An
end-of-tracks town was founded in the summer of 1868 ahead of the construction of the
Union Pacific Railroad Eastern Division at a site southwest of
Monument, Kansas. Within two weeks, the settlement included 65 businesses and a population of 200. Its inhabitants initially named it “Phil Sheridan” in honor of
U.S. Army Gen. Philip Sheridan. Merchandising firms and outfitters maintained warehouses along the tracks, and freight companies supplied wagon trains bound for
New Mexico Territory. Sheridan also became a center of vice, home to numerous saloons and brothels. As was typical of remote frontier towns, violent crime was rampant. The settlement averaged four violent deaths per month, and hangings were common. In March 1869, the railroad changed its name to the
Kansas Pacific Railway, and westward construction resumed the following autumn. In March 1870, the railroad reached
Kit Carson, Colorado and made it the new railhead. The population of Sheridan followed, dismantling the town’s buildings and relocating them to Kit Carson on
flatcars. A new wagon road opened from Kit Carson to the Santa Fe Trail, leaving the site of Sheridan abandoned. ==Geography==