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King City

Rail town in Kansas in 1872.[1]

Situated on the Ninneschah River in south-central Kansas. Established by Roy Stafford in 1867 as the site of a shipping depot along the Chisholm Trail. Named for Juliette King Morgan, mother of Cyrus K. Morgan.[2]

With the connection of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad to Kansas City being made in 1867, the Chisholm Trail to bring herds of cattle up from Texas to deliver them to eastern markets. In anticipation of the burgeoning cattle drives, Stafford envisioned a railhead in the southwestern-most available public lands in Kansas connecting to the LP&W to shorten the trail by 120 miles. Kansas City investors helped to finance the construction of the Brasada Spur.[2]

In late 1867, New York millionaire Cyrus K. Morgan realized the opportunity of the site and established his Bella Union Hotel, as well as a bank and mercantile. With the Brasada Spur's completion in February of 1868, a tent city was already growing and attracting farmers, ranchers and miners to settle in the area. Morgan partnered with Rufus Elgree and other New York railroad men to build the Great Western Railroad to compete with the Brasada Spur, connecting Fort Scott with Fort Dodge through King City. By 1871, the town was booming with several gambling halls and shipping more than 20,000 head of cattle per season.[2]

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ABOVE: Roy Stafford points out King City on the Brasada Spur map to Bart Maverick,1872.[1]

Brasada Spur: In August of 1872,[2] Bart Maverick arrived in King City and learned of Rufus Elgree's nightly high-stakes poker game.[1]

The Panic of 1873 forced the railroads out of business and by 1874, King City was becoming abandoned, in favor of the well-financed Santa Fe Railway's new railhead in Castleton a few miles away. Today, the site of King City is covered by farmland.[2]

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