The Crossing at Running Turkey Creek

The Crossing at Running Turkey Creek. Site of Fuller's Ranch and Town of Empire. The Running Turkey Creek crossing and campsite were an oasis for early trail travelers and in use by the time of the earliest survey of the Santa Fe Trail in 1825. The campsite became the location of the Running Turkey Creek trading ranch, also known as Fuller's Ranch, in 1855. Built by Charles O. Fuller, the first white permanent resident in the area, the ranch and crossing were used continually by travelers, traders, and soldiers until 1866., Within 10 years of the ranch's opening, a post office and temporary shelters made of sod offered safety, rest, and supplies for trail travelers and by 1871 the town of Empire was established.Yet when the Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1879, it bypassed Empire and most residents moved northwest to the former site of the railroad camp, establishing the town of Galva., There were days when I could not look out my window without seeing people on the trail, which was wider than any street. Sometimes there were Indians, other times cowboys with their picturesque sheep-skin chaps, big hats, and great long silver spurs that jangled as they rode. There were people in covered wagons, making homes, too and travelers. , Mrs. F. J. Gateka, Empire resident, describing continued local use of the crossing, 1874., Building the Town of Empire , Businesses and homes such as Joseph J. Colby's 1871 sod house became the town of Empire. Through the 1870s Empire grew to include a post office, school, church, doctor, pharmacist, sheriff, photographer, and a grange., photo captions: , Emperor or King? , Competition for land and success came early to Kansas. When deciding on a name for the post office, one consideration was what another nearby town was named-King City. According to one story, one man said, "Why don't we call ours Empire, an Emperor is more than a King." And so the post office and town were named. , After the arrival of the railroad, the Empire Store was moved to Galva and used until 1972. , Open Prairie , Before the Santa Fe Trail passed through the crossing at Running Turkey Creek (50 named because the creek never ran dry), there were no settlements in Kansas nor forested areas, only vast open prairie. With the development of the trail, there was a great shortage of timber, prompting travelers to make fires from buffalo chips. Later commercial trade in hides eliminated the Kansas bison herd. , Bison roamed the open prairie until the trade in hides reduced the herds., Cherokee Trail , In 1849, white and Cherokee prospectors met at the Grand Saline in Oklahoma to leave for the California goldfields. On May 12, their wagon train joined the Santa Fe Trail at Running Turkey Creek. They followed the Santa Fe Trail to Bent's Old Fort, Colorado, continuing west along the Arkansas River to present-day Pueblo, Colorado, before turning north to Fort Bridger, Wyoming, to join the California Trail. , The Cherokee Trail was established in 1849., Local Tour Route , Take advantage of these local tour options to retrace the Santa Fe National Historic Trail in the greater McPherson area , Running Turkey Creek and the crossing are located beyond the trees in front of you.