Dodge City, Kansas, was nicknamed the “Cowboy Capital of the World” during the Wild West era.
The town was founded near Fort Dodge in 1872, shortly after the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached the area. Its location made Dodge City an important shipping point for cattle driven north from Texas. The cattle trade brought drovers, merchants, saloons, hotels, gambling houses, and law officers to the growing frontier town.
Dodge City became especially busy during the 1870s and 1880s, when Texas cattle were moved to the railroad for shipment to eastern markets. Famous lawmen associated with the town included Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Charlie Bassett, although their periods of service did not all overlap.
Dodge City is sometimes confused with Abilene, another major Kansas cattle town that became a prominent railhead earlier in the cattle-drive era. As rail lines expanded and Texas cattle shipments moved farther west, Dodge City’s role changed, but its Wild West reputation endured through dime novels, films, and television.