Ulysses Kansas - Born Twice and Still Alive!

KANSAS LEGENDS

Ulysses - Born Twice and Still Kickin!

Ulysses, Kansas in 1929, courtesy Wichita State University. Interestingly, Gray and Rosel, which

you see on the second building, is still in business on Main Street.

Along the Cimarron branch of the old Santa Fe Trail, in Grant County, Kansas, Ulysses was born twice. The first time was in 1885 when it was founded, and then a second time when the entire town was loaded onto skids and moved three miles across the prairie.

Grant County was established on March 20, 1873 about the time that the Santa Fe Trail traffic was beginning to slow down due to the coming of the steam engine to western Kansas. But the steam engine itself led to a number of towns springing up in the newly formed county, including Ulysses, Appomattox, Liverpool, Shockey and Zionville. At one time there were twenty different post offices in Grant County; however, all of these towns are long gone with the exception of Ulysses.

Named for Ulysses S. Grant, the settlement was surveyed by George W. Earp, first cousin to Wyatt Earp of Dodge City and Tombstone fame, in 1885. Earp was Ulysses’ first promoter, businessman and, like his cousins, its first peace officer. Furthermore, according to legend, he was just as “free with his gun” as Wyatt and his bunch.

Officially organized in June of 1888, Ulysses boasted a population of some 2,000 residents and supported twelve restaurants, four hotels, six gambling dens and a number of other businesses. Though Kansas was supposedly a dry state at the time, Ulysses also had about twelve saloons.

1888 was the same year that Ulysses became embroiled in a bitter contest with nearby Appomattox for the county seat. Though Ulysses finally won the honor of county seat, the town went deeply into debt winning the title. In 1909, when Ulysses was unable to climb out of its profound financial burden, and to prevent foreclosure of the entire town site, the community just decided to move. Loading every building onto skids, the townspeople relocated three miles across the prairie to the present day site of Ulysses. All the lots in the old town were deeded back to the East Coast bondholders and only a masonry school was left behind.

New Ulysses, courtesy Wichita State University.

The “new” town was officially called “New Ulysses” and the old site was referred to as “Old Ulysses.” The Hotel Edwards had to be cut into three sections for moving. Today, it is the only remaining business building moved from the old town and has been restored on the museum grounds to its original appearance.

Hotel Edwards Ullysses Kansas

Vintage Hotel Edwards, courtesy Wichita State University.

Ulysses Kansas Museum

The Hotel Edwards today is a museum in Ulysses.

Photo courtesy Blue Skyways

In the 1920s natural gas was discovered in the area surrounding Ulysses. The Hugoton natural gas field called "The Gas Capital of the United States," spans over 4,800 square miles. This discovery led to strong area prosperity.

In 1921, the town name was official changed to “Ulysses” rather than “New Ulysses.”

Today, a portion of the Ulysses high school grounds is on the old site of of Appomattox. Part of the old Hotel Edwards is a feature of the local museum, and history abounds at nearby Wagon Bed Springs south of town.

The vast plains that surround Ulysses afford the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets that one has ever seen. For the hunting enthusiast, the area is renowned for its excellent deer and pheasant hunting.

The Cimarron cutoff on the Santa Fe Trail passed just east of the current site of Ulysses, turned south and crossed the path of current highway US 160 following the Cimarron River.

Santa Fe Trail Caravan, painting by Josiah Gregg,

Commerce of the Prairies

A famous watering spot along the Santa Fe Trail, Wagon Bed Springs, is located ten miles south of Ulysses. The Cimarron cutoff was a risk to those early travelers, as the journey was periled with dry creek beds and frequent Indian attacks. However, there were many willing to take the risk to save hundreds of miles of travel, rather than taking the “safer” trail through Colorado. The "La Jornada," as the dry crossing between the Cimarron and the Arkansas rivers became known, was the shortest road from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to the Southwest. It was near here that noted Western explorer and fur trader Jedediah Smith, spent four days without water and was killed by Comanches just as he reached the river.

Though no military post was ever established at Wagon Bed Springs, hundreds of soldiers refreshed themselves there from the start of the Mexican War in 1846 until the railroads replaced the wagon road. 1864 was the bloodiest year for Indian attacks all along the Santa Fe Trail, and 15 men were killed at Wagon Bed Springs Spring during a two week period. Soon, General James H. Carleton, commanding the Department of New Mexico, sent 100 men to Wagon Bed Springs with rations for sixty days. Today, the site still provides "treasure" hunters with caches of lead balls, empty cartridges and arrowheads.

In 1961, Wagonbed Springs was recognized as a National Historic Landmark. However, the springs themselves are long dry from irrigating the fertile fields of western Kansas.

Ulysses is located in Grant County in southwest Kansas.

p.s. - This is the small Kansas town that I grew up in.

Cimarron River Bed

Dried up Cimarron River Bed, courtesy Kansas

Geological Survey

Attractions:

Grant County Museum - The museum is an official National Park Service Santa Fe Trail Visitor Center. The museum complex includes an old adobe building that was built in 1938 as a county shop and includes all manner of historical items of the area. Also included is the Hotel Edwards, where you feel as if you have stepped back in time. The complex also includes a one-room schoolhouse. Hours: Monday-Friday 10:00 - 5:00, Saturday & Sunday 1:00 - 5:00. 300 E. Highway 160, (620) 356-3009

Wagon Bed Springs Historical Marker - Wagon Bed Springs Historical Site is 10 miles South on Hwy 125; follow the signs.

Grant County Museum, courtesy Blue Skyways

Great American Bars and Saloons

By Kathy Weiser

Owner/Editor of Legends of America

Kathy Weiser's first venture into the publishing world takes you into the many watering holes of America's past, particularly the numerous saloons that sprouted up during our nation's Wild West days. This great photographic review displays hundreds of vintage photographs from California to Arizona, the mining camps of Colorado, all the way to New York and its turbulent days of Prohibition.

Hardcover, 2006, 224 Pages. Signed by the author - Kathy Weiser from Ulysses!

New - $17.95 - Item #kw001