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Downtown Walking Tour
As with Great Bend's historic downtown, the residential areas—particularly the Broadway and Forest corridor—display eclectic mixtures of architectural styles. A tour of tree-lined Broadway, divided down the middle by islands of redbud trees, illustrates the fashions and foibles of the city's growth. Colorful Victorian ladies share the streets with 1930s Tudor revivals, storybook cottages, Craftsman bungalows and modern brick ranches. Their stories reflect the up and downs of the city's development and reveal interesting details of the men and women who contributed to our history.
Great Bend Past
Located near the geographic center of Kansas, what is now Great Bend straddles the big or "great bend" of the Arkansas River, where this famous stream juts northward into the heart of the state. From prehistoric times, the luxuriant grasses of the region attracted the great herds of bison and other game native to the Central Plains. Naturally, hunters followed the herds' migrations, both man and animal creating the trails which would guide later explorers and traders.
The first Europeans known to have reached the Bend were Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his troops in 1541, during their search for gold and the 'Seven Cities of Cibola.' In 1806, Lt. Zebulon Pike and his men were the first recorded representatives of the United States government to explore the area as they made their way toward the Rocky Mountains.
In 1821, Missouri trader William Becknell reached Santa Fe with a mule train of trade goods, successfully launching what would become known as the Santa Fe Trail. By 1825, it was evident that this would become a major trade route to the southwest and Congress ordered Major George C. Sibley to survey the route from Missouri to Santa Fe. Proceeding westward along the north side of the Arkansas River, the Trail cut through the heart of what is now Great Bend.
A short distance east of the Bend, the trail reached the infamous Walnut Creek Crossing, where troops were often stationed to guard the trail. Confrontations between native tribes (including the Pawnee, Kiowa, Plains Apache, Cheyenne, Comanche and others), traders and the military were numerous along this portion of the Trail and resulted in the establishment of Fort Zarah nearby in 1864. This military outpost escorted and defended travelers through the area until it was closed in 1869.
Great Bend's Heart
Great Bend was incorporated in 1872 and the original town plat centered on two square blocks, which would become home to the Barton County Courthouse and the epicenter of the town's life. When the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached the Bend in 1872, not only did it bring new settlers, it brought the cattle trade. For a few brief, but lively years, Great Bend was one of the major shipping points for cattle brought up from Texas on the Chisholm Trail and its branches. These rowdy cow town days brought both danger and prosperity, saloons and dance halls, murder and mayhem.
But, as the cattle trade was forced west, the proprieties of the Victorian era took over. By 1876, brick and stone buildings had begun to replace the wooden structures that had sprung up seemingly overnight to provide goods and services to cow punchers, farmers and town folk alike. Then, as now, the preferred locations were along the two blocks west of the courthouse square.
Through the almost 140 years of its development, Great Bend has grown to boast an eclectic mix of architectural styles. Victorian, Edwardian and Art Moderne structures rub shoulders with others influenced by Federal, Modern Eclectic and Neo-Classic styles.
While many buildings downtown still boast their original historic details, others have been covered by metal and wooden facades. Nonetheless, each historic building in Downtown Great Bend has a story to tell about its contribution to the development of the city.
Cultural Tours:
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