Marker Name: 70
Marker Type: Roadside
Marker text:
In 1825 the Federal government surveyed the Santa Fe trail, great trade route from western Missouri to Santa Fe. Treaties with Kansas and Osage Indians safeguarded the eastern end of the road but Plains Tribes continued to make raids. Fort Zarah, at this point, was one of a chain of forts built on the trail to protect wagon trains and guard settlers. It was established in 1864 by Gen. Samuel R. Curtis and named for his son, Maj. H. Zarah Curtis, who had been killed in the Baxter Springs massacre, October 6, 1863. The fort was built of sandstone quarried in bear-by bluffs.
Fort Zarah was successfully defended against an attack by 100 Kiowas on October 2, 1868. It was abandoned in 1869.
Marker Location: Barton
Official Marker Number: 70
Name of agency setting marker: Kansas State Historical Society
Marker Web Address: [Web Link]
Year Marker Placed: Not listed
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