Santa Fe Trail Marker #18; Wilmington, Ks.

This is the eighteenth 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. George Martin, the Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, had been working with the Kansas DAR to choose locations for the stones. He selected the schoolhouse in the historic Santa Fe Trail town of Wilmington to host Wabaunsee County’s only marker. It was dedicated in December 1906 with a small ceremony attended by students of the Wilmington and Harveyville students.

History of this Marker

This marker was dedicated in December 2006 by F.I. Hinshaw, Superintendent of the Wilmington School District. A small ceremony included the children of the Wilmington and Harveyville schools. Today, it sits in its original location, across from the Wilmington Schoolhouse, which was built in 1870.

Wilmington was founded in 1856 by H.D. Shepard at the point where a road from Fort Leavenworth met the Santa Fe Trail. The location attracted several families of settlers, and a post office was established in 1856. Soon, the town boasted stores, a hotel, a stagecoach station, and businesses that catered to the trail trade. The Wilmington School District was created in 1861, and the town built this stone schoolhouse and the nearby church in 1870. 

As the traffic on the Santa Fe Trail declined with the advance of the railroad, the town declined and families began to move away. When the railroad came through Harveyville, four miles to the north, most of the town’s businesses relocated there. The post office closed in 1906. By the time this marker was dedicated in December of that year, there were only about 69 residents. Today, the schoolhouse, which was in use until 1950, and the church are all that remain of the town. The schoolhouse is owned and maintained by the Flint Hills Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association.

History of the 96 D.A.R. Markers

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 the 1872, much of the route had been forgotten or covered up by modern roads, farms and towns. The State of Kansas had lost the Santa Fe Trail, so it was up to the Daughters of the American Revolution to find its exact route.

Over the next few years, a committee of D.A.R. volunteers consulted old maps and interviewed original settlers to ascertain the exact route of the trail. When people heard of the project, they received many letters from locals offering to help. Their assistance was invaluable, especially in the western section, 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's 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 they opted for chiseling this 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. In response, the D.A.R. appealed to Kansas school children and asked them to 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 installed 96 stone trail markers across the entire length of the Santa Fe Trail in Kansas.

Alexander, Kathy. Wabaunsee County, Kansas on the Santa Fe Trail, Legends of America. June 1st, 2022. Accessed February 9th, 2025. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/santafetrail-wabaunsee-county/.

Blackmar, Frank W.. Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc.. Volume i. Chicago, Ill. Standard Publishing, 1912. Accessed online 2/7/2025, KSgenweb.org, https://www.ksgenweb.org/archives/1912/w/wilmington.html