Abandoned The label
Why Dodge City is called a ghost town
Dodge City turns up in a long-running ghost town directory, which lists one remain, Boot Hill Cemetery, and a single tip: see Boot Hill. The label is about the Old West town, not the city. The Dodge City of buffalo hunters, trail herds, saloons and lawmen like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson lasted little more than a decade, and its best-known landmark is a frontier burial ground. Dodge City is not on Wikipedia's list of ghost towns in Kansas.
History
Dodge City then
The army built Fort Dodge in April 1865 to guard the Santa Fe Trail. In 1872 a town was staked out on the 100th meridian near the fort, and the Santa Fe railroad arrived that September. Early settlers traded in buffalo hides and bones and supplied the fort. In 1876 Kansas moved its cattle quarantine line west, and Texas herds coming up the Western Trail made Dodge City the "queen of the cow towns". The trade peaked in 1883 and 1884; the quarantine was extended across the state in 1885 and the trail all but closed.
Boot Hill, the highest hill near the center of the early town, was its early burial ground, named for the men buried there who "died with their boots on". Robert M. Wright, an early mayor, wrote in 1913 that about thirty people were buried there. Few of them had coffins, because freight made lumber dear. The city kept growing after the cattle drives ended: the census counted 996 people in 1880 and 27,788 in 2020, and meatpacking is now its main industry.
1865. Fort Dodge is built to protect the Santa Fe Trail.
1872. Dodge City is laid out; the Santa Fe railroad arrives in September.
1876. The cattle quarantine line moves west and the Texas trail herds come to Dodge City.
1880. Census: 996.
1883–1884. The peak of the cattle trade.
1885. The quarantine is extended statewide and the Western Trail all but closes.
2020. Census: 27,788.
Today
What is there now
Dodge City is the seat of Ford County, with 27,788 people at the 2020 census. Its largest employers are the Cargill and National Beef meatpacking plants. The Old West is kept at the Boot Hill Museum, 500 W. Wyatt Earp Blvd., which stands on the original Boot Hill Cemetery site and includes Front Street, a partial reconstruction of the 1876 business district. Its website, read October 29, 2026, says it is open all year: daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and otherwise 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is sold through the museum's ticket page; we did not find a posted price. The 1968 USGS sheet below marks Boot Hill beside Wyatt Earp Boulevard, a block from the courthouse, inside a city grid that fills the map.
Historic maps
Dodge City on USGS maps, 1892–1985
Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.
Map & directions
Getting there
Dodge City is on US 50 and US 400 in southwest Kansas. The routes end downtown near Central Avenue and Hickory Street; the Boot Hill Museum is a few blocks south at 500 W. Wyatt Earp Blvd.
Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.
- From West Walnut Street, take North 4th Street to East Fulton Street.0.7 mi
- Follow East Fulton Street (US 50 Business) onto US 50/US 400 east and into Dodge City on Wyatt Earp Boulevard.50.8 mi
- Turn left on North 14th Avenue, right on West Ash Street, left on 3rd Avenue and right on West Hickory Street.1.4 mi
- From North Santa Fe Avenue, take East 1st Street and Washington Street to US 54/US 400.1.0 mi
- Follow US 54/US 400 west.117.9 mi
- Keep right on US 400 toward Dodge City and turn right on US 56/US 283.34.1 mi
- Turn left on East Wyatt Earp Boulevard, right on Central Avenue and left on West Hickory Street.2.8 mi
Road and visiting notes
- Dodge City is a city with all services. The Boot Hill Museum is at 500 W. Wyatt Earp Blvd.
- The routes are computed from OpenStreetMap and haven't been driven by us.
Photos
Dodge City in photos
Questions
Common questions
Is Dodge City, Kansas a ghost town?
No. It is a city of 27,788 people (2020 census) and the Ford County seat. Ghost town lists mean its frontier cemetery, Boot Hill.
Can you visit Boot Hill?
Yes. The Boot Hill Museum stands on the original cemetery site and is open all year, with longer summer hours (museum website, read October 29, 2026).
Is Front Street original?
No. Front Street at the museum is a partial reconstruction of downtown Dodge City as it was in 1876.
Nearby
Ghost towns and sites near Dodge City
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Kansas index.
Sources
Sources and credits
- Wikipedia, "Dodge City, Kansas", read October 29, 2026: Fort Dodge in 1865, the 1872 founding and railroad, the buffalo trade, the 1876 and 1885 quarantine lines, the 1883–1884 peak, the 1880 and 2020 census counts, the county seat, the meatpacking employers, Front Street as a partial reconstruction of 1876, Earp and Masterson, coordinates.
- ghosttowns.com, "Dodge City", read October 29, 2026: the ghost town listing, with Boot Hill Cemetery as its remain.
- Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in Kansas", read October 29, 2026: Dodge City not listed.
- Boot Hill Museum, read October 29, 2026: the address, the museum on the original cemetery site, year-round hours and holiday closings.
- Wikipedia, "Boot Hill", read October 29, 2026: the museum on the original Boot Hill Cemetery site.
- Robert M. Wright, "Populating Boot Hill in Dodge City, Kansas" (1913), edited by Kathy Alexander, Legends of America, updated September 2026: about thirty burials, the name.
- Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.
Photo and map credits
- The Boot Hill Museum entrance in the Great Western Hotel front, July 2011: Lithistman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- False-front shops of the museum's Front Street, east side, July 2011: Lithistman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Long Branch and other fronts on the museum's Front Street, July 2011: Lithistman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Boot Hill cemetery display in July 1972, with wooden markers and a tree signed as the "authentic hangman's tree": Steve Brown, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- Santa Fe steam locomotive 1139 on display in Dodge City, July 2012: Doug Kerr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
- Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Dodge 1892, 1:125,000; Dodge City 1968, 1:24,000; Dodge City 1985, 1:100,000.