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National and State Registers of Historic Places

Smoky Hill Trail & Butterfield Overland Despatch Segment

Picture of property 522 Golf Course Road
Chapman (Dickinson County)
Listed in National Register Jul 7, 2015

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

This nominated segment of the Smoky Hill Trail and Butterfield Overland Despatch is located adjacent to Indian Hill Cemetery on the west side of Chapman in Dickinson County. This portion of the road began as a military route connecting Fort Riley in present-day Riley County with the Santa Fe Trail south of Ellsworth. By the late 1850s, the Smoky Hill Trail developed through Kansas between Leavenworth and Pike's Peak, Colorado and functioned briefly as the Butterfield Overland Despatch in the 1860s. The six-acre property is nominated as part of the "Historic Resources of the Santa Fe Trail" multiple property nomination, as a tertiary route, meaning it was not created solely for Santa Fe trade but was occasionally used as a supporting road. The period of significance encompasses the duration of use for long-distance travel, beginning in 1853 with its use as a military road and ending with the last stage coach service over this segment in 1870.



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