Bleeding Kansas

Baxter Springs is the site of numerous natural springs. Native Americans frequented the region as a stopping point between summer hunting grounds to the east and winter camps in Oklahoma. A common theme in many border city museums is the Civil War. After the Indian removal in the 1830’s, the land was part of the Cherokee Neutral Lands. Soon settlers moved in and one named Reverend John Baxter built a frontier inn and store. The town would be named for him and the springs.

Fort Baxter (also known as Fort Blair) was created to help protect the settlers from Confederate fighters and guerilla attacks. In October 1863, Quantrill’s forces attacked the fort, which was being protected by Union forces. Unable to inflict significant casualties, the roughly 400 guerillas moved on toward their winter destination in Texas. Along the way they ran into a detachment of about 100 Union troops out on the prairie. The Confederates attacked and decimated the Union forces. This was only one example of skirmishes and battles that occurred along the border of Kansas and Missouri.

Continued Education

One of the things we like about visiting museums around the country is the chance to learn more about the history of our country. These days it is not uncommon to hear about and experience a Civil War battle reenactment. Our assumption was that this was something that began in the last few decades, but here we discovered that it has gone on much longer. An old poster from 1883 spoke of the 1st Annual Reunion of the recently ended Civil War. The event included a “Sham Battle”, which would reenact the Battle of Baxter Springs. Clearly this type of event has been recurring for much longer than we would have imagined. Did you know these were going for so long?

Historical Visitors

In 1876 two members of the Jesse James Gang rode into town and robbed the bank. The building now houses a cafe on Route 66. In the 1930’s the town was once again visited by notables. This time it was Bonnie and Clyde who robbed the Baxter Springs General Store. It is claimed that they returned a week later to rob it again. In the 1940’s, a young baseball player named Mickey Mantle would play for the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. During a game, Mantle hit a ball into the Spring River. During a rain break, a New York Yankees’ scout signed Mantle to play for the east coast team.

Industry That Built The Region

For a time, Baxter Springs was a main stop along the route between Texas plains and Kansas City meat slaughterhouses. This activity gave impetus for growth to the city, at least until the railroads were completed.  As we noted in our article on the Joplin Mining Museum, the business of mining is what brought fortune and fame to this entire region. (You can read about the mining museum here>) The Baxter Springs City Council felt that undermining within the city limits would be detrimental. They implemented Ordinance 42, which limited mining within the city limits. With this protection in place, many of those that profited greatly from the mining activity built their homes in Baxter Springs.

So Much More

As we made our way through the museum, it just seemed to keep going. Each aisle would lead to another, and then another wing with more displays. We both commented about how large the collection is, when we suddenly realized that there was another floor downstairs. This area held just as many exhibits and artifacts as the main floor. We realized that there was not enough time to review the entire collection. For those history buffs who want an in-depth visit, we would suggest arriving at opening time, and spending the whole day. Even then, we aren’t sure you would be able to take it all in. It’s just that big. With closing time approaching, we wrapped up our visit, and headed off to check out the downtown murals, before sunset. Now we just need to schedule time to make a return trip.

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A Quick Stop

Our group was running behind schedule, so we decided to grab a bite on the way to our next stop. Just down the road from Galena, we came across Nelson’s Old Riverton Store. This place is one of those old school style stores. Made up of part grocery, part deli, and part souvenir shop, this is the kind of place that serves the locals on a regular basis. We passed the grocery section, and found the sandwich counter in the back. The menu is simple, and the meat for sandwiches is sliced fresh when ordered. While we waited for our sandwiches, we looked around the second room, which was filled with Route 66 items. Once our order was ready, we paid and headed off toward our next destination.

Historic Crossing

Route 66 passed over three Marsh Arch bridges during its heyday. These days there is only one left standing, and it sits between Galena and Baxter Springs. The unique shape of the structure has caused many to refer to it as the “Rainbow Bridge”. The reinforced concrete bridge was built in 1923 to span Brush Creek. An alternate bridge was erected nearby, and this original structure now only sees the periodic traveler looking to retrace the path of days gone by.

The Guardian

Here, as in Galena, we had the pleasure of meeting someone who had a vast knowledge of the surrounding sites. Dean Walker is an interesting character to say the least. Crystal and I had actually journeyed to the bridge earlier in the morning for an opportunity to get some pictures, before the rest of the group arrived. While we were parking, we saw a man crossing the bridge toward us. Dean introduced himself as the caretaker of the structure, and proceeded to tell us some of the history. Although the bridge is closed to traffic, he invited us to drive our car onto it for some photo opportunities.

Memorable Character

Dean is not just the caretaker of the bridge, he has another interesting link to history. He has earned the nickname of “Crazy Legs” Walker for his ability to turn his feet backwards. Of course with age, he now needs a little assistance. This unique ability also made an impact on some notable people in the past. When staff for Pixar Films were doing research for the animated project “Cars”, they came to the area to meet some of the residents. After their meeting with Dean, they were impressed with his ability. They even incorporated it into the character Tow Mater, who often runs backwards. Dean was more than willing to show off this ability for our group.

Final Notes

In 2000, the Rainbow Bridge was featured in a TLC special titled “Route 66: Main Street America”. Country singer Brad Paisley performed the song “Route 66” on the bridge, which was included in the TV special. While this may be the last of its kind on the Mother Road, there are other Marsh Arch bridges still standing. During the first part of the 1900’s there were hundreds constructed throughout the Central United States. Over twenty are still around, and many are on the list of historic places. Now that our group had met a historic character, and crossed a historic structure, we were all excited to move along to our final destination of Baxter Springs. (Check out the Baxter Springs History Museum here>) Time to pile into our cars and follow Dean down Route 66.

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