The Cowtown Experience
Visitors Center
"Old West" Cowtown
Hunter/Trader Area
Industrial/Business Area
Residential Street
Drovers Camp
1880 DeVore Farm
The Old West Immersion
Reenactments
The structures in the buffalo hunter/trader area centers around the area’s first economic activities, hunting and trading. Many men came to the Great Plains to hunt fur-bearing animals of all kinds, as the sale of their skins could be quite profitable. From local trading posts, traders interacted with the area’s Native American population, as well as providing a solid economic base for future growth.
Here are a few samplings of the buffalo hunter/trader area:
Trader’s Cabin
Originally located on the Chisholm Trail near Clearwater, Kan., this Trader’s Cabin accepted skins from area hunters and traded a variety of merchandise with local Native American tribes. See and touch the animal skins and listen to buffalo hunters as they tell their tales of the plains.
Munger House & Garden
At the center of this area, the home of Darius Sales Munger served as a boarding house, church, post office and public gathering place. This structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home was built in 1868 and was Wichita’s first house with a shingle roof.