Dates of operation

In July 1864, because of frequent Indian attacks in the area, Camp Dunlap was established 2 miles east of present day Great Bend, Kansas, where the Santa Fe Trail crossed the Walnut River. At first the camp was a series of tents and dugouts on the riverbank close to the Rath Ranch (trading post). However work immediately started on a more permanent facility about 100 yards from the dugouts and renamed Fort Zarah. In 1866 it was replaced by a second Fort Zarah built about 1/2 mile up river. Ft. Zarah was abandoned in 1869. Great Bend is the largest city and county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. ... Trail logo The Santa Fe Trail was a historic 19th century transportation route across southwestern North America connecting Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. ...

Place in History

Even though Fort Zarah had a short life, it saw its share of Indian fights and colorful characters including George Armstrong Custer, Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Mathewson, Buffalo Bill Cody, Kit Carson, and the great indian chief Satank aka Sitting Bear. George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. ... James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a legendary figure in the American Wild West. ... Buffalo Bill (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was born William Frederick Cody in the American state of Iowa. ... Kit Carson Kit Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868), born Christopher Houston Carson, was an American frontiersman. ... Sitting Bear Sitting Bear, also known as Satank (Set-ankeah), was the name of the Kiowa chief who killed George Peacock, proprietor of the Walnut Creek trading ranche in 1860. ... Sitting Bear Satank (Set-ankeah, translated as Sitting Bear), was a prestigious Kiowa warrior and medicine man. ...

Name

Fort Zarah was named in honor of Maj. Zarah Curtis who was one of the 90 union soldiers at killed Baxter Springs (Kansas) massacre in October 1863 by Quantrill's Raiders disguised as union soldiers. Quantrills Raiders were Confederate guerrillas who followed and fought under William Clarke Quantrill, an Ohio schoolteacher who relocated to Kansas, and who transformed a motley group of Southern sympathizing farmers and townsmen living behind Union lines into one of the Confederacys most effective and electric guerrilla units. ...

Zarah Town

A small town called Zarah grew up around Fort Zarah. At its peak, Zarah had a hotel, two saloons, a blacksmith shop, a livery stable, a general store, a post office, and several homes. Several thousand Texas cattle were wintered there. The town of Zarah is now a wheat field 3 miles east of Great Bend. The last citizen left Zarah in 1875 about 6 years after the fort was abandoned.

The Ranch / Trading Post at Walnut Creek

Fort Zarah was established near a ranch (trading post) where the Santa Fe Trail crossed the Walnut River. The ranch was established in 1855 and was known as the Allison Ranch, the Peacock Ranch, the Rath Ranch, or the Douglas trading post, depending on who operated it. The ranch was destroyed by Indians in May 1868.