With all due respect Redhead and Mike I understand what you are saying, but obviously we see Dodge City from different view.
If you Google famous wild west towns there is one town above all others you can count on to be in the list. Dodge City. Wikipedia description of American Old West has one and only one city with it's own heading. Dodge City.
American Old West - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I see a lot of people attribute Dodge City's fame to either the movie Gunsmoke or it's famous people like the Masterson's and Earp. I say Dodge City made the move Gunsmoke famous and people like Wyatt Earp. All you need do is read some history to see Dodge City was known from coast to coast long before Gunsmoke and people like the Masterson's and Wyatt Earp became famous after coming to dodge.
Gunsmoke could have been set in any town they wanted. Tombstome has a much better stage name than Dodge City, but dodge was the real McCoy. Dodge City was the poster child for wild west towns. See history's reference to the Wickedest Little City in the West.
Our one and only competition as famous western towns actually owns it's fame to Dodge City. Tombstone is famous for one gunfight and that gunfight is famous because of Wyatt Earp. Wyatt Earp is famous thanks to Dodge City.
Dodge City was destine for fame thanks to location. This area was a hot-spot long before Dodge City came to be. As far back as 500 years ago this area was famous. The Indians led Coronado on an ancient trail through this area where it is said the first Christian service was held on a hill nearby. My research says that hill was not the one marked out by Fort Dodge but more than likely our later to be world famous Boot Hill.
This area was known Indian land revered as special and a burial ground. We dug up some of the bodies when the Dodge House was built. 50 years before the birth of Dodge City this area was a well known camping spot and caching location to travelers headed west. This spot has seen 3 western forts before it saw Dodge City. Being the midway point it was a hotspot for Indian attacks which made it famous long before dodge. In the late 1870's-mid 1880's Dodge City was famous for being the most used railhead for Texas cattle.
No, a lot of people owe their fame to Dodge City not the other way around. Dodge City gained it's fame honestly and on it's own.
I guess what I'm trying to say is Dodge City stands alone in the annals of American history. It cannot be compared to any other western town. It is truly one of a kind. For this reason we have a unique opportunity, no the responsibility to not let this one of a kind city fade away like so may other ghost towns.
What I see in our packinghouses is the same in many old gold mining towns. They come in and use up every natural resource creating a boom town. Once the resources are gone they pack up and leave a ghost town in their wake. The problem is the city jumps on the boom and doesn't think about the future. At some point once our resources have been consumed these people will pack up and leave. And then what?
Dodge City has the potential to be the Giza Pyramid of the plans but instead we are the poster child for the ill effects of over industrialization and immigration.
I spend a lot of time all over the world via the Internet in my job and believe it or not Dodge City Kansas is still on most foreigners list of places to visit. Most have never even heard of Gunsmoke. Sadly I also meet lots of those people that have visited Dodge City and their expectation are crushed to see little more than a city block replica. Hardly the famous western town history refers too.
I believe the Why Not Dodge can bring new life back to dodge but we've got to stop thinking small town and see the big picture. Who gives a carp what the locals want we should be giving what the world wants. The world wants the famous little western town their history books refer too.
It's who we are.