Hays, Kansas
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Hays, Kansas is situated not too far from the center of the continental United Staes and right smack in the middle if the Rocky Mountains rain shadow.
Hays was created from a combination of a US Cavalry fort (Fort Hays), a railroad line terminus and a stop on the Oregon Trail. This town out on the high plains became the home of a lot of very famous people before they became famous. Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Cody were both sheriffs before heading on to other things. Calamity Jane had a house in Hays and was rumored to have met one of her husbands in a bar downtown. Pretty much everybody who went west during the 1800's made a pit stop in Hays.
Today it is a pleasant little town that has the distinction of being the last stop in Interstate 70 before heading to Denver 360 miles away. It is also the home of the "Fish Within A Fish" fossil, a rare fossil that looks pretty much like the title implies.
The natives are mostly of Volga German extraction and the accent is still very prominent despite almost 200 years of culturalzation. The local drink is beer, preferably good beer. The official dance is the polka and the most common last name is "Schmidt".
There are several famous former residents and Mickey Spillane, auther of the Mike Hammer detective series, went to college there. If you are in the area a stop is highly recommended; if for no other reason than to confirm that there is life on the high plains.
Hays was created from a combination of a US Cavalry fort (Fort Hays), a railroad line terminus and a stop on the Oregon Trail. This town out on the high plains became the home of a lot of very famous people before they became famous. Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Cody were both sheriffs before heading on to other things. Calamity Jane had a house in Hays and was rumored to have met one of her husbands in a bar downtown. Pretty much everybody who went west during the 1800's made a pit stop in Hays.
Today it is a pleasant little town that has the distinction of being the last stop in Interstate 70 before heading to Denver 360 miles away. It is also the home of the "Fish Within A Fish" fossil, a rare fossil that looks pretty much like the title implies.
The natives are mostly of Volga German extraction and the accent is still very prominent despite almost 200 years of culturalzation. The local drink is beer, preferably good beer. The official dance is the polka and the most common last name is "Schmidt".
There are several famous former residents and Mickey Spillane, auther of the Mike Hammer detective series, went to college there. If you are in the area a stop is highly recommended; if for no other reason than to confirm that there is life on the high plains.
