Historical Markers and War Memorials in Baxter Springs, Kansas
Columbus is the county seat for Cherokee County
Baxter Springs is in Cherokee County
Cherokee County(83) ► ADJACENT TO CHEROKEE COUNTY Crawford County(66) ► Labette County(18) ► Jasper County, Missouri(61) ► Newton County, Missouri(40) ► Craig County, Oklahoma(6) ► Ottawa County, Oklahoma(33) ►
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The brush arbor was located in this general area and was used for a dining area for the troops at Ft. Blair. The colored troops were having lunch here when Quantrill's attackers approached from both the east and the south. The troops made their way . . . — — Map (db m174260) HM
Major General J.G. Blunt left Ft. Scott on October 4, 1863 en route to Ft. Smith. With him was his military escort consisting of about 125 men from Company I, Third Wisconsin Cavalry, and Company A, Fourteenth Kansas Cavalry. They proceeded by way . . . — — Map (db m37627) HM
(dedication on front of marker)
Erected by the United States to the Memory of the Officers and Soldiers Killed in the Battle of Baxter Springs October 8, 1863, and Other Engagements in this Vicinity who are Buried near this Monument, and . . . — — Map (db m21140) WM
Dedicated in memory of General James G. Blunt and his escort who defenseless, fell victims to the inhuman ferocity of guerrillas, led by the infamous Quantrell in his raid upon Baxter Springs October 6th 1863, in which 135 Union soldiers were slain . . . — — Map (db m80348) HM
On October 6, 1863, Gen. James Blunt and about 100 men were met near Baxter’s springs by William Quantrill and several hundred Confederates masquerading as Union troops. As Blunt’s band was preparing a musical salute the enemy fired. This surprise . . . — — Map (db m37840) HM
On Oct. 6, 1863, Gen. James Blunt and about 125 men from the 3rd Wisc. Cav. and the 14th Kans. Cav. stopped at the creek before coming into Ft. Blair. They were caught in a surprise attack from the rebel forces of William Quantrill. Nearly 100 of . . . — — Map (db m80214) HM
First burial site for victims of the Baxter Springs Massacre and the attack on Ft. Blair. In 1869, the bodies were moved to the National Cemetary plot west of town. — — Map (db m37836) HM
Civil War Dead
An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War (1861-1865). As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. This propelled the . . . — — Map (db m171034) HM
Baxter Springs was named for John Baxter, the area's first European settler in 1849, and the springs on his homestead. A military surveying party who camped in the area in 1857 recounted springs rich in iron salts as rising in a "cone of red mud," . . . — — Map (db m174251) HM
Julius Bischosberger, a native of Prussia, came to Baxter Springs in 1868 and constructed a frame building for the Bischosberger Hotel and Restaurant on this site. Directly across the street to the north was the Bischosberger Livery and Feed . . . — — Map (db m37434) HM
Opened in 1803 by Chief Black Dog (Manka-Chonka) and his band of Osage Indians who had a village nearby where springs once flowed freely. — — Map (db m37839) HM
Built circa 1870, the café was formerly the Crowell Bank, which Jesse James robbed in 1876. It is currently a restaurant and bed and breakfast. — — Map (db m37551) HM
Camp Logan was a 100 acre site of annual G.A.R. reunions attended by veterans of the Civil War between 1883-1914. An amphitheater holding 2000 people was located directly ahead. The surrounding hills were campsites for thousands of veterans and . . . — — Map (db m80220) HM
On this site, G. G. Gregg established the Chicago Drug Store in 1868, just as the town became a center for the cattle trade. The block of businesses was known as Keenan's Old Stand at that time. The Drug Store carried prescriptive and . . . — — Map (db m37501) HM
In 1870-71, the victims of the attack on Fort Blair and the Battle of Baxter Springs were disinterred from a site near the fort and reinterred in this newly designated national cemetery plot, officially National Cemetery #2. — — Map (db m171037) HM
In a field to the east, Blunt's military band wagon overturned while trying to escape the guerillas. The bandsmen were shot and their bodies were burned in the wagon. — — Map (db m170671) HM
The first bank in Baxter Springs was the Bank of Baxter also called the Crowell Bank. It was established in 1870 and did business in this building. H. R. Crowell, the founder, was the second mayor of Baxter Springs. In May of 1876, Jesse James and . . . — — Map (db m37531) HM
In the late 1880s, this building was constructed by W. H. Horner, and in it he established the Drovers' and Farmers' Bank. The Bank was purchased by John M. Cooper and J. N. McDonald, who changed the name to the Traders' Bank. They were later . . . — — Map (db m37502) HM
In 1866, a small log school building was built on this site, with benches and desks hewn from logs. The first teacher was Miss Lillie Van Epps. It was a subscription school, which was maintained, and the teacher paid with tuition from the students. . . . — — Map (db m80341) HM
Fort Blair, constructed as a garrison for soldiers guarding the Military Road, was attacked by rebel forces of William Quantrill on Oct. 6, 1863.
Although greatly outnumbered, Lt. James Pond and men from the 3rd Wisc. Cav. and Kans. 2nd Colored . . . — — Map (db m37838) HM
This is a replication of the blockhouse which records tell us was in the center of the encampment. The original blockhouse measured 16 feet square and was constructed of logs. It was built to store equipment and supplies. Reports indicate that it . . . — — Map (db m37621) HM
The breastworks that enclosed Ft. Blair measured 80 feet by 100 feet. A trench, called a rifle pit, encircled the breastworks on the inside. The dirt that was extracted to create the rifle pits was then piled outside the walls to provide a . . . — — Map (db m37599) HM
The west wall of the breastworks had been removed the day before the attack in order to enlarge the encampment to make room for more than 100 additional cavalry troops which had arrived under the command of Lt. Pond. — — Map (db m37623) HM
The Illinois Cash Store, a grocery and dry goods store, was constructed on this site in 1868 by John M. Cooper who came to Baxter Springs from Illinois. In 1886, he constructed a new brick building one block south and moved the business. in 1900, . . . — — Map (db m52061) HM
The Indiana Hotel, later renamed the Indiana House, was constructed on this site around 1870.
Christian Null acquired the Indiana House in 1881 and operated the business until its closing in the late 1890s. In 1900, the present building was . . . — — Map (db m37533) HM
In the spring of 1849, John Baxter, his wife and 8 children moved to this site and built an inn and general store and offered food and lodging to travelers who passed along the Military Road. Baxter was a colorful character -- a speculator, . . . — — Map (db m37598) HM
This grand building was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Built in 1872, it was intended to be the county courthouse, but was never used for that purpose. Through the years, the building has served as a city hall and a . . . — — Map (db m80350) HM
This small bridge is the last of its kind in Cherokee County. Given to the historical society by the county commissioners, it was moved to this site in 1994 from the northwest corner of the county. — — Map (db m80332) HM
This log cabin was built east of the Lowell Cemetery in the late 1870's. R.A. Hibbard built it as a home for his brother-in-law's family. Kent Lynch purchased the property and donated the cabin to the historical society in memory of Marsha Moncrief . . . — — Map (db m80219) HM
In 1872, the Mayor of Baxter Springs, J. R. Boyd, shot and killed C. M. Taylor, marshal, near this spot. Bad blood had existed between the two for some time.
The marshal approached Boyd to serve him a warrant for arrest on an assault charge. . . . — — Map (db m37437) HM
Henry and Louisa Ohlen purchased this property in February 1878 and opened Ohlen's Restaurant and Bakery. Among their offerings were ice cream and oysters which were advertised "in their proper seasons." The Ohlen's [sic] also offered a day . . . — — Map (db m37505) HM
J. P. Opperman, a native of France, came to Baxter Springs in 1871 and established the Opperman Harness and Saddle Shop located on this site. The building is still here, but lies beneath the present facade. Opperman's was one of the most successful . . . — — Map (db m37471) HM
Built in 1930 by the Independent Oil
and Gas Company, this Tudor
Revival style gas station was
purchased by Phillips 66 Petroleum
Company the same year. The
original "house" style brick building
was modified in the 1940s to the . . . — — Map (db m37388) HM
In May of 1893, the Polster Brothers, Charles, John and Ed, and their mother, Elizabeth Polster, had a grand opening for their new dry goods store. The public was entertained with music by an Italian harpist, and the building was lavishly decorated . . . — — Map (db m37503) HM
Near this site, Quantrill's men attacked and killed several men from the fort engaged in target practice. Among them were Johnny Fry, an Army scout who had earlier won fame as the first Pony Express rider, and Lt. Ralph Cook, officer in charge of . . . — — Map (db m80331) HM
Baxter Springs' economy was driven through two major periods of economic growth. First, as a cow town, thanks to its proximity to Texas and easy access to eastern markets. The second, as part of the lead and zinc mining region, which flourished in . . . — — Map (db m174250) HM
William C. Quantrill, a former Kansas school teacher, headed a guerilla army which had committed many outrages around Lawrence and Kansas City, one being the Lawrence Massacre. Quantrill received a commission of Colonel, supposedly either from . . . — — Map (db m80834) HM
A gushing spring, largest of many along Spring Branch, once flowed here. Early pioneers, Osage Indians, and military personnel stopped to camp here and drink the mineral waters, believed to have curative powers. During the Victorian Era, when the . . . — — Map (db m80336) HM
The Osage at Baxter Springs
The Osage once controlled a vast territory in the center of North America. In the mid-1600s, the tribe moved to the area around Baxter Springs. The area was important to the Osage because, for the tribe, it was . . . — — Map (db m174252) HM
A giant elm, it's branches spreading nearly 100 feet, grew here on the bank of Spring Branch. It shaded Fort Blair's mess kitchen during the Civil War and later was infamous as the site of vigilante justice. As many as seven horse thieves were . . . — — Map (db m80339) HM
The Baxter Springs brewery was built on this site in 1870 by Edward Zellekin, a German immigrant who knew there would be a demand for his product in the booming cattle town. The massive building was constructed of brick and yellow . . . — — Map (db m80218) HM
In Memory of
All American Veterans
This memorial honors all American Veterans
who although separated by generations shared a common
undeniable goal to protect our country's freedoms.
In war and in peace they have placed . . . — — Map (db m73093) WM
To the loving memory of those men and women who gave their lives in all past wars and to all veterans who served our great country we dedicate this tank
We thank you for your sacrifices
This M-60 forty five ton Army tank was donated by . . . — — Map (db m80333) WM
In 1870, the city marshal, H. C. Seaman, was called to the Wiggins House, a hotel/saloon located on this corner. The marshal intervened in an alteration between Mr. Wiggins who was the proprietor, a saloon girl, and a Texas cowboy. Nine shots . . . — — Map (db m80346) HM
