I was traveling this month and came across a Kansas site that I thought would be interesting to share in this month’s post.  On our way to Colorado, we decided to stop by Monument Rocks.  Monument rocks is an odd rock formation that is out in the western Kansas and just seems to pop up out of nowhere.

The site is located in western Kansas about 20 miles off of I-70 due south of Oakley, Kansas.  If anyone has ever made the drive across western Kansas to Colorado, you know that there is not much out there.  The site, which is free and located on several miles of gravel roads, consists of two very large groups of rock formations that will remind older readers of the rock formations that are seen in the old westerns.  It is odd to see these formations in the middle of rolling prairie in western Kansas.  They seem very out of place.

There are a couple signs at the site which talk about the geological formation of the rocks, and I have included images of those signs just in case anyone is interested.  I’m more interested in the history.

The rock formations play a part in the history of the area because they were one of the few markers on what was called the Smoky Hill Trail.  The trail was created in 1858 after gold was discovered near Denver and this shortcut was able to trim about 100 miles off the trip when compared to the Santa Fe or Oregon Trail.  The trail was a rough way to go with little water, firewood or navigational markers to ensure travelers where on the proper course. 

The trail was also known as the Starvation Trail due to the story of the Blue Brothers who resorted to cannibalism when they ran out of food during their difficult journey on the trail in 1859.

In 1861, Henry Green of Leavenworth was hired to create a road across KS and used the trail as the basis for that road.  Green would place large piles of dirt every mile or so to give travelers a sign that they were staying on course.  Unfortunately, large herds of buffalo destroyed many of the dirt piles making it difficult to follow the path.  Between 1860 and 1865, travelers on the trail were plagued by Indian attacks as the trail ran right through Native American hunting lands.  This new danger led to limited use of the trail during this period.

In 1865, David A Butterfield, owner of Butterfield Overland Dispatch, decided to have the trail resurveyed so that he could use it to transport goods from Atchison, Kansas to Denver.  Butterfield also convinced the authorities that soldiers needed to be stationed at several points on the trail for protection from the Native Americans.  In June of 1865, the first freight wagons made the trip via the trail, now called the “B.O.D. Trail”.  The cost was 22.5 cents per pound for this service.  In September of the same year, the first stagecoach used the trail. The cost for passage was $175 which did not include meals.  Meals would cost an extra $1.

A writer for Harper’s Magazine described the monument this way in 1865, “The Monuments” were reached this evening, near them is a camp of more than two hundred soldiers.  A fort is to be built, also a station.  These Monument rocks are considered the most remarkable on the plains.  At a distance it is difficult to realize that they are not the handiwork of man, so perfectly do they resemble piles of masonry.  The wind that night was terrific. Two tents were blown away, and a wagon that was not brought in the corral overturned.”

Even with the creation of Fort Wallace, 60 miles to the west and a small station built near the monument rocks, the Indian attacks continued.  Several stations were burned, and wagon/stagecoach drivers were killed.  Fort Monument station was abandoned in 1868, by this time the cost of passage had reduced down to $58.78.   The last stagecoach used the trail in August of 1870.

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