Larned and

 Pawnee County's

 Sesquicentennial

 

July 13, 2021

By Seth McFarland

 

Many communities across this great nation over time have preserved their local history local and regional historical societies. The Santa Fe Trail Center is the museum built for collection of the Fort Larned Historical Society. The Fort Larned Historical Society was one of two groups organized to preserving the history of Pawnee County. 

 

History of Pawnee County has been collected and preserved as early as 1876, four years after the town site for Larned was developed. By November 30th, 1923, the Pawnee County Historical Society was organized to preserve the history of the region and the pioneer families who settled in Pawnee County.

The Fort Larned Historical Society was organized in 1957 for the purpose of opening Fort Larned to the public as a historical attraction of local, regional and national interest. With the permission of the E. E. Frizell family, owners of the Fort, the Society prepared the buildings for public viewing. Artifacts and relics were collected from the Frizell family, as well as the Pawnee County Historical Society in order to make the Fort into a museum. Fort Larned officially opened as a museum that year. 

 

To celebrate the Fort's 100th anniversary in 1959, Robert Frizell flew to Hollywood to extend a personal invitation to the show cast of the television show "Gunsmoke". Milburn Stone, who portrayed Doc, had a personal connection to Pawnee County, as he had attended school in the community of Frizell near the fort. 

 

By the 1960's, the Pawnee County Historical Society merged with the Fort Larned Historical Society. By 1966, the United States Government purchased back Fort Larned as part of the National Park System. The Fort Larned Historical Society set forth to build a museum to house the large collection which was no longer to be housed at the Fort because of the Park Service requirements. On October 1, 1972, The Santa Fe Trail Center between the town of Larned and Fort Larned near the Santa Fe Trail in order to house the collection of the historical society, and to preserve the history of the area. This also marked the centennial of Larned and Pawnee County. 

 

As we approach 2022, both Larned and Pawnee County will celebrate 150 years. We hope that you will help us commemorate the anniversary. We will be sharing the history of all communities throughout Pawnee County.