Brief History from
Kansas State Historical Society:
Ford County was
organized on April 5, 1873, by A. L.
Peacock; Charles Rath; W. S. Tremaine; A.
J. Anthony; Morris Collar;
Patrick Ryan; George G. Cox; R. W.
Evans; A. B. Webster; John Haney; Jacob
Collar; F. C. Zimmerman; James P. Kelley;
Herman J. Fringer; George J. Hoover;
H. L. Sitler; E. B. Kirk; F. C. Tupper;
and Robert M. Wright. It was named for
Brigadier
General James H. Ford, who
established Fort Dodge, and contains the
cities of Bucklin, Dodge City, Ford and
Spearville.
The establishment of
Fort Dodge in 1865, and the coming of the
cattle trade and trails in the 1870s, and
the arrival of the
Santa Fe Railroad in 1872, were the
three most significant events in the early
history of Dodge City.
Ford Counties most famous
characters would be the entire cast of Dodge
City's "wild west" days. In addition,
Robert M. Wright, the father of the
Texas cattle trade, and "Mr. Dodge City"
George J. Hoover, the first businessman
in Dodge City, and Chalkley Beeson,
saloon owner, farmer, and cattleman, are all
interesting figures in addition to the
better
known. Dodge City is also the home of
former Kansas Governor Fred Hall
(1955-1957). Jess C. Denius Sr., veteran
Dodge
City newspaperman and Republican
politician, served in the Kansas Senate from
1933-1939.
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