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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
that still exists. It now rests on the Grant County Museum
grounds, restored to its original appearance.
"Old
Ulysses" was located about three miles east of Ulysses
on U.S. Highway 160. The site is now on private property. 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 Spring 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.
A famous watering spot along the
Santa Fe Trail,
Wagon Bed Spring, 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 Comanche just as he reached the river.
Though no military post was ever established at
Wagon Bed
Spring, hundreds of soldiers refreshed
themselves there from the start of the Mexican War in 1846 until the
railroads replaced the wagon road.
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