Santa Fe Trail Marker #14; 110 Mile Creek, McGee's Crossing

This was the fourteenth 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. It was dedicated on September 14, 1907, near the site of McGee's Crossing on 110 Mile Creek. Fry and Mobillion Mcgee bought the land around the creek in 1854, and Fry built an inn/tavern and a toll bridge, charging 25 cents a crossing. The creek's name dates back to an early survey of the trail when this location was judged to be 110 miles from Fort Osage, Missouri. McGee's Crossing, as it was known, became a center of pro-slavery sentiment in Osage County during the time known as "Bleeding Kansas." Like many of the 96 markers, one was slightly moved from its original location to be more visible to modern travelers. Today, the marker can be found on the west side of 75 Highway, just south of 56 Highway before the junction of South Topeka Avenue.

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 was dedicated on Sep. 14, 1907, near the site of McGee's Crossing on 110 Creek. The day was celebrated by the people of nearby Carbondale and Scranton, Ks., and many "old settlers" were on hand to share their stories of the Santa Fe Trail. Local resident, E.E. Gardner, chair of the Osage County Old Settlers Association, arranged for the installation of the stone and presided at the ceremonies. Afterwards, the crowd gathered for a picnic lunch at the nearby Sellard's Grove.

An early survey of the Santa Fe Trail determined that this creek was 110 miles from Fort Osage, Mo. There was a small Shawnee settlement at this location and a man named Richardson, who had married into the Shawnee Tribe, operated a toll crossing at this location on the Santa Fe Trail, which was the easiest place to ford the creek.

In 1854, two Kansas City brothers, Mobilion and Fry McGee purchased the land from Richardson. Fry had passed through the area on a trip to Oregon and realized its potential. The McGees were influential in the early days of Kansas City, Mo., then known as the Town of Kansas. Fry had been one of the town's original incorporators in 1850. When Kansas was opened to settlement in 1854, the brothers saw an opportunity to make money off of the Santa Fe Trail trade and purchased the land at 110 Mile Creek.

Fry began charging 25 cents per wagon crossing at the ford, and later built a toll bridge that netted as much as $30 a day during high water. He also built a large residence at the site with fireplaces on each end. One half was his family residence, where he lived with his wife and children. The other half was a tavern and inn for travelers. Rates were $1 per night for lodging and 50 cents for meals. He also built a horse barn and sawmill. Soon the government built a post office.

The settlement became known as McGee's Crossing and it arose as a center of proslavery sentiment in Osage County. The McGee's had brought their slaves with them from Missouri. The three women and a teenage boy helped with the operations of the business. Locals with abolitionist sentiments steered clear of McGee's tavern but those, who unknowingly entered the establishment and made their views known, were sure to get an earful as they sat to eat their dinner.

In the Kansas Territorial Election of 1854, McGee's tavern was a polling place for Osage County. The day before the vote, the area was flooded with pro-slavery men from Missouri, including many of McGee's friends and associates from Kansas City. Some of these men had been paid to make the 3-day journey. McGee made sure to hand different color ballots to known pro-slavery men and abolitionists. This marked out the abolitionists as they stood in line to cast their ballots and the pro-slavery crowd singled them out for harassment and eventually drove them from the polling place before they could vote.

McGee and his family were not immune to the violence during the Bleeding Kansas period. His property was attacked multiple times by gangs of abolitionists. He would often receive advanced notice that a raid was coming and would take his family and possessions, including his slaves, back to Missouri. In 1857, a raiding party associated with John Brown looted his business, taking about $2000 in property and 20 horses and mules.

Fry McGee died in 1861 and his family moved back to Kansas City. McGee's property was abandoned and began to fall into ruin and memory. McGee's son-in-law, William Harris, who had moved to McGee's Crossing, built a store at the crossing, which he operated until 1866. However, with traffic on the trail dwindling because of the railroads, the settlement was gradually abandoned. The Post Office closed in 1874, cementing its demise. Today the ruins of the tavern and out buildings are located nearby but are inaccessible because they are on private property.

The marker is at the intersection of 75 Highway South and S. Topeka Ave, directly south of 56 Highway. The marker sits down the embankment and is easy to miss, especially if the grass is high. The sign for Lyndon, Burlington and Yates Center is visible immediately south of this location.

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Euston, Diane. Early Kansas City Was Influenced By Four McGee Brothers, New Santa Fe Trailer Blog. September 30th, 2018. Accessed February 7th, 2025. https://newsantafetrailer.blogspot.com/2018/09/early-kansas-city-was-influenced-by.html.

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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.

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"Dedication Exercises." Carbondalian (Carbondale, Ks.) September 13th, 1907. .8.