Monday, March 14, 2011

Kansas/Colorado Ghost town: Trail City

Men whose business, or yearning for excitement, had taken them into many of the West's hooray towns, said the worst of them couldn't hold a candle to Trail City, the "Entertainment" town on the Colorado-Kansas border. It had been established to fleece the thirsty, women-eager men who choused cattle up from Texas and it lived up to its founders' greediest dreams. It was said there were more ways in Trail City to separate a man from his money than a prairie dog had ticks."
- Old Timers Wild West magazine, 1979


TRAIL CITY - It's against the law for a woman to ride naked on a horse through Coolidge.
Or, at least, that's the story Larue Lennen tells - a story passed down from her mother, a former mayor of Coolidge, which is just a few miles from the Kansas border. When a prostitute from the rough border town of Trail City came riding into Coolidge, residents decided they wanted to make sure it never happened again.
Trail City, after all, was the notorious stepchild of the area - a place of gambling and drinking, of womanizing and, on occasion, of murder. It was a town without a county or state, for that matter - a city located in what they called "No Man's Land."
So disorderly was this town that for years after its death locals wouldn't talk about it, maybe because their men sometimes sneaked over to visit.
Larue Lennen, however, along with her daughter, Lori, is on a mission to preserve the history - working on a document that tells the tale.
"Otherwise," Lennen said. "These stories will all be lost."
The old railroad bridge where cattle were tolled. Men whose business, or yearning for excitement, had taken them into many of the West's hooray towns, said the worst of them couldn't hold a candle to Trail City, the "Entertainment" town on the Colorado-Kansas border. It had been established to fleece the thirsty, women-eager men who choused cattle up from Texas and it lived up to its founders' greediest dreams. It was said there were more ways in Trail City to separate a man from his money than a prairie dog had ticks." - Old Timers Wild West, 1979

Lori Lennen wants to preserve the history of Trail City
 

Old foundations and remains of dugouts.

Martin Culvert's grave, the founder of Trail City and the National Cattle Trail

Martin Culvert's grave, the founder of Trail City and the National Cattle Trail

Martin Culvert's grave, the founder of Trail City and the National Cattle Trail



Photo of cowboys camped near Trail City

Photo of cowboys camped near Trail City

Cartoon drawing depicting Trail City




Map of Trail City's layout

To read the entire story of Trail City, click here

1 comment:

  1. Hello. I am very interested in learning more about Trail City, Colorado/Kansas. For example, does anyone know where the dead were interned if they passed along while in Trail City? Is the town location easy to access, or is there permission required from someone? Was there a Sherriff? Did they use the regional Marshall system? Please reply here and to jake@voicebyjake.com, or phone 720.209.6297. Thank you. ~ jake (Parker, CO)

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