Baxter Springs, KS - Joey Chestnut Does the Polka and Has an Intentional Haircut

Welcome to Baxter Springs, Kansas! Baxter Springs is located in the southeastern corner of Kansas on the Oklahoma border.  Two mineral springs in the area have attracted people to the area for thousands of years.  The site was a stop along the Black Dog Trail, a trail created by the Osage people in the early 1800s to allow easier passage from their winter territory to their summer hunting grounds.  After the Indian Removal Act forced the indigenous people west in the 1830s, European American settlers established a trading post in the area that grew into Baxter Springs.   Demand for beef drove the town's growth after the Civil War.  Texas cattlemen used the town as a way point to take cattle to the markets in Kansas City.  Baxter Springs constructed corrals for up to 20,000 head of cattle and is considered to be the first "cow town" in Kansas.  We hope you enjoy our visit to Baxter Springs!