Santa Fe Trail Marker #13; Overbrook, Kansas

This marker in front of the Post Office in downtown Overbrook is the thirteenth of 96 markers placed by the Kansas Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution to trace the route of the Santa Fe Trail through the State of Kansas. The dedication of this marker was a cause of great celebration when it was installed by the town in 1907. The community's connection to the Santa Fe Trail as a campground predated the founding of the town of Overbrook in 1886. The marker was originally placed in the center of downtown next to the town's well and bandstand. Today, the stone is in front of the Post Office at 320 Maple St.

One of the tenets of the Daughters of the American Revolution is “To perpetuate the memory of the spirit of men and women who achieved American Independence, by the acquisition and protection of historical spots, and the erection of monuments.” However, there being no sites even remotely associated with the American Revolution in the State of Kansas, the four Kansas chapters of the D.A.R. had long pondered how they would follow this mission. They had made some modest contributions to some local projects, such as the Zebulon Pike monument in Republic County, Ks. but hadn’t spearheaded a project of their own. At the state conference in 1902, it was proposed that they mark the route of the Santa Fe Trail through Kansas, a project made official in 1903. Since its abandonment in 1872, much of the route had been forgotten or covered up by modern roads, farms, and towns. With much of the former trail lost, the Daughters of the American Revolution worked to rediscover its route, a task made even more difficult by the fact that travelers along the trail often took slightly different paths.

Over the next few years, a committee of D.A.R. volunteers consulted old maps and interviewed original settlers to ascertain the original route of the trail. As soon as people heard of the project, they received many letters from locals offering to help. Their assistance was invaluable, especially in the western sections, where the trail split into northern and southern branches. From their research, they commissioned their own map detailing the route through each county. By 1904, the D.A.R. was ready to petition the state legislature for funding. They consulted the “women clubs” in all the communities through which the trail passed to determine the best locations for markers. They determined the size and format for the markers, a bronze plaque on a red granite boulder sourced from Oklahoma. Their inspiration was the Santa Fe Trail marker in Kansas City, Missouri’s Penn Valley Park. In the end, due to cost constraints, they opted to chisel the same inscription on the face of each monument.        

In the end, the state appropriation of $1000 would prove to be far too little for the 96 markers they planned. They budgeted $20 per marker for construction, freight charges, concrete foundations and installment costs. So the D.A.R. appealed to Kansas school children and asked that they each donate a penny to the cause. This raised another $700. A few private individuals also sponsored the stones in their communities and Douglas County paid for its five stones. The markers were constructed and delivered throughout 1907 and early 1908. A team of workers was arranged ahead of time in each community to receive and install the stone at the prescribed location. Each dedication was a cause for celebration for the various communities. In all, the D.A.R. had successfully delivered and had installed 96 stone trail markers across the entire length of the Santa Fe Trail in Kansas.

This marker in downtown Overbrook, Ks. sits in front of the town’s post office. The area that is now Overbrook was once a popular camping site on the Santa Fe Trail. Its history as a town begins in 1886, when local landowners and neighbors W.T. Coffman and J.B. Fairchild, platted out a new town on their farms. They approached the owners of the Kansas, Nebraska, & Dakota Railroad, which was under construction in the area, and offered them a half stake in the new town, if they would divert the rail line and place a depot there. When the railroad executives asked what the name of the new town was, they were told there wasn’t a name yet. One of the construction engineers suggested they name it Overbrook, after his hometown of Overbrook, Pennsylvania. The name stuck, and Overbrook, Kansas, was born.

Overbrook grew quickly thanks to the only train depot for many miles. The population grew as residents started to move to the town from outlying areas. Soon there were grain storage facilities, general stores, blacksmiths, a pharmacy, a hardware store, a town newspaper, and a barber.

This marker was placed with great ceremony on June 14, 1907, just north of the town well in the center of downtown. It sat on a concrete pad within a small flower garden. An iron railing surrounded the monument. People came from as far away as Burlingame to see the dedication and the town had advertised for weeks for all the old settlers in the area to come and share their stories of the trail. Several of these men made addresses to the crowd. The town newspaper, the Overbrook Citizen, exhorted citizens to save a copy of the newspaper covering the event to show to children and grandchildren. Today, Overbrook retains much of its architectural character of 1907. The DAR stone was moved in front of the town's post office but remains a point of pride in the community and the Overbrook Historical Society has plans for a town museum next door. 

Kansas Society Daughters of the American Revolution. The Century Survey of the Kansas Santa Fe Trail DAR Markers Placed by the Kansas Society Daughters of the American Revolution in 1906. Topeka, Ks. Kansas Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 2010.

Cordry, Mrs. T.A.. The Story of the Marking of the Santa Fe Trail. Topeka, KS. Crane & Company, 1915.

Our History, City of Overbrook, Kansas. Accessed February 6th, 2025. https://overbrookks.com/about-us#:~:text=The%20earliest%20description%20of%20Overbrook,store%20owned%20by%20William%20Kincaide..

Descriptive Atlas of Osage County, Kansas. 1899, Hennessy Brothers, Chicago, Ill. Accessed online 2/6/2025, Kansas State Historical Society Website, https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/224031/page/2

Meet Me at the Bandstand, Overbrook Historical Society. Accessed February 6th, 2025. https://4b68abc8-9647-4d7e-bbc6-593dc66dd181.usrfiles.com/ugd/4b68ab_b2043fe3cc8545afa27f36fa12494696.pdf.

"The Stone Dedicated." Overbrook Citizen (Overbrook, Ks.) June 20th, 1907. .2.