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u Wyatt Earp was a Marshall here in 1876. It was here that Earp and Doc Holliday became friends after Holliday saved his life. Ed Masterson, Bat's brother, also was a Marshall here when he was killed by two drunken cowboys on April 13, 1878.
u Dodge City, Kansas is the windiest city in the United States.
u Dora Hand (Fannie Keenan) was known as the queen of Dodge's dance hall girls. She was one of the most beautiful women to live in Dodge in its heyday, and had once been a singer in the Grand Opera. It was said that twelve men died fighting over her. In October of 1878, Dodge's mayor, James "Dog" Kelly, and James "Spike" Kennedy, a wealthy Texas cattleman, fought over Dora, and Kennedy accidentally shot and killed her while trying to shoot Kelly. Her funeral was the biggest and finest in Dodge City history. Dance Hall girls, gamblers, saloon keepers, cattlemen, and even the town's respected ladies attended her services and burial here in Prairie Grove Cemetery. north of town.
u Ed Masterson was the brother of Bat Masterson and a lawman in Dodge City. He was killed while disarming a drunken cowboy. Ed was buried in the Fort Dodge military Cemetry, then moved to a city Cemetery. in Dodge City. When this Cemetery. was abandoned, he was moved to the Maple Grove Cemetery.
DOUGLASS – Actress Phylis Haver was born here in 1899.
DUNAVANT – Artist John Stuart Curry was born near here in 1897.
EDGERTON F Pfc. Shane R. Austin, 19, of Edgerton, was killed by enemy grenade fire in Ramadi, Iraq on October 8, 2006.
EL DORADO – Journalist William Allen White was born here in 1869.
u Undertaker Almon Stowger invented the dial telephone here in 1889.
F Staff Sgt. Dustin W. Peters, 25, of Eldorado, was killed by a makeshift bomb near Forward Operating Base Summerall. in Iraq on July 11, 2004 .
ELLSWORTH – Famous Cilvil War nurse Mary Bickerdyke once lived here.
u The legend of Wyatt Earp began here on August 15, 1873 when he faced down a local killer and threw him in jail.
ELWOOD – Comedian George Moran was born here in 1882.
u Car manufacturer Walter Chrysler grew up here in the 1890s.
EMPORIA F Cpl. Juan C. Cabral Banuelos, 25, of Emporia, was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom on. January 31, 2004.
ENGLEWOOD – Founded in 1884, Englewood was once touted as the "New Chicago" of the Great Southwest. By 1886 there were three drug stores, four dry goods/grocery stores, two hotels, two lumber yards, a newspaper and a restaurant. It began to fade in the 1890s. By the mid 1970s Englewood looked like a ghost town; its wide main street, two blocks of empty run-down buildings.
EVERETT– The largest elm tree in Kansas is growing out of the grave of Mr. Kimberlin here in the Kimberlin Hill Cemetery. He was buried here in 1854.
FORD COUNTY – Morgan Earp served as sheriff here in 1879.
FORT DODGE – Marshall Ed Masterson, brother of Bat Masterson, was shot and killed here on April 12, 1878.
u Masterson was buried here in the Fort Dodge Military Cemetery. Almost every buggy in Dodge City joined the cortege bearing his coffin. The city council preceded the hearse, Bat Masterson rode alone behind it. Ed was later reburied in Dodge City.
FORT LEAVENWORTH – Dwight D. Eisenhower and his new wife Mamie lived here in the Otis Hall when he was a Major.
u Buried here in the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. are:
– James Calhoun, brother-in-law of the George and Thomas Custer. He was married to Margaret Custer. He was killed at Little Big Horn.
– Lieutenant Thomas Custer, brother of General Custer. He was killed at Little Big Horn. He is in Section A, Grave 1488.
u There are no women or children buried here in a little hilltop graveyard overlooking the Missouri river, only military convicts, about 240 of them. In the back row of the Cemetery. are 14 tombstones, each with a German name, all with the date of death of August 25, 1945. They are the graves of 14 German POW's of WWII. All were convicted of killing four of their fellow soldiers who were "snitches" who gave information to the U.S. against their country and fellow POW's. One of the convicted soldiers, Otto Stengel, confessed only after being forced to wear a gas mask stuffed with onions and garlic. Just past midnight on August 25, 1945, the 14 POW's, including five members of Rommel's famed Afrika Korps, were taken from their cells after a meal of stew, steamed rice and cake. Dressed in their military uniforms, they were marched hand-cuffed and accompanied by 112 guards from the solitary confinement wing, known as "The Castle," to the makeshift gallows that had been set up in the elevator shaft of an old warehouse, and in bright moonlight © they were hanged. To this day, none of the victims' families have tied to claim the bodies.
FORT RILEY – General Custer and his wife lived here in Fort Riley , Kansas in 1866-67.
u Wild Bill Hickok was Marshall here in 1866.
F Sgt. Charles J. McClain, 26. He was killed when a makeshift bomb detonated near his vehicle in Wygal Valley, Afghanistan on October 31, 2006.
F Master Sgt. William L. Payne, 46. He was killed in Iraq while he was examining unexploded ordnance when the ordnance exploded. on May 16, 2003.
FORT SCOTT – Born here were former Secretary of Defense Clark M. Clifford in 1906, and film director Gordon Parks in 1912.
GALLATIN – Jesse and Frank James robbed the Davies County Savings Bank here of $700 in December of 1869.
GARDEN CITY – Buried here in the Valley View Cemetery. are:
– The Clutter family who were killed by Perry Smith and Dick Hickock on November 15,1959. Bonnie Mae, 45, Herbert William, 48, Kenyon Neal, 15, Nancy Mae, 16. They are in the section by the maintenance garage.
– Alvin Dewey, he was the detective who tracked down Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, killers of the Clutter Family in Holcomb.
– Arthur Fleming, defense attorney for killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickock.
– Roland Tate, Judge who presided over the murder trial of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock.
F Spec. Clinton R. Upchurch, 31, of Garden City, was killed during patrol operations when a makeshift bomb exploded near his Humvee and enemy forces attacked using small arms fire in Samarra, Iraq on .January 7, 2006.
GARNETT – Poet Edgar Lee Masters was born here in 1868.
GIRARD – The first Little Blue Books were printed here in 1922 by E. Haldeman-Julius. The Little Blue Books were small 31/2 x 5-inch paper-covered booklets and sold for 5 cents each. Five hundred million of the books were sold over 32 years. The plant burned down in 1978.
F Cpl. Richard A. Bennett, 25. He was killed in a non-hostile helicopter accident in Taqaddumon on May 27, 2006.
GOODLAND – Former Nebraska quarterback Brook Berringer grew up here. He is buried here in the Goodland Cemetery. He died in a plane crash at age 22 in 1996.
u William Purvis & Charles Wilson once lived here. They Invented the helicopter in 1909.
GREAT BEND – Movie director Oscar Micheaux is buried here in the Great Bend Cemetery. He was the first black movie producer (1918).
GREENSBURG – The world’s largest hand-made well is located here. When the well was completed in 1888, it was 109 feet deep and 32 feet in diameter. It served as the city's water supply until 1932. The well was covered and opened as a tourist attraction in 1939. Since then, over 3,000,000 people have visited the "Big Well." Half iron and half stone, the Pallasite Meteorite (Space Wanderer) is on display in the Celestial Museum at the Big Well at 315 S Sycamore.
F Sgt. Jessie Davila, 29, of Greensburg, was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad.on February 20, 2006.
GRENOLA – Actress Trixie Friganza was born here in 1870.
u Actor Eugene Pallette's ashes are buried here in an unmarked grave behind the monument of his parents in the Greenfield Cemetery.
HARPER – Sgt. Willsun M. Mock, 23, of Harper, was killed when a makeshift bomb detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad on October 22, 2006.
HAVEN – Haven High beat Sylvia High 256-0 in football in 1929.
HAYS – Four men with machine guns held up the Farmers State Bank of $3,000 here on September 21, 1933. They abducted twelve persons and fled south in a stolen car and escaped across the Oklahoma line after freeing the last of their hostages near Holyrood, Kansas
HAYS CITY – Wild Bill Hickok was Marshall here Hays City, Kansas in 1869.
HAWTHORNE – Aviation pioneer Clyde Cessna was born here in 1879.
HENNESSY – Outlaw Bob Dalton owned a ranch near here in 1891,
HIAWATHA – John and Sarah Davis are buried here in the Mount Hope Cemetery. Their tomb here has 11 life-size statues depicting them in various times of their lives. It has been featured in Life, Newsweek, and People magazines, and also on the Ripley's Believe It or Not.
u Cpl. Jeremiah S. Cole, 26, of Hiawatha, was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations in Bermel, Afghanistan on August 16, 2006..
HOLCOMB – About midnight on November 1, 1959, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith entered the Clutter home here and killed the entire Clutter family, Herbert, 48, Bonnie, 48, Nancy, 16, and Kenyon, 15. Writer Truman Capote wrote of the killings in his best-selling book In Cold Blood. The killers were hanged on April 14, 1965. The Clutter house is about a mile south of Holcomb, south of the railroad tracks at 611 W. Oak, off of River Rd., north of the Arkansas River. In 1996, the new owners were planning to turn the home into a bed & breakfast inn.
HUMBOLDT – Baseball player Walter Johnson was born here in 1887.
F Spec. John E. Wood, 37, of Humboldt, was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad on October 7, 2006
HUTCHINSON – Outlaw Dick Broadwell was one of the bank robbers with the Daltons on their fateful day in Coffeyville. Broadwell's family retrieved the body and carted it back here to Hutchinson. He was buried under the cover of darkness and the exact location is not known. The final resting place is probably in the Broadwell plot in the Hutchinson Cemetery.
F Sgt. Christopher S. Perez, 30, of Hutchinson, was killed during a combat operation in Ramadi, Iraq on May 23, 2005.
INDEPENDENCE – Playwright William Inge was born here in 1913 and is buried here in Lot 100-E of the Mount Hope Cemetery. on North Penn Ave. and Oak St. He wrote Come Back Little Sheba, and Picnic. He committed suicide while sitting in his Mercedes Benz in the garage of his home in 1973.
u On April 28, 1930, Independence was the site of organized baseball's first night game. The Independence team lost 13-3 to Muskogee (Oklahoma).
u The State of Kansas designated the childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Ingalls family heree as a historic site, which is open to visitors. It is the location from which the events of the book Little House on the Prairie take place. It includes a cabin modeled after the original (at the William Kurtis ranch) and the original post office. Much of the surrounding countryside retains its open and undeveloped nature.
u The first monkey in space, Miss Abel, was born at Ralph Mitchell Zoo.
INGALLS – In May of 1895, "Bitter Creek" Newcomb, a member of the Bill Doolin gang was killed here at the Dunn Ranch, southeast of town, by the brothers of his girlfriend, Rose (Cimarron Rose) Dunn. They killed him to collect the $5,000 reward that was on his head.
JUNCTION CITY – Timothy McViegh, the Oklahoma City bomber stayed here at the Dreamland Motel at 520 E. Flint Hills the day before the bombing in 1995. He rented a Ryder truck at Elliot's Body Shop.
KANSAS CITY – Basketball player Jackie Stiles was born here in 1978.
u Jazz musician Charlie Parker grew up here.
u Kate King (Sarah Head) is buried here in the Maple Hill Cemetery. She was the child bride of outlaw William Clarke Quantrill.
KIOWA – Crusader Carrie Nation swung her first ax here in a saloon in July of 1900
u It was here in the 1850s that William Hickok earned the name "Wild Bill."
LANSING – Killers Perry Smith and Richard Hickok were hanged here at the Kansas State Prison on April 14, 1965, for the murders of the Clutter family in 1959.
LAWRENCE – Born here in Lawrence were actor Hugh Beaumont in 1909, and baseball manager Ralph Houk in 1919.
u Athlete Jim Thorpe attended the Haskell Institute for Indians at 23rd and Barker.
u The William Quantrill gang and 450 guerrillas burned down Lawrence and killed 150 people on August 21, 1863. Twenty of the victims were unarmed, young boys. The massacre site is at 995 New Hampshire.
u Comanche, a mustang horse, saw action at Little Big Horn with General Custer. He was wounded twelve times, and was the sole survivor of the battle. He is on display in a humidity-controlled case in Dyche Hall at the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History.
u Buried here in the Oak Hill Cemetery. at 1605 Oak Hill are:
– Forrest "Phog" Allen former Kansas basketball coach. He is Section 13.
– Lucy Hobbs Taylor, first woman dentist in the US. She is in Section 5.
– 150 victims of the Lawrence Quantrill Massacre.
u James Naismith, inventor of basketball is buried here in Lawrence Memorial Park Cemetery. at the far end of Central Drive in the south end of the Cemetery. 1517 E. 15th St.
LEAVENWORTH – Singer Melissa Etheridge was born here in 1961.
u Murderers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were hanged here in 1965 for killing the Clutter family in Holcomb.
u Buried here in the Mount Muncie Cemetery. are:
– Helen Fritsche Cronkite, mother of Walter Cronkite.
– Fred Harvey. He founded of the Harvey House restaurants. In Section 5.
– Richard Hickock, killer of the Clutter family in Holcolmb. He is in Section 34 Row 29 Grave 45 (about 9 rows from top of hill) Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, paid for his markers.
– Perry Smith, killer of the Clutter family in Holcomb. He is in Section 34, Row 29, Grave 44 (about 9 rows from top of hill) Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, paid for his marker.
– Carl Panzram, killer. A serial killer, child rapist, robber, burglar, arsonist, and career felon,he was one of the most unrepentant figures in American criminal history. The book, Killer was based on his confessions. He is Row 6, Grave 24.
u Gangster George "Bugs" Moran is buried here in the Leavenworth Penitentiary Cemetery. He was one of the killers in Chicago's "St. Valentine's Day Massacre."
F Cpl. David M. Unger, 21. He was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad on October 18, 2006.
LEBANON – The geographical center of the United States is located 4 miles west of Lebanon, Kansas in a field on the Smiths Ranch. The exact spot is about 100 yards west and 350 yards north of the original marker placed there on April 25, 1940.
LIBERAL – A house here built in 1907 has been restored into a "Land of Oz" museum. It is furnished to look like the farmhouse where Dorothy in the Movie The Wizard of Oz lived. On display, is the original model of Dorothy's house used in the 1939 filming of The Wizard of Oz. It is located at 567 Yellow Brick Road.
F Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr. 22, He was killed when a land mine struck his Humvee in Anbar Province, west of Baghdad on May 14, 2006.
LYNDON – Actor Jack Colvin was born here in 1934. He co-starred with Bill Bixby in the TV series “The Incredible Hulk.”
MANHATTAN – Born here in Manhattan were journalist Damon Runyon in 1884, and actress Elvira.
MAYETTA F Sgt. 1st Class Bernard L. Deghand, 42, of Mayetta, was killed when his unit encountered enemy forces using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire during combat operations in Spira, Afghanistan on .September 15, 2006.
MEADE – The home of Eva Dalton Whipple here at the corner of Pearlette and Green Streets, was used as a hideout by her brothers, the Dalton gang, in 1887. The house and a barn,built into the hillside below, are connected by a tunnel, are now a museum. Legend has it the tunnel was used by the gang to come and go undetected by the law.
MEDICINE LODGE – Crusader Carrie Nation lived here at 211 W. Fowler in the 1880s and 1890s.
MILTONVILLE – Actress Patrice Wymore was born here in 1926.
MONTECELLO – Wild Bill Hickok was a constable here in 1856.
MUSTCOTAH – Baseball player Joe Tinker was born here in 1888. He was a member of the famous Chicago Cub "Tinker to Evers to Chance infield.
u In 1915, George Morton Field was the wealthiest man in town. He was also the religious leader of Mustcotah. Field also had a girlfriend, Gertie Day, a church choir member who was twenty years his junior. When Gertie informed him that she was pregnant, he agreed to pay her $2,000 to leave town, but soon worried about blackmail. So he planted a dynamite bomb beneath the church, and when Gertie arrived to pick up the money, she was killed in the explosion which leveled the church. However, the paper that the dynamite was wrapped in, a sermon written by Field, was found untouched in the rubble. Clerks in Kansas City confirmed that Field had purchased dynamite from them and he was arrested He was convicted of Gerties murder and sentenced to life. He died in prison in 1926.
NICODEMUS – An all-black town, it was founded here in 1873.
NORCATUR – Baseball player Eldon Aucker was born here in 1910.
OLATHE – Born here in Olathe were: actor Charles "Buddy" Rogers in 1904, and actor Larry Parks in 1914, (Rogers was married to actress Mary Pickford)
u The William Quantrill gang killed a dozen men here in 1860.
F Staff Sgt. Justin J. Galewski, 28, of Olather, was killed when enemy rockets exploded as they were being dismantled in Kandahar, Iraq on April 15, 2002
OSAWATOMIE – The William Quantrill gang killed three men here in 1860.
OSBORNE – The Geodetic center of the U. S. is located on a ranch 18 miles southeast of a marker at U.S. 281 Roadside Park, south junction of the U. S. 24 and U. S. 281 one mile north of Osborne.
OTTAWA – Former Senator Gary Hart was born here in 1937.
F Lance Cpl. Christopher B. Wasser, 21, of Ottawa, was killed by hostile fire in Anbar province Iraq on April 8, 2004.
OVERLAND F Sgt. Michael C. Barry, 29, of Overland, was a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by another vehicle in Doha, Qatar Iraq on February 1, 2003.
F Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Zeigler, 31, of Overland, was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his dismounted patrol during combat operations in Baghdad on August 12, 2006.
PARSONS – Actress Zasu Pitts was born here in 1894 (1898?).
PARTRIDGE F Pfc Peter D. Wagler, 18, of Partridge, was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his M1A2 Abrams tank during patrol operations in Baghdad on January 23, 2006.
PIQUA – Film comedian Buster Keaton was born here in 1895.
PITTSBURG – Baseball player Don Gutteridge was born here in 1912.
u Profession wrestler, Ralph "Wild Red" Berry is buried here in the Mount Olive Cemetery.
PLEASONTON – Murderer Carl Hall is buried here in the Pleasanton Cemetery. On September 18, 1953, Hall and his girlfriend, Bonnie Heady, kidnapped 6-year-old Robert Cosgrove Greenlease Jr. After collecting the $600,000 ransom, Hall shot Bobby in the head. Hall and Heady were both executed three months later in the gas chamber of the Missouri State Penitentiary.
F Spec. Joseph L. Lister, 22, of Pleasonton was killed when his convoy was hit by a makeshift bomb in Ramadi, Iraq on November 20, 2003..
POTTAWATOMIE INDIAN RESERVATION – Boxer Jess Willard was born here in 1881.
RAWLINS COUNTY – Illustrator Rudolph Wendelin is buried here in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. He drew the "Smokey the Bear" character.
RIVERTON F Pvt. Dustin L. Kreider, 19, of Riverton, was killed in a weapon test-firing accident in Samarra, Iraq on March 21, 2004.
ROUTE 66 THROUGH KANSAS – Tour Route 66 from Galena to Baxter Springs. Visit and see the towns and atttractions on this one-of-a-kind photo tour. GO THERE
RUSSELL – Senator Bob Dole was born and raised here at 1035 N. Maple. When a kid, he worked as a soda jerk at Dawson's drug store. In 1996, Dawson's was a custom interior shop.
RUSSELLVILLE – Jesse James and Cole Younger robbed the bank here on March 20, 1898.
SALINA – Born here in Salina were: actor Dwight Frye in 1899, baseball player/manager Gene Mauch in 1925, and former presidential press secretary Marlin Fitzwater in 1942.
SCAMMON – Baseball player Fred McMullen was born here in 1891. He was a member of the infamous Chicago Black Sox (White Sox) team that threw the 1919 World Series. He was barred from baseball after being acquitted of the charges.
SEDAN – Circus clown Emmett Kelley was born here in 1898.
u The Yellow Brick Road Festival is held here every year. The entire downtown area is encircled with over 10,000 inscribed yellow bricks, representing every state in the U.S. and 30 foreign countries.
SHAWNEETOWN – William Quantrill and his gang killed 20 people here in 1860.
SMITH CENTER – Comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was born here in 1887.
u Chief Sitting Bull made his last stand near here in 1867.
u Dr. Brewster Higley wrote Home on the Range here in his cabin on East Beaver Creek in 1873.
SMITH COUNTY – When Ella "Cattle Kate" Watson was hanged for cattle rustling in Wyoming in 1888, she was buried here in Smith County.
SPEARVILLE – The Doolin-Dalton gang robbed a bank here on November 1, 1892.
STRONG CITY – Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne was killed in a plane crash on March 31, 1931, two miles east of Strong City in the Flint Hills. The crash site is 14 miles southwest of a marker at the U. S. 50 roadside turnoff.
STULL – Strange tales are told of the small, old, negelected cemetery on top of Emmanuel Hill here in Stull. For years, stories of the Devil, witchcraft, ghosts and supernatural happenings have surrounded the old graveyard. It is a place that some claim is one of the "seven gateways to hell." The town of Stull is located about ten miles west of Lawrence, Kansas in the northeast part of the state. GO THERE
SYLVIA – Haven High beat Sylvia High 256-0 in football in 1929.
TONGANOXIE F Spec. Lucas A. Frantz, 22, of Tonganoxie, was killed when he was hit by enemy fire while performing a combat mission in Mosul, Iraq on October 18, 2005.
TOPEKA – Born here in Topeka, Kansas were: former U. S. Vice President Charles Curtis in 1860, actress Shiela Ryan in 1921, poet Gwendolyn Brooks in 1917, psychiatrist William C. Menninger in 1893, football player Gayle Sayers in 1947, actress Annette Bening in 1958, and football player Bill Kilmer in 1939.
u Bonnie & Clyde stole a Ford V-8 here on April 29, 1934. They were later killed in it.
u Criminal Alvin Karpis was the city marble champ here in 1920 when he was a boy.
u Fred Harvey opened his first Harvey House dining room complete with the famous Harvey Girls here in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe depot in 1876.
u Buried here in the Mount Hope Cemetery. are:
– Alf Landon. He was the 1936 Republican candidate for President, losing to Franklin D. Roosevelt. He is in the Singing Tower, Lot 325, Space 10 (NW corner of section, along road)
– Charles Menninger, co-founder of The Menninger Clinic. He is in Section 5, lot 144, grave 9.
– Karl Menninger, co-founder of The Menninger Clinic. He is in Singing Tower Section, lot 372, grave 11.
– Will Menninger, co-founder of The Menninger Clinic. Singing Tower Section, lot 372, grave 5.
u Buried here in the Topeka Cemetery. are:
– Charles Curtis, former Vice President under Herbert Hoover. He is in Section 80.
– Harold Foster, cartoonist. He drew the Tarzan comic strip from 1931-37. In 1937, he created and drew Prince Valiant comic strip. He is in Section 55.
F Pvt. Jeremy L. Drexler, 23. of Topeka, was killed when his convoy hit a makeshift bomb in Baghdad.on May 2, 2004,
F Spec. Kyle G. Thomas, 23, of Topeka, was killed by a makeshift bomb while on patrol in Kirkuk, Iraq on September 25, 2003.
TROY F Spec. Don A. Clary, 21, of Troy, was killed during a car bomb attack on their convoy in Baghdad on November 8, 2004.
UNIONTOWN F Spec. David E. Hall, 21, of Uniontown, was killed in an accident in Kabul, Iraq on February 25, 2004.
WAKEENEY – Known as “The Queen City of the High Plains" and "The Christmas City of the High Plains, Wakeeney has hosted an ornate civic Christmas lighting display, since 1950, which now includes over 6000 lights and a 35-foot manmade Christmas tree in the center of town. The tree is ceremonially lit the Saturday night after Thanksgiving through New Years.
WAMEGO – Car manufacturer Walter Chrysler was born here in 1875.
u The Wizard of Oz Musem is located here at 511 Lincoln Street.
WELLSVILLE F Sgt. Jacob L. Butler, 24, of Wellsville, was killed by small-arms fire during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Assamawah, Iraq on April 1, 2003.
WEST MINERAL – Big Brutus here was the world’s second largest electric mining shovel when it was in operation in from 1962 to 1974. Now it is a tourist attraction. It is 160 feet tall and weights 11 million pounds, and has been nominated as one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas
WESTPORT – The William Quantrill gang killed 24 people here in 1860.
WHARTON – The Dalton gang robbed a Santa Fe train here in the station of $14,000 on May 9, 1891.
WHITE CLOUD – Film comedian Charles Mack was born here in 1887.
WICHITA – Born here in Wichita, Kansas were: actress Hattie McDaniel in 1895, newsman John Cameron Swayze in 1906 (other sources say in Aubrey), aviation pioneer William Lear in 1902, musician Stan Kenton in 1912, Robert Ballard in 1942 (he discovered the Titanic shipwreck), track star Jim Ryun in 1947, actress Kirstie Alley in 1955. (She was on the TV show Cheers), and football player Barry Sanders in 1968.
u Wyatt Earp was elected sheriff here in 1875, but was later fired when he was caught gambling.
u Crusader Carrie Nation raided the Carey Hotel barroom here with her hatchet in 1900.
u Bat Masterson grew up on a ranch near here.
u The first White Castle hamburger store opened here in 1921.
u The first Pizza Hut was opened here by Frank and Dan Carney here in 1958.
u Actress Louise Brooks lived here at 924 No. Topeka Street in the early 1940s.
u Katherine McCarty and her son "Billy the Kid" lived here in 1870
u Buried here in the Highland Cemetery. are:
– James Masterson, Western lawman and brother of Bat Masterson.
– Sidney Toler, actor who played "Charlie Chan" in the movies.
u Walter Beech, founder of the Beech Aircraft Company is buried here in the Old Mission Cemetery. Mausoleum.
F 1st Sgt. Timmy J. Millsap, 39, of Wichita, died in Baghdad of injuries sustained in Taji when a makeshift bomb exploded near his vehicle on April 25, 2005.
WINFIELD – Actor Eugene Pallette was born here in 1889.
WOLCOTT – The local newspaper once wrote that Lowell Andrews was "The nicest boy in town." In 1958, Andrews, 18, an honor student and church goer, did anything but live up to it when he attempted to fulfill his secret dream of becoming a hired gun in Chicago. But because he needed money for the trip to Chicago, he decided to kill his sister and his parents and sell the farm. While his family watched TV, he entered the parlor and shot his sister between the eyes, his mother three times, and his father twice before reloading, since the first round failed to kill his parents. He confessed several days later. He was found guilty and hanged at Leavenworth Prison.
WRIGHT F Sgt. Benjamin C. Morton, 24, of Wright, was killed by small-arms fire while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq on May 22, 2005..
XAVIER – Actress June Haver spent eight months here in 1951 as a novice nun in the Sisters of Charity convent.
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