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shipped by rail to the east. Dodge City
in southwestern Kansas became one
of the largest cattle markets in the
world. Major cattle hubs also sprang
up in Abilene, Wichita, Newton, and
Ellsworth. These cowtowns developed
a reputation for lawlessness and vio-
lence, with rowdy saloons and drunk-
en cowboys slinging guns.
Not surprisingly, these saloons
drew the fire of the growing
temper-
ance movement
in Kansas. One of the
most famous members of this move-
ment was Carrie A. Nation. She raid-
ed taverns and saloons across the
state, attacking them with a hatchet.
In 1881, Kansas became the first state
in the nation to ban alcohol.
Prohibition against alcohol lasted until
1948 in Kansas, longer than in any
other state.
Even after the cowtown era came
to a close, cattle continued to play an
important role in Kansas’s economy.
Livestock production and meatpack-
ing became major industries in the
state. But 19th-century Kansas’s
biggest business was farming. As
waves of pioneers settled across the
22
Lower Plains: Kansas, Nebraska
This photo of “peace commissioners” in Dodge
City, circa 1883, includes some of the West’s
most iconic lawmen and gunfighters. Pictured
are (front, left to right) Charlie Bassett, Wyatt
Earp, Frank McLain, Neal Brown, (back) W.H.
Harris, Luke Short, and Bat Masterson.
Did You Know?
In 1887, Susanna Salter became the
first American woman elected to polit-
ical office when she won the race for
mayor in the southern Kansas town of
Argonia. That very year, Kansas had
just granted women the right to vote
and run for office in city elections.