Old West

When settlers came to this beautiful setting beside the Arkansas River, they immediately knew how to name their settlement. They nestled their little town in the big bend of the river and called it Great Bend.

Before the white settlers came with their railroads, schools, and settlements, the big bend of the Arkansas River was home to a melting pot of Native American tribes who settled, camped, or roamed through the area. The Wichita, Pawnee, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Apache, Osage, Kiowa, and Sioux were drawn by a river of fresh water, firewood, fish, small game, large herds of bison, and huge marshland rich in wildlife.

The first and most exotic of America's great trade routes, the Santa Fe Trail, ran right through the town's present-day Courthouse Square. The Trail opened in 1821 and for more than 60 years it was an important two-way avenue for commerce and cultural exchange.