoria — 11 mi