Santa Fe Trail, ‘The Great Plains Highway’

My apology for the delay in this second of two columns on the Santa Fe Trail. Last week, a Halloween story just seemed appropriate for Halloween Week.

So now, the follow up on the history of the Santa Fe trail across Kansas some 200 years ago. It was also know as “The Great Plains Highway.”

What was it that caused a trade route to Santa Fe to begin in Missouri and then go diagonally across Kansas an…