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National and State Registers of Historic Places

Trail Park & DAR Marker

Picture of property NW intersection of E 1700 RD & N 400 RD
Baldwin City (Douglas County)
Listed in National Register Jul 17, 2013

Architect: N/A
Category: park
Thematic Nomination: Historic Resources of the Santa Fe Trail (Amended 2013)

The Santa Fe Trail enters Douglas County at its extreme southeast corner east of Baldwin City and is generally oriented toward the west, but it turns to the northwest as it nears Baldwin City. Maps of this area produced as early as 1857 indicate that this small portion of the trail north of Baldwin City was incorporated into the local road network early in the county's history. Still today, this road is a rare angled thoroughfare in an otherwise gridded road pattern. In 1907, Civil War veteran Isaiah Stickle and his wife Jennie donated to Baker University a small half-acre parcel along this angled roadway to commemorate the trail. It became known as Trail Park. Two local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) partnered to erect a monument at the park, which was unveiled in a ceremony on October 11, 1907. These two chapters, the General Edward Hand chapter of Ottawa and Betty Washington chapter of Lawrence, were among the first to organize in Kansas. Their efforts were part of a larger effort led by the Kansas Society DAR to place 93 granite markers along the 500-mile trail route in Kansas between 1906 and 1914. The park and marker are nominated for their significance in the area of social history.



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