Cannonball Stage Line Highway - US 54
Posted by: 
PeterNoG
N 37° 36.508 W 099° 16.526
14S E 475689 N 4162411
This Kansas historical marker is on US 54 just east of Greensburg.
Waymark Code: WM2XFJ
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 01/05/2008
Views: 96
Flamboyant and colorful, Donald R. "Cannonball" Green (1839-1922) ran a stage line connecting the railroad to towns across southwestern Kansas. Green started his first stage service in Kingman in 1876. It ran through Pratt to Coldwater and later to Greensburg, a town he helped found in 1886.
Green's stage line served areas not reached by the railroad, and for a few years carried the mail from Wichita to Kingman. Known for their speed, Green's coaches were pulled by teams of six or eight horses which were changed every eight to ten miles. More than a driver, Green was an advisor and teacher, sharing with passengers his knowledge of southwestern Kansas and the prairie landscape.
As the railraods advanced, Green moved his stage service west but stage demand soon dwindled. In 1898 he took a claim in Oklahoma Territory when the Cherokee Strip opened. Although Green also served in the Kansas legislature, he was best known for his stage route between Kingman and Greensburg, the Cannonball Highway, which became U.S. Highway 54.
Green died in Long Beach, California and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita. ~ text of marker
Marker Name: Cannonball Stage Line Highway
Marker Type: Roadside
Marker text:
see above
Marker Location: Kiowa
Official Marker Number: 16
Name of agency setting marker: Kansas State Historical Society
Year Marker Placed: Not listed
Marker Web Address: Not listed
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