Rock Creek station near the Kansas Nebraska border was on a heavily
traveled Overland Trail. Deep ruts from the wagon traffic are still visible on the
rolling prairie hills. Dave McCanles, owner of the Rock Creek Station, built a toll
bridge across Rock Creek which allowed pioneers to quickly cross the creek and be on their
way west.
Rock Creek served as a stage station for the Overland Stage Company, a
swing station for Pony Express riders, a road ranch which offered supplies to travelers,
and a post office. This building is the reconstruction of the post office.
This is the inside of the road ranch home. Travelers could pay to
stay with the family and buy everything from hay for their animals to homemade pie.
These simple furnishings were probably very welcomed to road weary
travelers. The walls were made of rough hewn boards chinked with mud . The mud
could be removed for ventilation in the summer.
The Rock Creek stable supplied horses for Pony Express riders.
James
Butler Hickok (Wild Bill) was hired as a stable hand in 1861. His name is now
connected with Rock Creek history after he shot David McCanles.
