Fort Hays Historic Site
On my move to Denver, CO I made one more stop in Hays, Kansas. One of the places I wanted to check out was called Fort Hays. As I arrived to the fort you’re greeted by a massive buffalo statue and you might also notice a pasture on the other side of the road holding a herd of buffalo.
Walking into the visitor center I was greeted by a volunteer that gave me some directions and brief history of Fort Hays. I started the tour in the visitor center with a 6 minute video that gave a great summary of the purpose of the fort and overall history of the land. The fort was used in the late 1800’s for a safe passage for the western colonization. The purpose was to protect civilians from Native Americans but was also served as a base of operations during the Indian Wards. After the video I took in all the artifacts of the soldiers and Native Americans. . There was so much history in the center that you could spend an hour reading and learning the minute details about the fort and its past.
Making my way out of the visitor center I headed towards a pair of old homes that were used for the higher ranked soldiers. The homes were filled with historical artifacts and you could see just how they lived back in the 1800s. With everything displayed you could imagine just how hard but also how simple life must of have been. You were truly removed from any sort of communication from major cities.
After the homes I headed to the Barracks. It again displayed a lot of artifacts and also showed many people that lived during the time. I was able to read up on different jobs for civilians and how much a family would be making. One of the more interesting things you notice was the prices of food during the time and the kind of food that was available. While walking around I noticed the bunk beds and started to read up on them. They would cram 4 to a bunk, why wouldn’t they just build more bunks?
While I walked building to building you also pass along many historical signs and statues that provide information about other establishments during this time. Many structures were taken down over time and simply didn’t survie.
As I walked in the fort you notice just how small the building was. The building had a tiny upstairs for storage and on the main level they had a stove and some tables set up for where soldiers would congregate. On display they showed all the guns and weapons during the time period. The fort was the last stopping point before hitting the gift shop.
