"The storm burst, and the o’er charged sky poured fourth its torrent over the grassy plains.
The wind increased to a hurricane, and drove the falling rain almost horizontally before it."
— Matt Field, near Cheyenne Bottoms, 1839
A few of the many sites within the Quivira Chapter are listed below. Click here to download a full copy of the Quivira Chapter auto tour brochure.
ED MILLER'S GRAVE - East of Canton near the center of the Jones Cemetery (also known as East Fairview Cemetery) is the black marble gravestone of Ed Miller who was killed by the Cheyenne Indians in 1864. He is believed to have been the last white man killed by Indians in this part of Kansas. Back-to-back with the gravestone is a stone Santa Fe Trail marker placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1906 to mark the Santa Fe Trail.
Click to learn more: The Ed Miller Story; A "Bold and Fearless Rider": Ed Miller and the Paper Trail (courtesy Wagon Tracks, 2002). https://santafetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Ed-Miller-Brochure-Nov-2012.pdf
FULLER'S RANCH & RUNNING TURKEY CREEK CROSSING- In 1855, Charles O. Fuller established a ranch adjacent to the Running Turkey Creek Crossing and provided accommodations for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. A trail traveler described the location: "we are camped on the Running Turkey. There is no timber here and poor water. There is one house made of small logs and turf and a grocery in a wagon... The nearest timber is within 8 miles." William Salisbury, May 17, 1859
This was probably the first white settlement in McPherson County. A post office named Big Turkey was located in the bend of the creek as shown in the 1884 McPherson County Atlas. In 1965, a monument was erected to mark the approximate location of Fuller's Ranch.
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Click here to download a copy of the Quivira Chapter Brochure -Fuller’s Ranch
EMBERS CROSSING ON TURKEY CREEK - The ruts in this pasture lead up to the crossing of Turkey Creek. There are multiple ruts visible and the Embers family maintained the land as pasture and never farmed it.
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KAW INDIAN PEACE TREATY SITE - At the southeast edge of the town of Elyria, on Highway 81, a Kansas historical marker describes the Kaw Indian Peace Treaty. Near this site on August 16, 1825, a treaty took place near here between the Kanza tribe and commissioners from the United States who were surveying the Santa Fe Trail.
In August 1825, the United States Commissioners survey party lead by George Sibley negotiated two major treaties. First was the Osage treaty, signed at Council Grove, Kansas. The Osage tribe was closely related to the Kanza tribe. The Commissioners hired W. S. (Old Bill) Williams, as an interpreter for the survey party. He was sent to summon the Kanza for a treaty council at a point farther west on the Santa Fe Trail which was located south of present day McPherson, Kansas on Sora Kansas Creek now called Dry Turkey Creek.
Approximately 50 Kanza Indians came and held council with the commissioners on August 15th and signed the treaty on the 16th of August, 1825 under a large spreading oak in a small grove of trees. This was the only grove of trees seen for miles. The treaty with the Kanza provided the Indians with $500 cash and $300 in merchandise. In signing the treaty, the Kanza agreed not to molest American citizens who traversed the Santa Fe Trail.
Those present at the treaty were: Benjamin Reeves, George Sibley, and Thomas Mathers, U.S. commissioners and witnesses Archibald Gamble, secretary of the commission, who was also a brother-in-law to Sibley, interpreter Williams, and Joseph C. Brown, surveyor. Fourteen other men, who were members of the surveying party also witnessed the event. These included brothers Joseph and John Walker, Andrew Broadus, Benjamin Majors, father of freighter Alexander Majors, and Andrew Carson, the older half-brother of Kit Carson.
For the Kanza Indians, Shone-gee-ne-gare, great chief of the Kanza Nation, signed first, followed by his eldest son Ke-hea-bash-ee, then Hu-ra-soo-gee, the red eagle? probably the same as He-roch-che (the Real War Eagle) Nee-a-ke-shall, warrior, brother of the great chief, Hah-ee-see-she, warrior, and deputy for White Plume, and Saw-nee-wah-nee, as well as other Indian leaders.
The treaty council site was about three miles south of the actual trail and five miles south of present day McPherson in McPherson County, section 28, township 29, range 3 west. The actual site is not known but would be between 14th and 15th Avenues near the creek.
The Daughters of the American Revolution provided the marker at the roadside park on the east side of Elyria. It was placed by the McPherson Chapter of the Women’s Relief Core and originally dedicated August 23, 1907.
Click here to download a copy of the Quivira Chapter Brochure -The 1825 Kaw Indian Peace Treaty
SWANSON SWALES- In Section 13, 20S, R2W, is the area where wagon masters would use double and triple teams of oxen and mules for the trip across the ford of the Little Arkansas, which accounts for why the trail widened out so much right there.
These ruts are lined up 8 or 9 wide and are very deep.
LITTLE ARKANSAS RIVER CROSSING- 
The Little Arkansas River crossing, less than a mile over McPherson County's west line into Rice County, was a difficult crossing for the wagons. During the 1825 survey of the trail, Joseph C. Brown, the trail's surveyor, stated in his report: "It is important that the ford on the Little Arkansas be found, as it is generally impassible on account of high banks and unsound bed. The ford is perhaps half a mile below the mouth of a small creek [North branch, or North fork], which runs into it on the east side. At the crossing. there is wood for fuel and the water and grass are tolerably good."
STONE CORRAL- The Little Arkansas crossing was an overnight camping spot for trail travelers. Around 1859-1860, William Wheeler established a trading ranch - the Little Arkansas Ranch and at some point Wheeler, with the help of others, may have built the Stone Corral that existed on the site of his ranch. The Stone Corral was 300 to 400 feet long east and west, or perhaps northeast to southwest, and about 200 feet wide. The north wall had one or two openings about 10 inches up and down, and two feet long on the inside, tapering to about 10 inches square on the outside. A gateway at the southeast corner of the corral allowed wagons and livestock to enter.
In 1861, William Wheeler advertised the site:
Little Arkansas Ranche
The Traveling Public are respectfully informed, that the undersigned is located on the Little Arkansas, where the great Santa Fe road crosses the same. I keep always on hand, Provisions, groceries and Liquors, also are prepared to accommodate travelers. I have several large [stone] corrals for penning stock, Also, have built a strong and substantial bridge across the Little Arkansas, for the accommodation of the traveling public.
W. D. Wheeler.
The corral was removed stone by stone when settlers arrived in the 1870s and no sign of the corral exists today. The Daughters of the American Revolution and the Quivira Chapter have erected signs near the site of the Stone Corral.
STATION LITTLE ARKANSAS /CAMP GRIERSON - "Station Little Arkansas, Kansas" was established on April 29, 1865 due to the Indian activities in the area. The troops were withdrawn later that summer. Peace talks with the Comanches, Kiowas, Arapahos, and Plains Apaches, held at the mouth of the Little Arkansas in August, 1865, resulted in a preliminary agreement to cease hostilities.
During the summer of 1867 soldiers again were stationed at Little Arkansas Crossing. The 10th U. S. Cavalry, also known as Buffalo Soldiers, established Camp Grierson there in June; and remained till November 10. They had no problem with Indians. But during the months of July and August there were 17 cases of cholera, and eight deaths, among the troops.
Today there are depressions in the area - what are left of dugouts along the river bank where soldiers protecting the trail lived. The nearby Cottonwood Grove cemetery also has depressions from the graves of the soldiers who were buried there.
FRY RUTS
A pristine set of Trail ruts can be seen to the south of Avenue P in the Fry pasture. A silhouette of oxen pulling a wagon along the Trail can be seen behind the ruts in the pasture. Visitors can drive into the pasture along the oil field road and see the ruts up closed along with the interpretive sign and Boy Scout marker.
Click on the link below to learn more:
The Ranch at Little Arkansas Crossing(Courtesy the Kansas State Historical Society)
CHÀVEZ MURDER SITE
Santa Fe trader Don Antonio José Chávez was the victim of Missouri ruffians in 1843. The international incident occurred where Owl Creek crossed the Santa Fe Trail near the present city of Lyons, Kansas.
The wagon “jockey box” carried by Don Antonio José Chávez was still with the looted wagon when it was pulled from Owl Creek. The wagon box was returned to the family in New Mexico and eventually was acquired by a collector. Negotiations in the late 1990s allowed the wagon box to be purchased with the agreement that it would have permanent home at the Coronado Quivira Museum in Lyons, Kansas where it resides today.
Click here to download a copy of the Quivira Chapter brochure - The Chávez Murder.
COW CREEK CROSSING & RANCH-This crossing was adjacent to the south side of the present bridge just west of the intersection of Avenue N and 12th Avenue, one mile south of Highway 56 in Rice County Kansas.
Asahel and Abijah Beach were the first to establish a ranch at Cow Creek Crossing in 1858. Cow Creek ranch also became "Beach Valley" after a post office was authorized for that place on February 10, 1859. 
In the winter of 1859-1860 the Beaches built a bridge over Cow creek. The toll bridge was about 150 yards above the post. The bridge was about 8 feet wide and 30 feet long. Asahel Beach died on February 17, 1860. Late in 1861 or early 1862, Abijah Beach left Cow Creek ranch to marry and settle down at Council Grove as a physician.
William Mathewson became the proprietor of Cow Creek Ranch after the Beaches left. Mathewson was a plainsman and former mountain man. It appears that Mathewson was at the ranch from its beginning days up to 1862. Undoubtedly he was one of the Beaches' "hunters ... who do nothing but kill buffalo". But in 1860, a year of severe drought in Kansas territory, he came to be known as "Buffalo Bill" for his hunting abilities, long before William Cody came along.
Mathewson is also known for holding off hundreds of Native Americans during a siege of a wagon train and Cow Creek Ranch in July of 1864. One month later, William Mathewson age 34 married Elizabeth Inman, age 22 on August, 26, 1864. It is said that Mathewson did not bring his bride to Cow Creek ranch until she had become expert with rifle and revolver. The Mathewsons were at Cow Creek Ranch until about 1866. William Mathewson served as postmaster at Beach Valley and later at Fort Zarah. The Mathewsons moved to the newly established town of Wichita in 1868.
BUFFALO BILL MATHEWSON'S WELL - Perhaps the best-known surviving feature of the Cow Creek Crossing area is Buffalo Bill's hand-dug well. The well was described as "about 40 feet deep and walled almost from top to bottom with sandstone slabs which could not have been procured closer than 15 miles away." Very likely it was constructed late in 1858 when the Beaches started their ranch. It became known as "Buffalo Bill's well. “The well, with a DAR marker to the north of it, is still there.
Click on the links below to learn more:
The Ranch at Cow Creek Crossing -(Courtesy the Kansas State Historical Society)
Click on the link below to learn more about William “Buffalo Bill” Mathewson:
http://www.kshs.org/portraits/mathewson_william_e.htm (Courtesy the Kansas State Historical Society)
SHARPE RUTS - This pasture contains some nice Trail ruts preserved by the Sharpe family. There is also an excellent example of a Buffalo wallow.
This property was graciously donated by the Sharpe family to the Fort Larned Historical Society, who has installed the signage and built the parking lot for visitors.
RALPH'S RUTS - These are among the most prominent Santa Fe Trail ruts to be found anywhere. They have become known among trail buffs as “Ralph's Ruts,” after their owner, Ralph Hathaway. This is the farm on which Ralph’s grandparents, John L. and Mary E. Hathaway, filed a homestead claim in 1878. While breaking sod on the northeast forty acres of this quarter, John and his sons plowed up a pistol, a watch, pieces of hardware from burned out wagons, and bits of broken ironstone china—grim evidence of the notorious Plum Buttes Massacre.
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KERN RUTS - Across the road from Ralph’s Ruts are the Kern Ruts where the Trail continues west.
GUNSIGHT NOTCH – Follow the Kern Ruts west and you will see "Gunsight Notch," named during modern times for the site where the Santa Fe Trail cut a deep notch through the sandhills near the Plum Buttes.
PLUM BUTTES – In the south half of Rice County Section 29 of Pioneer township are many small sand dunes. This was the site of Plum Buttes. There were three buttes in Trail days and in mid-summer the plum thickets were growing thick with plums which gave them their name. They were not buttes in the topographic sense, rather thye were unusually high sand dunes, 80- 100 feet tall above the prairie. They were a landmark for travelers on the Trail and could be seen after crossing Cow Creek as there were no trees to obscure the view. The Kansas wind ultimately reduced them to the sand dunes we see today.
ELLINWOOD – THE BIG BEND OF THE ARKANSAS–This location was a camping spot for teamsters along the Arkansas River. In the Arkansas River channel was a large island with mature Cottonwood trees named Pitt Grove. Pitt Grove was mentioned in the 1825 Government survey notes. In 1862, trader William Mathewson established a trading post at the Big Bend. In his own statement, in 1864, he confirmed that he "built the ranch and corral, dug and walled the well, and owned the trading post himself before it was sold to Curtis & Cole. On October 2, 1869, according to military reports, the ranch was attacked and burned and operations were discontinued.
Click on the link below to learn more:
The Ranch at the Great Bend by Louise Barry (courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society).
WALNUT CREEK CROSSING & RANCH - In the summer of 1855, William Allison and Francis Boothe, established a Santa Fe Trail trading post at Walnut Creek Crossing. The site was about 100 yards from the crossing of Walnut Creek, on the east side of the creek, and the north side of the Santa Fe road. This “ranche” was a large building made of logs. It was the first attempt at building by citizens made west of Council Grove. The Walnut Creek Crossing had several owners. In September 1857, Mr. Boothe was murdered by a Mexican. In April of 1859, Allison had gone to Missouri and died suddenly of heart failure. George Peacock, of Independence, Missouri, was Allison’s successor. In September 1860, George Peacock was killed by a Kiowa chief name Satank. Charles Rath took over Walnut Creek Ranch within a matter of weeks after Peacock’s death. Per newspaper articles, Rath eventually sold the ranch to Ennis and Graffenstein (Griffenstein?) The store was burned down on May 19, 1868, by a party of Arapaho and Cheyennes.
Click on the links below to learn more:
The Ranch at Walnut Creek Crossing by Louise Barry (courtesy of Kansas State Historical Society)
Massacre at Walnut Creek (courtesy of Kansas State Historical Society)
FORT ZARAH- In May 1864, Captain Dunlap and Company H, 15th Kansas, camped on Walnut Creek at the junction of the Santa Fe Trail and the
Smoky Hill Military Road. They first called the site Camp Dunlap. On July 28, 1864 General Curtis re-named the camp, Fort Zarah, in honor of his son Zarah Curtis, who was killed by Quantrill Raiders. The first fort was abandoned on April 7, 1866. A second fort was established with stone buildings on June 30, 1866 about 1/2 mile northwest of the first fort, just north of Highway 56 and east of the present day park. The Dakota sandstone for the blockhouse and the second fort buildings was quarried north of the fort, near where the Barton County College now stands. Plans of the stone fort were found at the Library of Congress.
The walls were about 16 inches thick with a smooth face and the inner walls one foot thick. At the southeast and northwest corners there were hexagonal, two-story towers, with two sets of loop holes for rifle ports. These loop holes were arranged in sets of three on a side, and presented a face opening of two inches wide by 16 inches high that widening in the wall to a breadth of about 16 or 18 inches on the inside. Beneath the rooms running across the ends, there were cellars dug 8 feet deep and walled with stone. To the west at a distance of 20 feet was the magazine, which was 12 feet square and connected with the west cellar by an underground passage, 4 feet wide. A short distance to the southeast of the fort stood the guardhouse, a stone building about 14 feet square. The second fort was abandoned in December 1869.
PAWNEE ROCK - Pawnee Rock was a well-known Trail landmark. It is an outcropping of Dakota sandstone, named for a battle with the Pawnee Indians. Many travelers carved their names in the rock. In Trail days, Pawnee Rock was nearly 30 feet higher than it is today; however, a large amount of rock was removed for railroad and home construction.
Pawnee Rock State Historic Site History
Membership
Anyone interested in the Santa Fe Trail is welcome to join. Membership in the Quivira Chapter is just $10 per year for individuals or families.