Custer House | LC's Cottage

Dodge City, Kansas-Part 4

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

Dodge City has an Historic Dodge City Walking Tour featuring monuments and statues. The Hubster and I did not have time to take this walk, but we did see a couple of them.

Above is the life-sized bronze sculpture of James Arness character, Matt Dillon, from Gunsmoke.

Below is the life-sized bronze sculpture of Bat Masterson.

The Mueller-Schmidt House Museum
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 72000499

Built to be one of the most splendid homes in Dodge City, Ford County’s “Home of Stone” is the oldest house still on its original site and the only home in the city made from limestone.

The “Home of Stone” was built in 1881 by John Mueller, the first bootmaker in old Dodge City, and a leading cattleman, hotel and bar owner. It was sold in 1890 to pioneer blacksmith Adam Schmidt. Two of Adam and Elizabeth Schmidt’s children lived in the house until 1960. Ford County purchased the house in 1965.

Original furniture from the Mueller and Schmidt families is featured, along with artifacts from the pioneers of Dodge City, including Robert M. Wright, Charles Rath, Bat Masterson, George M. Hoover, Wyatt Earp & Ham Bell.

Dodge City Post Office

St. Cornelius’ Episcopal Church is the oldest church building in continuous use in Dodge City. It is situated on what, 100 years ago, was known as “Holy Hill”.

Founded in 1865, Fort Dodge is the oldest permanent settlement in this area of Kansas.

Fort Dodge was a pivotal fort during the Indian campaigns of 1868-69 and 1874-75. The Wet and Dry Routes of the Santa Fe Trail met here; the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge Trail ended here, and the Fort-Dodge-Fort Supply Trail began here. Millions of pounds of armaments and supplies were shipped south in trains of as many as 270 wagons.

It not only protected those traveling on the Santa Fe Trail, but provided supplies and a resting place for traders and buffalo hunters. The first buildings were sod and adobe, and some troops lived in dugouts. Once lumber arrived, wooden buildings were erected. At its greatest capacity, the fort boasted four companies of infantry.

The fort was abandoned in 1882. Eight years later, Fort Dodge was deeded to the state for use as the Kansas Soldiers Home. Today, it still serves this purpose as a retirement community and nursing facility for retired Kansas veterans. A historic library and self-guided walking tour tell the fort’s history to visitors. Many of the original buildings are still in use, and not open to the public.

Fort Dodge Museum and Library – Army Quartermaster Building 1867

This building, and a few surrounding, served as storehouses and offices for post headquarters and for the quartermaster. The bakery had two ovens and could bake 500 rations of bread each day.

Major Henry Douglas, in command, and Lieutenant George A. Hesselberger, quartermaster, were severely reprimanded by General R. B. Marcy for reckless extravagance in constructing buildings grand enough ‘for the national capitol’.

At Fort Dodge we secured a few supplies such as fresh milk and baker’s bread-sweet and delicious. The water was good and refreshing.
Mrs. Frank D. Baldwin
September, 1867

The commanding officer’s quarters was one of the last stone structures to be built at Fort Dodge. In the years before it was completed the officer and his family lived near the river in a four-room dugout, three feet below ground and four feet above.

‘The houses are more picturesque than elegant. We are living somewhat in the manner of prairie dogs. Mrs. Henry T. Douglas; February 3, 1867.’

This one-and-a-half story building contains a spacious center hall with two large rooms on each side. The attached kitchen forms an ell. The lower level was heated with fireplaces. The upper story has four rooms with windows which may have served as gun ports and can be seen just above the porch line. There is a servants’ quarters above the kitchen.

The stone building has been called Custer House for many years. Although Brevet Major General George A. Custer never was stationed at Fort Dodge he did lead the Seventh Cavalry from here to the Battle of the Washita.

The first post hospital was built in 1865 of sod. Poor drainage, damp conditions, and rodent infestation made the building unsatisfactory. This one-story stone was built and provided a ward of twelve beds, a dispensary, and other facilities. It was heated by stoves and lighted with candles. African American troops were cared for in a separate five bed facility.

At first, the building was a hospital, and then a barracks. Now, it houses the Commission on Veterans Affairs.

Diarrhea was the most common complaint, but ailments from abscesses to wounds were treated. Cholera swept through the Kansas forts carried by soldiers marching from Missouri to New Mexico. Thirty cases occurred at Fort Dodge in July of 1867. Twenty people died including Mrs. Isadore Bowman Douglas, wife of the commanding officer. Major Henry Douglas and their baby son also were infected but recovered.

The Dead House (morgue) was used as temporary storage for bodies, especially during the winter months when the ground was frozen. This one has been relocated just west of the hospital.