Leavenworth in Leavenworth County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
First City Mural
Leavenworth Visitors Bureau Mural and Statue Safari Stop #10
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 20, 2025
1. First City Mural
First City
Erected by Leavenworth.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Patriots & Patriotism • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1870.
Location. 39° 19.148′ N, 94° 54.869′ W. Marker is in Leavenworth, Kansas, in Leavenworth County. It is on Shawnee Street east of 5th Street, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 406 Shawnee Street, Leavenworth KS 66048, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kansas and specifically in Greater Kansas City. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, on the prairies, and on the Southern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Heritage Court / Celebration of the Midwest Family (within shouting distance of this marker); Abraham Lincoln (within shouting distance of this marker); Freedom Tree (within shouting distance of this marker); The Star of the West (within shouting distance of this marker); The Star of the West Saloon (within shouting distance of this marker); Replica of the Statue of Liberty (within shouting distance of this marker); 1976 Bicentennial Capsule (within shouting distance of this marker); Leavenworth (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Leavenworth.
Regarding First City Mural. Per the
this page online
This mural features oval insets of local figures on either side of a man standing in the middle of Shawnee Street in 1870s downtown Leavenworth. A banner reads "First City" over the central figure, proclaiming Leavenworth's status as the first organized city in Kansas. The central figure is Buffalo Bill Cody, who called Leavenworth home. His family moved to Leavenworth when he was a little boy. Cody left in 1858 at age 12 to work on the wagon trains that operated across the Great Plains.
The insets in the mural show local landmarks and notable people.
Upper left, larger inset: The Great Western Stove Company.
Upper left, portrait inset: Wild West legend Wild Bill Hickok, who lived in 1850s Leavenworth.
Upper right, large inset: Leavenworth Union Depot near the Missouri River.
Upper right, portrait inset: A young man wearing the blue U.S. Army uniform of a Buffalo Soldier; one unit, the 10th Cavalry, was formed at Fort Leavenworth in 1866.
Center Cityscape: Shawnee Street, Leavenworth's Main Street, featuring Leavenworth City Hall and a covered wagon (attesting to Leavenworth's place on the route of the Old Military Road, now called the Frontier Military Historic Byway.)
Also see . . . Leavenworths Mural & Statue Safari. (Submitted on October 25, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 20, 2025
2. First City Mural
Credits. This page was last revised on February 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 25, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 45 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 25, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
