For thousands of years, Native Americans relied on this region's wildlife for sustenance. Early settlers, too, depended on bison, deer, and birds drawn to the region's reliable water and forage.
As settlements expanded, unregulated hunting . . . — — Map (db m95699) HM
Near midnight, on October 12, 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and his exploring party, headed to the Rockies, reached the Arkansas River just south of here. The explorers camped by the river for two weeks to rest their animals and lay in a . . . — — Map (db m95732) HM
When you think of Kansas, what pops into your mind? Prairie? Wheat? Dorothy? The Wetlands & Wildlife National Scenic Byway will forever reshape your image of this part of the "Sunflower State." This 77-mile Byway connects two of the world's . . . — — Map (db m95731) HM
"The stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed time; and the turtle dove, and the crane, and the swallow, observed the time of their coming" —Jeremiah (8:7)
For thousands of years, we have marveled at bird migration. How could . . . — — Map (db m95728) HM
Great Bend Army Air Field
April 1944 to December 1944
North Field Guam
December 1944 to September 1945
187 Missions
Kadena Okinawa
June 1950 to September 1953
251 Missions — — Map (db m66299) WM
Activated April 1, 1941
Deactivated October 22, 1946
Served with Distinction From Bases In
—————————
Puerto Rico Panama Guatamala Ecuador Pratt, Kansas Chakulia, India . . . — — Map (db m66881) WM
Donated to the City of Great Bend this 18th day of Sept., 1956 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company.
History
Purchased in July 1919 from Baldwin Locomotive Works at Eddystone, Pennsylvania at a cost of $69,000. Used in . . . — — Map (db m59846) HM
Vernon Chandler James Stevens
Wayne Christensen George Lane
Neil Allen Frank Hermes
Richard Ackerman Harold Galbreath
Douglas Snook Rutger Kindberg
Roy Kurre Robert Tannehill
Andrew Kerzner — — Map (db m66300) WM
Jim Hall Francis Thompson
Eugene Victor Gerson Lacoff
John Segal Don Leeper
Ernest Vick John Keogh
Don Comer Marv Beattie
John Tyrrell Cecil Corley — — Map (db m66270) WM
Erected and dedicated by
Ira D. Brougher
Department Commander
to
Pap Thomas Post No. 52
Grand Army of the Republic
Department of Kansas
Veterans of the War of
1861 - 1865
[Honor Roll of Post No. 52 Members]
[Honor Roll . . . — — Map (db m59159) WM
Robert Brett Vonley R Bucklin
Thomas Cantwell Roger Denis
Burmon Hoyle Clarence Rarick
William Schomburg Fred Sobaski
Richard Solt David Sussman
Burdette Young — — Map (db m64279) WM
Charles "Deacon" Miller Raymond Geiger
Ted Morrill Ernest Keller
Carson Eckmann Edward Hassig
Robert Foor John Murray
A.L. Tilley Archie Moore
Delmar Pfeiffer Elmer (mascot) — — Map (db m66265) WM
In 1825 the Federal government surveyed the Santa Fe trail, great trade route from western Missouri to Santa Fe. Treaties with Kansas and Osage Indians safeguarded the eastern end of the road but Plains Tribes continued to make raids. Fort Zarah, at . . . — — Map (db m55315) HM
Tribute to Jack Kilby
There was a time when engineers who improved our daily lives and spawned global industries achieved enormous prominence and public attention. Henry Ford and his tin lizzie were recognized everywhere. Alexander . . . — — Map (db m66174) HM
Bernard Kiley Jr Morris Schuurmans
Patrick Conaghan Jr Henry Harper
Arthur Richards Edward Tis
Cecil Saul Gilbert Dunning
Milton Diley James Husted
John Herring — — Map (db m66245) WM
World War II Korea Vietnam
Enlisted in USAAF - 1943
Native of Great Bend
Distinguished Service Medal - Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross - Air Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Accommendation Medal
Army . . . — — Map (db m64275) WM
K.D. Thompson Thomas F. Randle, Jr.
Thurman W. Sallade Thomas L. Price
Vaughn A. Plevan* S. Clay Sandhofer
Louis N. Decory Charles O. Trabold
B. Keith Baldwin Gordon K. Golden
Leroy J. Arents — — Map (db m64304) WM
Of the 12 original pilots chosen
for the B-29 program
the following were stationed
at Great Bend Army Air Field
——————————
Marshall (Moe) Brown Jack Doran
Archie Lewis . . . — — Map (db m66877) WM
Roy H. Bruns Roy B. Brown
Harold T. Bohham Victor W. Bailey
Laurence A. Dryden Richard H. Beardsley
Richard J. Rodrick Victor E. Repp
C. "Mike" Williams Herbert C. Dunn
Earle M. Bayne — — Map (db m64284) WM
Edmund G Smith POW James Edward POW
Ray "Hap" Halloran POW Robert Grace*
William Franz* Guy H Knobel POW
John P Nicholson POW Anthony Lukasiewicz*
Vito C Barbieri* Robert Holladay*
Cecil T Laird* — — Map (db m64285) WM
"Lucky Irish" Gunner
73rd BW 497th BG 870th SQ
30 combat missions from Saipan.
Enroute home in the famous 52-mission
"Dauntless Dottie" which led the first
Saipan-Tokoyo [sic] Raid, the plane crashed
on Kwajalein, June 7, 1945
In . . . — — Map (db m66365) WM
In the history of most successful communities, there have been defining moments. Streetscape served as such a moment for this community. In the wake of the financial adversity of the preceding decade, this community united in common effort to . . . — — Map (db m59161) HM
Paul J Burnor Kenneth W Fisher
John R Brown Harold L Hadden
John M Williams Raymond E Nelson
Frank O'Neil Ellis W Conrad
Frank W Steed Burrel S Lewis
James R McFayden — — Map (db m66878) WM
"The Chief" Hay John Froehlich
Frank Pettibone John Pearson
James Hunter "Hap" Owens
Robert Beals Robert Thill
Charles Burton Bill Bostick
Al Ruester — — Map (db m66368) WM
[Panel] 1 The B-29 Memorial
Honoring the Past...
Educating the Future
The B-29 Memorial was built to honor the sacrifices made by people in the past to ensure freedom for future generations. Until the 1990s, the Great Bend Army Air . . . — — Map (db m69240) HM WM
John A Dunn* Arwin C Hook*
John J Buckley III* Rufus E. S. Henry*
Edward C. Johnston John T Juracek Jr*
James E O'Donnell Philip Wolk
Loney G Boggess Ralph L Heffernan
Lloyd G McNamee — — Map (db m66269) WM
Nicolas Van Wingerden
William C Jennings* Wendell F Geiwitz*
Albert E Woltz* Uline C Miller
Thomas J Maxham* Samuel E Davis*
Kenneth C Carlson* Rex T Phelps*
Martin T Warner Scott C Baker* — — Map (db m64300) WM
(east side)Dedicated to the Veterans of All Wars May 26, 1935 (west side)Erected by Morrison-McFadden Post № 3111 Great Bend, Kansas — — Map (db m156307) WM
Thomas Welch James Johnson
Robert McKay George Glover
Charles Vail Robert McInerny
Allan Hanson James Jones
Walter Grouten James Vasbinder
Bob Kilburn Hugh Polson
Am Reinhard — — Map (db m64286) WM
Dedicated to the memory of a man who was the "all american" citizen - total committment and devotion to his country, community and family above himself. He was a most active Chamber member and freely gave us his time, expertise and handy-man . . . — — Map (db m59845) HM
We set out at the ushal time and at 8 miles West We passed point of Red Rocks about 600 yds from the river and at Eleven miles crossed the paney River .Some Cottenwood on the Banks and Some Bushis. the Red Rock is evidently a volcanic production . . . — — Map (db m64249) HM
No one actually knows how Pawnee Rock was named. Josiah Gregg, who had been over the Santa Fe Trail eight times beginning in 1831, wrote: the attention of the traveller is directed to the Pawnee Rock' so called, it is said, on account of a . . . — — Map (db m64243) HM
From 1821 until late in the 1800s Pawnee Rock was a noted landmark along the Santa Fe Trail. Thousands of wagons lumbered and creaked by here carrying goods to or from the great American Southwest. Many travelers recorded their impressions of . . . — — Map (db m64245) HM
Slowly along came the line of wagons, and the prairie breeze brought us, in sound, faint and far between, the drivers invocations to their mules.
Matthew C. Field, journalist
1839
From 1821 until the late 1860s the Santa Fe Trail ran . . . — — Map (db m64241) HM
Standing here 175 years ago Santa Fe Trail travelers looked out over a sea of grass. About three miles to the south a line of timber marked the Arkansas River which meandered across the prairie. A few plum thickets dotted the landscape, and an . . . — — Map (db m64203) HM
Standing here 175 years ago Santa Fe Trail travelers looked out over a sea of grass. About three miles to the south a line of timber marked the Arkansas River which meandered across the prairie. A few plum thickets dotted the landscape, and an . . . — — Map (db m64205) HM
Pawnee Rock changed very little for ten thousand years. The hill was grass-covered with a fifty-foot-high face on the southeast side in front of you. Wind, water, and vegetation slowly eroded the stone.
But Pawnee Rock has changed. The top of . . . — — Map (db m64242) HM
Private
Company G 1st Regiment
Missouri Mounted Infantry
Mexican War
Pvt Carson died of some unknown illness
at this point on July 13, 1846
and was buried on the following day — — Map (db m64202) WM
A mile northeast is Pawnee Rock, a famous landmark on the Santa Fe Trail. Considered the mid-point of the long road between Missouri and New Mexico. Pawnee Rock was a symbol of challenges overcome. Many early travelers mentioned it in their . . . — — Map (db m55303) HM
"We first rode nearly north about a mile to a remarkable Rocky Point . . .We rode upon the top which is probably 50 feet above the plain below, and from whence there is a charming view of the country in every direction."
—George Sibley, . . . — — Map (db m64191) HM
In honor of the brave men and women
who passing over the old Santa Fe Trail,
endured the hardships of frontier life,
and blazed the path of civilization for posterity
Pawnee Rock, given to the State of Kansas
by Benj. P. Unruh,
in . . . — — Map (db m64248) HM
