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 Fort
Blair, also referred to as Fort Baxter, was
established in the spring of 1862 to protect
Kansas residents against the frequent attacks from Confederate
regular and guerilla forces during the
Civil War. Located north
of the springs, it was here that the battle referred to as the
Baxter
Springs Massacre occurred. Confederate guerillas, under the
command of William Quantrill, struck the fort around noon on October 6, 1863,
then moved on to massacre a contingent of troops being led toward Fort
Smith by General James G. Blunt. Nearly 100 Union soldiers were
killed in the guerilla attack and are buried in the Baxter
Springs Cemetery, just west of the city.
In 1865, after the war was
over, a town was laid out on 80 acres by Captain M. Mann and J. J.
Barnes and soon thereafter
Baxter
Springs became an outlet for the
Texas
cattle trade. As
Missouri
became off-limits for
Texas
cattle due to quarantines,
Baxter
Springs welcomed them to
Kansas. The community built
stockyards with corrals capable of holding 20,000 cattle and provided
range land with plenty of grass and water. Though the town took
on all the appearances of prosperity, it also inherited a reputation
for being one of the wildest cow towns in the West.
After the long cattle drives
from
Texas,
cowboys found the town
a welcoming sight after several months on the dusty trail, making the
most of the numerous Baxter
Springs saloons. Offering up flowing liquor, card games and
available women, every third business in town was a gambling house or
a saloon. Public hangings, gunfights and saloon brawls soon became common occurrences.
The city
incorporated in 1868 with about 1,500 residents and the city
government issued $150,000 in bonds to entice the
Missouri
River,
Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad to extend its line into Southeastern
Kansas.
More bonds financed a new school, a courthouse and street
improvements. On May 12, 1870 the
Missouri,
Kansas
and Texas
Railroad arrived, beating out the
Missouri
River,
Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad for the privilege and just two years
later the town boasted 6,000 residents. But soon, the railroad
pushed south into
Texas
and the Baxter
Springs cattle industry died. However, its illustrious past
hung tight, when in 1872, the mayor of Baxter
Springs, J.R. Boyd shot down C.M. Taylor, the city marshal, over a
dispute regarding a warrant for an arrest.
Continued
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