Melvin Shafer standing with one of
the many Chisholm Trail Markers thoughout Sumner County. |
How
many people have noticed the new, white cement posts along
many of the roads in Sumner and Sedgwick counties that mark
the route of the Chisholm Trail? They are not large, but
they are the result of a large and quite worthy undertaking
by many volunteers. Karen Sturm of Caldwell provides some
of the background information:
About
seven years ago, Bob Klemme of Enid, OK began marking the
Chisholm Trail along section lines in Oklahoma. He has placed
over 400 concrete posts throughout Oklahoma, as well as
one at the Trail's beginning in Kingston, Texas and at the
Trail's end in Abilene, Ks. The Kansas Cattletown Coalition
in Kansas is the sponsoring organization in Kansas to mark
the trail. Tom Frazee of Wichita is chairman of the project.
Currently the trail has been marked from the Oklahoma line
south of Caldwell to just South of Wichita. Frazee uses
historic maps & surveys to transpose the Trail onto
modern landscapes. Ritchie construction of Wichita is making
& donating all of the posts. Volunteers from Caldwell
placed the posts from Caldwell to just east of the Mayfield
cemetery. In April a group of women painted the posts. The
Caldwell Historical Society provided the paint, cement &
supplies for the project.
A group
from Clearwater and others from areas along the way have
continued, and are continuing the work. We can be justly
proud of all these people for promoting this important historical
aspect of Kansas and of Sumner County.
Article by Della Shafer
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