This event is free to the public. Once you have registered, the event location (private property) will be sent to you.

Visit the actual site of the Sant Fe Trail in Marion County, Kansas located on the Schmidt Ranch, with Steve Schmidt and Doug Sharp as our guides. Take a journey into the history and the stories surrounding this legendary central North American route that was active in this area from 1821-1866.

Annie Wilson will be sining as you arrive and at the conclusion of the talk, she will sing her original track titled “Trail to Santa Fe”- the official song of the Santa Fe Trail Association.

After your arrival, we will relax under the shade trees and hear the stories and history of this important site. An option 1-mile loop walk to the famous ruts.

Bring a picnic and chairs for this rare opportunity!

Steve Schmidt is an independent Santa Fe Trail historian. He and his wife, Glenda, are preserving a piece of the SFT on their land in Marion County, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and has received Historic Site Certification from the National Park Service. As a member of the Santa Fe Trail Association, Cottonwood Crossing Chapter, he has earned numerous awards for promotion and preservation of the Trail over the past 20 years. Schmidt has written a booklet “Lost Spring, Marion County, Kansas, A Historical Perspective.”

Doug Sharp is president of the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association, President of Scully Partners LP/ Midlands Farm Services, and manages land in the Flint Hills where the Santa Fe Trail traverses near Dunlap in Morris County.

Flint Hills Counterpoint’s Speaker Series is made possible from the gracious support of Humanities Kansas, Humanities Kansas Speakers Bureau Program, Kansas Creative Arts and Industries Commission, and the New York Foundation of the Arts’ AWAW EAG program.