Welcome to the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter Page
of the Santa Fe Trail Association!

History of the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter

The organizational meeting of the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter was held January 3, 1994, in Canton, Kansas. Election of Officers occurred March 8 and ratification of the Chapter’s constitution and By-Laws occurred May 10th, 1994. The first Chapter meeting was October 4, 1994 with a pot-luck picnic at the Youk Ruts, west of Durham, Kansas.

Location and Directions

The Cottonwood Crossing chapter’s geographical area and focus on Santa Fe Trail history is Marion County, Kansas.

The Chapter takes its name from the Santa Fe Trail crossing of the Cottonwood River located approximately 1.5 miles west of present day Durham, Kansas.

The Cottonwood Crossing was one of the more difficult and famous crossings of the SFT. A bend in the river made a natural corral, so it was always a camping spot.
Traveling westward, it provided the last wood of any extent; westward, there was treeless grass prairie. Because of this, the crossing was generally noted in diaries kept by the travelers.

East of the Cottonwood Crossing, there was little fear of Indians; westward, travelers were more vigilant. Typically, the first sightings of buffalo occurred not far west of the Cottonwood Crossing, particularly in the earlier days of the Santa Fe Trail.

The Santa Fe Trail is considered to have been active in Marion County from 1821 (Becknell’s pack mule caravan) through approximately 1867, when the railroad reached Abilene, Kansas.

Cottonwood Crossing Chapter Points of Interest		Cottonwood Crossing Chapter Events and News
A few of the many sites of interest along the Santa Fe Trail within the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter Area are listed here. Click here for our printable Auto Tour Brochure (PDF).		Read all about us in our latest newsletter! Click here to view planned events.

Chapter Projects

The Stone Marker

A few yards north of Hwy 56 on the Marion-McPherson County Line is a large stone marker placed by the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter. It depicts the locations of the Santa Fe Trail and the Chisholm Trail with a generalized map of the area. The two trails actually crossed just a few miles northeast of the Stone Marker. (You may read articles that erroneously report the trails crossed at the Stone Marker, but an inspection of the map on the Stone Marker clearly shows that is not the case.) The exact location of the crossing of the trails is a topic of debate.

Marion County Auto Tour

The Cottonwood Crossing Chapter has erected a series of signs which direct motorists on an auto tour across Marion County. Here you can see Clive Siegle standing by one. The route intersects the Santa Fe Trail in numerous locations. Trail remnants or historic markers can be seen along the auto tour route. The eastern end of the tour is at the D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) marker on Hwy 77, one mile east and 1.1 miles north of the Town of Lost Springs. The western end of the auto tour is at the Stone Marker, a few yards north of Hwy 56 on the Marion-McPherson County Line.

The Marion County Auto Tour is becoming a popular tour bus route. WARNING! The auto tour route includes paved, gravel, and unimproved dirt roads. Some of the latter are impassible when wet. Use caution.

The Chapter has installed Santa Fe National Historic Trail logo signs to the Chapter’s existing Marion County Auto Tour signs.  The signs have been supplied by the National Park Service.  A typical installation is shown to the left. Click here for our printable Auto Tour Brochure (PDF).

Cottonwood Crossing Interpretive Kiosk

The Cottonwood Crossing Chapter, in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) and with assistance of Marion County, has constructed an historical interpretive site approximately 1.5 miles west of Durham, Kansas on the paved road.

A large sign on the shelter announces that you are at the Cottonwood Crossing of the Santa Fe Trail.

The NPS has provided three interpretive panels on the following topics:

Zebulon Pike, who camped near this location on his expedition westward.	The Cottonwood Crossing, its difficulties and its significance.	Entrepreneurs of the Plains, the story of the road ranches that sprang up in the latter days of the Trail’s history.

The panels above are professionally prepared and contain original art work developed especially for this interpretive site.

This D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) marker is adjacent to the shelter.

Crossing Markers

The Cottonwood Crossing Chapter has set some small stone markers at locations where the Santa Fe Trail crosses existing roads.

These stone markers are in addition to metal signs set some years ago by Marion County that mark crossings of the Santa Fe Trail.

D.A.R Markers

There are several D.A.R markers in Marion County. They were placed in 1906. The markers say “Santa Fe Trail 1822 -1872.” Although Becknell made his first trading expedition to Santa Fe in 1821 using pack mules, wagons were first used in 1822. Although use of the SFT (except for local travel) ended in approximately 1867 in Marion County, the D.A.R used the 1872 date because that is when the Santa Fe Railroad reached the Colorado border, ending the need for the SFT in Kansas.

The Cottonwood Crossing Chapter has also renewed the lettering on some of the D.A.R. markers. NOTE: Some sources call all SFT related stone markers “D.A.R. markers.” That is not correct. D.A.R. markers should only refer to those stones placed by the D.A.R. in 1906.

On-going Maintenance

Chapter members regularly provide the time, material, and equipment to maintain the historical monuments. Here you can see Bill Silverstand in action.

Lost Spring Station

Just getting underway is a project to create an historical interpretive site approximately 2.5 miles west of the Town of Lost Springs at the site of Lost Spring Station and the spring close by.

Development of this site will be a partnership among the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter, the National Santa Fe Trail Association, the National Park Service, and the Shields Family, owners of the land.

Marking of Trail Crossings

Long-range plans include placing the National Park Services SFT logo plaques on existing Chapter markers and signs, and marking all location where the SFT crosses existing roads using the new NPS family of SFT signs.

Membership

Our Chapter generally has four meetings a year. The meetings consist of a meal at a local restaurant, followed by conducting of Chapter business, and then a presentation on SFT related history. In addition we generally have one or two field trips each year to trail sites either in Marion County or adjacent counties. Annual chapter membership is $10.00 per year, in addition to the national membership dues in the Santa Fe Trail Association. To download a Cottonwood Chapter Membership Form, click here.

Our Board of Directors generally meets every-other month to conduct Chapter business, plan meetings and field trips, and plan projects.

Chapter Officers for 2007 are:

Photo Sources: Aerial photos are from Terraserver.com. All other photos are by Steve Schmidt and permission to use those photos is granted only to the Santa Fe Trail Association for use on the SFTA web site.

Art Source: The painting featured at the top of this page was done by artist and SFTA member Doug Holdread. Visit Doug's Website