Wilmington was located at the junction of the Santa Fe Trail and the
Military Road from Fort Leavenworth by way of Topeka. In 1857, a few settlers
located at the junction and in the next year, a post office was established
there. Wilmington became a thriving community, replete with several establishments
catering to Trail traffic.
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 Logo Indicates
Certified Santa Fe National Historic Trail Sites
Sites on the National Register of Historic Places are noted (NRHP)
National Historic Landmarks are noted (NHL)
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| Santa Fe Trail Site
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Description
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| McGee-Harris Stage Station
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The McGee-Harris Stage Station is about 1 mile south
of US Highway 56 on the east bank of 110 Mile Creek, east of Burlingame,
Kansas. The stage station was started in the 1850s by Fry McGee, who also
erected a toll bridge over 110 Mile Creek here. Harris, McGee's son-in-law,
operated the station, following McGee's death, from 1861 to 1866, when this
segment of the trail closed. Crumbling building remains are all that are
left today. |
| Switzler Creek Crossing
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The Switzler Creek Crossing is at the eastern edge of Burlingame, Kansas, very near
the present day US Highway 56 bridge. A toll bridge was operated here from
1847 to the 1860s. It was at Burlingame that the Atchison, Topeka, and
Santa Fe Railway first made its first contact with the Santa Fe Trail in
1869. The trail went down the main street of Burlingame. |
| Dragoon Creek Crossing
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The Dragoon Creek Crossing, a natural rock crossing
point on Dragoon Creek, is 3 miles northwest of Burlingame and north of
Kansas Highway 32. This natural crossing still appears as it did in the
Trail days. |
| Havana Stage Station site
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The Havana Stage Station is about 1 mile west of Dragoon
Creek and just south of Kansas Highway 31. Reportedly built in 1858, the
station was complemented by a store and a hotel. Today, only the remains
of the stage station are discernible. |
Samuel Hunt Grave
36K
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The Samuel Hunt Grave is located just north of Kansas Highway 31
and about 0.5 mile west of the Havana Stage Station site. Private Samuel Hunt,
US Army Dragoons, served with Colonel Henry Dodge's Rocky Mountain expedition in
1835, and died at this location on the return march to Fort Leavenworth. This is
the earliest known gravesite of a soldier on the Santa Fe Trail. |
| Soldier Creek Crossing
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The Soldier Creek crossing is southwest of the Samuel
Hunt grave, where visible Santa Fe Trail ruts lead to the creek.
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