(C) Lt. Col. Morrison Trail of 1857 – A Military Trail. Per reports, “Indian hostilities were harassing a large extent of the surrounding country and Colonel Pitcairn Morrison was ordered out from Fort Gibson with three companies of the Seventh Infantry, numbering 235 officers and men. They left in June and went out over the Santa Fe Trail in Kansas to Fort Mann (Dodge City) and Bent’s Fort, where Morrison held councils with the chiefs of the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, Apache, and Cheyenne Indians.” The general route of the Lt. Col. Morrison Trail was from Fort Gibson in northeastern Oklahoma to a location between today’s cities of McPherson and Inman where it intersected with the Santa Fe Trail; and then through today’s Dodge City to the Bent’s Fort area in southeastern Colorado. The North Branch (C1) of the Morrison Trail came from Butler County, went southeast to northwest through Harvey County and exited into McPherson County. It joined the Santa Fe Trail near today’s towns of Inman and Groveland after which it went through western Kansas and into Colorado. The South Branch (C2) is thought to be an eastward bound return route. It came out of Reno County, went fairly close to where Alta Mill would eventually be built and then took a route along the south edge of Newton’s future site. It exited Harvey County and headed into Sedgwick County. Photo credit: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18428/pitcairn-morrison/photo 2/21/2019